February

February is almost over, and I think our unpleasant winter weather is finally gone.   The temperatures have become normal for this time of year, and we had one final, serious downpour that turned our house into an island. 

There is a dry wash that surrounds the house and crosses the road.    Dry for most of the year, dry when we aren't experiencing a sudden fierce rainstorm.     

Most of the time it's a smooth, sandy pathway for deer, coyote, quail, jack rabbits, etc.     Fun to walk in and look for animal tracks, to get from here to there without any cactus thorns in our shoes.

 But when it rains hard, this pathway turns into a silty, racing river that digs deep into the road and leaves us surrounded for a few hours.  Certainly not deep enough to strand us or keep us from driving away, but deep enough to make a real mess of the Jeep!   

February has flown by, we've been busy.   Early in the month, Wickenburg held its 75th annual Gold Rush Days celebration in town.    There is a huge parade, carnival with rides, art show (mostly crafts) a small car show, shoot em up reenactments, gold panning exhibitions and roping/rodeo competitions galore.  

We took time to stroll through the craft show one Saturday, it's always interesting to see what people make/bring to sell.

stuffed animals and toy assault weapons

 

and don't we all need personalized campfire pokers?

  

Too many people and not enough things of interest to us made us leave the tents, food trucks, Ferris wheel, and "whack a mole" area and take a slow walk back to the Jeep.     We've never really strolled randomly around "downtown" before, so  we enjoyed ourselves.

Founder Henry Wickenburg and his mule

Wickenburg street lights

We had lots of favorite people time in February.   Jodee and Bill stopped by for a restaurant brunch on their way home from a Super Bowl party.   It was so good to catch up with them again!

Pam and John came for a shake-down visit with their sweet new motorhome later that week.     To celebrate their new purchase (and Valentine's Day) we had dinner here and invited MonaLiza and Steve to join us.    It's wonderful to get together with our RV family....

We spent some time in the desert the next day, one of our happy places with these two special people.    Of course, it included a photo stop at a Crested Saguaro on Blue Tank Road.    

A few days after Pam and John left, Dave and I went into the Valley to attend the famous and fabulous Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show.    We've been there many times before but this year, other than to ogle the spectacular horses, we were going to observe a group of Guide Dogs for the Blind pups negotiate the exciting and often very distracting sights.

Bye Bye!

   

 

 

 

The next day the Lowes hosted a combined birthday bash at their house, inviting us, some of their neighbors and visiting RV friends, Hans and Lisa!    Once again, it was super to see them and learn what they've been up to since coming "off the road".      Everyone had a wonderful time, great Mexican food and an unlimited supply of Margaritas, flowing from Betty's Margarita machine (who knew there was such a thing!).

Dave and Lisa, no Hans!

One February thing Dave really looks forward to is the start of NASCAR racing season, signaled by the running of the Daytona 500.      This year was no different! 

GO BYRON!

 

Are you tired yet?    One more event to show you - Niece Lisa's visit.  

 She was in Phoenix for a wedding and was able to extend her trip so that she could spend some time with us.     We were so happy; it's been too long since we've seen her.     Dave's cousin Kathi and her husband Jeff drove Lisa to a restaurant in Carefree to meet us for lunch and hand her off.    We were all too busy talking to take any pictures, a problem I have often.

We enjoyed second cup in the sun, showing her our beautiful desert surroundings, a trip into the mountains to Prescott, lunch at the floating restaurant on Lake Pleasant, visiting the interesting Shrine of St. Joseph in Yarnell, morning walks with Dave and lots of reminiscing.

Allergy season in the desert means lots of kleenex!

off they go!

riding the funicular at Lake Pleasant

will you share?

one of the Stations of the Cross at Shrine of St. Joseph

February has been a very busy month!    Stay tuned for March.....

Oh, and here are a couple pictures of our sweet girl.... learning about blackberries and delighting in her dog, Molly.    awwwww

Winter

 Arizona weather this winter has been, well, wintery.   Not snowy wintery, that we couldn't deal with.    Cold, wet wintery weather.    We've had to bring in plants, cover palms, use the fireplace for happy hour instead of sitting outside, just generally grumbling to each other.    Ah well.    

 One of the nice side effects of this desert's wintery weather is the beautiful clouds and sunsets it provides.

even night time clouds are beautiful!

taken at the Lowes house

I suppose another good thing about the colder than average weather is how it makes appreciate the warm sun, when the wind isn't blowing or the clouds aren't covering it.   We take every advantage.

reading in the sun, out of the wind

Sometimes one must just buck up, dress warmly and enjoy what the area is offering, when it's offering!    The annual Wickenburg Fly-in and Car Show was held near the end of January.    We certainly couldn't miss that, even though it was gray and chilly.

see me?

looks just like my first car (see above), right?

I love this Henry J!

Dave has been busy in his never-ending quest to keep Beluga in good shape (for her age, ahem).    She takes care of us; he takes care of her.    I think the current project is fabricating a new cover on the outdoor water compartment, and maybe something else, but don't quote me on that....

thanks for the lettering, Jerry!

Hooty and her beau have been regular sitters in our Mesquite tree and last week they left a big surprise for me.    They must know that I enjoy dissecting pellets, so one of them produced a really HUGE (almost 5 inches long) one, you know, to cheer me up and give me something to do......

And now, from a really ugly and, some might say, disgusting photo, I'll end this post with a really adorable one.....Annabelle and her healthy eating habits!

 

Stay tuned, February is getting busy.....