Donkey Days

The alpacas just east of John Ware ridge. Jewel gently taking an apple from Kat.

Linda took us out to meet the miniature donkeys which live on a property bordering the Kananaskis. They were very agreeable animals and did like our visit with horse cookies and petting. The day was magical with sparkling snow, brilliant sunshine, blue skies and mild temperatures.

Christmas morning

No one got up too early, I think the action only began around 9:00 am. Kat was completely overwhelmed. She was quite content to just play with her stocking. Not necessarily the contents but the stocking itself.

Until the dolly was unwrapped. All thoughts of raising a daughter with dump trucks and mechano only were instantly dismissed from Heidi and Dan's plans. The baby dolly stole the show.

We enjoyed meeting Walter's family and everyone enjoyed our Christmas dinner. Thanks to my 3 chefs and Dan the scullery maid. Lots of good conversation, lovely pear cordial and a runway floor show. Erin dressed up Kat from the back closet 'tickle trunk' and she was more than willing to do the runway walk.

As Days Go

This has been a challenging day. Some coins wedged themselves in the washing machine pump and the only way to dislodge them was to open the pump door (Swedish machine) next to the floor and try and stem the flooding the best I could. Hours of this and the soaking up of water from the carpet and dumping the carpet cleaner which sucked up the water and I am exhausted. I almost forgot to go outside and enjoy a lovely winter day. This doesn't make up for my sore back but it helped me forget about it for a while
Ahh the river and trudging along in the snow on a lovely day.

Let it Snow!!!

Snow in our back yard. We are saving the pristine white snow for little Kat to play in. Ginger hasn't been out in the back since early fall. So, there will be no nasty surprises to find in the snow. The thermometer is rising and will be +8 tomorrow. No bunny tracks or coyote foot prints, did you notice? I put seed in the bird feeder today, I hope the little birds didn't freeze waiting for me to fill it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRLnLdooTWU

Desert View Point Grand Canyon Arizona

We drove to Desert View Point and then we climbed up to the second floor of the tower to get this view. There were a few people standing around with their jaws open. This vista was just stunning. Approximately 10 miles to the north side and who knows how far to the eastern desert. It was pretty chilly but the sun had some warmth but not enough to convince us to take off our jackets.

Honourable Mention

All publishing
rights reserved
December 3, 2009

Thin Skin
by Wendy Morrow

She always managed to inflict a wound upon herself before she went. Her old skin was becoming thin and the burn was blistering. She wrapped it in gauze and slipped on her gloves.

“You shouldn’t go you know.” Her husband grunted beneath his paper. “What do you know about these people?” He harrumphed and snapped the folds straight. “They’re not like you don’t you know?”

‘They are nice to me.’ She wanted to say but the lump in her throat got in the way.

“You’ll be a laughing stock”.

She tucked her poem into her pocket and closed the door.

This is the story that won me honourable mention in a short story contest. I was rather pleased since it is an international writing contest.

The Grand Canyon, The Grand Desert and Grand Friends

Good friends, good food. Lots of fun, especially shopping with Donna, If you have never tried drunk rack shopping, well you haven't lived.

A Day in the Desert

This was a lovely walk in the desert. The day was perfect...not too hot and a clear sky. Very few people on the trail and silence everyway. Bryan did a couple of kilometers and I kept going. I had lots of water and a hat and good shoes and I had the time of my life.

The ubiquitous saguaro, I had just walked through a forest of them.

I sat down on a rock and this little one came almost right up to me. I opened the camera and she darted off, this is the closest I could come to taking her portrait.

I think this little feller is a flicker

Last cactus on the trail.

Lunch in Cave Creek which is northeast of Scottsdale.

Bryan hates Mexican food. Why do I try?

Lunch in Cave Creek....and the funniest little Donal Duck.

A trip through the Boulders

A house in the Boulders. I love the architecture. Modern adobe.

And this is a golf course? Yes, a housing development and a golf course. Very very interesting.

We drove straight up Scottsdale road to Cave Creek. On the way we took a side trip to the Boulders. Wow!

On the way home we stopped to see Taleisen West....Frank Lloyd Wright and all that rot don't you know..... didn't go in....the tickets are ridiculously expensive.

After Two days lounging around the Pool....We are off to Sedona and Points Beyond

The reality of Arizona real estate.

I climbed this rock that we spied on the side of the road. I thought I would go up to get a good view of the other side. What I didn't know at the time was, this is one of the vortex sites of the Sedonna valley. I got a weird buzzing in my legs. Apparently the vortex causes the trees to grow very twisted. Some new age types go up onto the vortex to meditate and they claim they find a new plane of consciousness and healing etc. I just felt sick. I don't know if it was the vertigo when I looked over the edge or lack of ozygen from climbing the hill too fast. I don't know, the jury is out.

I saw this guy in the rocks, nearly stepped on him. I checked on 'What's that Bug?' and I couldn't find it. Hmmm.......

and now the The Grand Canyon

A first glimpse

Holy Moly it was cold.

My favorite rare bird sighting ever. Well nearly.

A California condor. #54. I later found out that he is a rarely seen condor. He occasionally visits the canyon and is an old veteran of the 'new condors'. He was puppet raised. Wow what a sight!!! I couldn't believe it. I spied him and then I saw a guy with a spotting scope, he was doing a bird count for the National Park and was just as excited as I was.

Hmmm I think Teddy Roosevelt sat here too.

Right, left right, left. The views were astonishing.

They were doing a prescribed burn along the edge this year. Apparently this happens about every 5 years. The workers stacked these neat little teepees of wood and needles and lit it.

This is the ranch down at the bottom. Not a big ranch, but it is where the mules overnight and you can too if so inclined. I don't know how they get the feed down. Maybe drop it from a helicopter. Na, maybe float it down the river. Na. The mules probably have to carry it down.

A trail head. No we didn't go down, because the elevation wiped us out. We were exhausted. I am in very good shape, but I am 62 and I have asthma so I was tired at the nearly 9,000 ft elevation and thin air, and we found that a hill climb of 50 yards was more than we could stand.

Wow, this looked ominous. Never saw one though, birds and deer were the only wild life we saw. No handrailings or fences or warnings on the edge, but warnings about ellusive panthers.

I love this painting. I don't know who the painter is but it is hanging in the main lobby of El Tovar hotel on the edge of the Canyon. This is the only place we had a good meal. Excellent actually. However the first night we had dinner in the cafeteria of another hotel, where they managed to make a chicken dinner taste like a weiner.

I don't know about you, but I can't take anymore canyon photos....enough already.

I loved this sign. Apparently they have really ornately antlered deer down in Arizona.

Goodbye Grand Canyon. We ate breakfast on the highway. We went to the grocery store the previous night and bought food for the road like fruit etc and that prevented us from suffering another horrible cafeteria meal.

We were suprised to find ourselves climbing well over 8500 ft. We passed the snow bowl and down to Flagstaff.

So here we are on route 66, not a long trip but east of Flagstaff and west of Winona. We had to break out into song. Get your Kicks on Route 66.

This is a view of the Painted Desert. Even though we got closer the view did not improve because the light wasn't right. We really liked the new road that the current government put down. Hmmm lots and lots of tax dollars. But then again there are lots of dollars in AZ.

This is the view down to the plateau where lies the Painted Desert. The sun was obscured by a light cloud and some pollution from LA. Therefore no paint.

Lava floes, or is it flows. Anyway below is the culprit. 800 years ago.

Sunset volcano, it blew it's top and spread ash and cinders for miles.

Dessicatingly dry country. I felt like a lizard.

The desert was cold. We were grateful for our wintercoats which we vacu sealed in travel bags....thank you Linda. We asked ourselves why a culture as rich in life skills as these people were would choose to live in the high desert. Cold in winter and painfully hot in the summer. Very little water, unless you found a spring, and scarce wild life. Personally I would have packed up my spear and gone south. Maybe there was another reason they didn't....a nasty enemy? or something? Must check this out.

The famose Wapakuti site. This complex was 3 stories high and housed at its peak, well over 2000 people. A beautiful location in the shadow of a 'mountain and a view of the Painted Desert. The Pueblos were a stone age people.

An unexplored pueblo house site about 10 miles east of the 89. Not connected to the National Monument but part of the historic culture. Maybe these people were the 'next door neighbours'.