Nature Notes Thursday

More spiny friends in my world

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Salero

Salero is a ghost town in Arizona. We have visited a number of times. The name has an interesting beginning. The priest at a local mission were expecting the Bishop of Sonora. They planned a feast in his honor. All the local delicacies were served in exquisite manner the only thing missing a saltcellar. The priest in charge shamed at his oversight sent men into the nearby mountains to mine silver and mold the required table piece. Thus the name Salero which means saltcellar.

Our visits took place at a much later date. A good friend of my parents lived at the mine which was no longer in operation. The walls of his home were adobe about a foot thick. Cool in the summer and held the heat from the fireplace in during winter. There was no electricity on the ranch he used lanterns. His water came from a well. This well was very deep and had no pump, when visiting the man of the house was sent to pull up enough pails of water to last several days. His reward was a few shots of El Presidente a favorite libation of the host.

The shell of several old buildings were still standing and we discovered many treasures. Pieces of old pottery, bottles, books and rusty tools. The main house was like a museum. Our friend had worked in the movie industry and had posters and pictures of stars from the twenties, along with other memorabilia from the films.

On one visit we were startled when a scruffy looking miner appeared out of nowhere. At first we though he might be a ghost from the past. He spoke and asked us what day it was. We replied "Saturday". "No I mean what is the date"? We told him the month and date and he was surprised. "I have been here longer than I thought." Turned out he was just an eccentric writer living in one of the old buildings.

Our friend passed away quite a few years ago. The ruins are now fenced off to the public. We still have some of the items we collected there and cherish our memories and this little part of Arizona History.

Ruby Tuesday

This is an Oleander flower. Some people don't care for this plant but it makes a good hedge. Grows about 12-15 feet high and needs little water. The flowers are pink,white and red.

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Grocery Store Blues

The economy may be bad but that's not stopped holiday cookouts. The grocery store was packed and the carts were piled high. Meat was flying off the shelf like flies to a picnic. People were pushing and shoving to get to the chips that were on sale. Soda towers were tumbling over in baskets as shoppers tried to pile one more twelve pack on. The line for the roasted chicken snaked past the deli counter and into the produce section. The hot dog counter had a few lonely packages stuffed in the back. Bakery shelves were wiped out as if a giant cookie monster had grazed his way through.

I got the few things I needed and got out fast. LOL the check out lines were so long I could have read the entire Bristol Palin story. NOT!

Hope you have a good Memorial Day.

Technology Love It Hate It

I don't really like technology. For years I resisted cell phones until my job demanded I get one. The laptop was mostly used to hold papers piled on my desk. I used e-mail at work only because my co-workers refused to cross the hall to let me know the time of the meeting.

Then I started to blog. What seemed simple at first got more complicated as I studied blogging for dummies. I could read the instructions over, perform the action and whaaaaa it did not work. Then I would do the same thing again. Why do we do that? If it didn't work the first time why should the same process work the second time? It's like when you are looking for your shoe you keep looking for it again and again in the same closet, as if it could walk there itself. Well after a few times I would be so frustrated I would walk away, go into the kitchen and grab the cookie jar. Everyone knows cookies are the answer to all problems. At that moment you don't think about the lifetime on the hips only that sweet chewy morsel that is soothing you. Five minutes later cookie is gone and problem still there.

So I went back to help and searched for new information that would be the key to letting me install the new gadget on my blog. It turns out it was so simple. It's always simple once you understand the process. A space as in---- was causing all the difficulty. When copying and pasting an extra space was added. Once I got rid of that space it worked perfectly. That little space probably cost me five pounds.

Oh Give Me Rain

Nature Notes Thursday




Clouds oh beautiful clouds. Now if you live anywhere but Arizona you might not appreciate clouds like I do. Those home on the range where the skies are not clouded all day can get rather boring. Not to mention that the temps in the 100's are hot. It's sort of like walking around in a blast furnace. You don't sweat because it evaporates before it can form moisture drops. A cloudy day in May is a treat for my eyes and the cool 65 degrees is a joy to my soul.







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Where Did The Week Go

Yesterday as I was driving Mom to the big city she said "that's a pretty tree on your blog but when are you going to put up something new"? I replied "Well if I wasn't so busy running errands and taking you to the replacement parts clinic ( orthopedic) maybe I could find time to write".

Let me start at the beginning when life got in the way of blogging. Last Thursday after I posted the tree I went to work ! My job, to corral a bunch of third graders and keep them in check while their teacher was off at a play event with the kids who had earned an award day. It is best known as substituting or in today's lets make everything sound polite, guest teacher. There was a time when only the upper grades tried to pull the wool over a sub's eyes but that is past, even the baby faced kindergartener's look at you with their toothless smile and con you into believing they get recess for an hour after working thirty minutes. The big trick on this day involved the bathroom. They were allowed to go whenever they needed or so they said. I only allowed one at a time but the next room which also had a sub was also letting kids go. The problem something called "Bloody Mary". You turn off the lights spin around three times and say three "dirty" words. I wasn't told those so you decide what dirty words an eight year old would use. If you do the trick right and have a great imagination a woman with a bloody hand grasps your neck until you scream. Where the fun is in this activity I am not sure.

The highlight of my day was pizza for lunch. Which I had to pay for! Earlier this year subs were given free lunch a convenience when you are called at 7:30 for an 8:oo class. The federal government decided this was too big of a perk to offer these highly paid employees and so I lost my Golden parachute.

Friday was a family day my sister was visiting from out of town. Saturday I had my writing group. Sunday just sort of disappeared, as Sundays seem to do. Monday I ran errands all day, which brings me back to Tuesday and the replacement parts clinic.

We arrive in front of a huge building, well huge to me as we only have one building with an elevator in my small town. A valet attendant comes to your car as if arriving at a grand hotel. I thought this was a doctor's office. Looking around I understand the need for the valet. People spilling out of cars are on walkers, in wheelchairs or leaning on canes. The check in area has a row of bank tellers waiting to take your money. Oh I mean receptionists waiting to check you in. This is a warehouse for bones. Take an x-ray throw it up on a screen, see that hole, there should be a bone there, no problem we can get you a plastic one. I found out they can replace just about any bone in the body. Now if only they could figure out how to make your wait shorter. By the way Mom's new part is A-OK.

Nature Notes Thursday

This is a Palo Verde Tree. Palo Verde means green wood in Spanish. When the tree blooms you know summer is here temps in the high 90's. Ugh I do not like Summer.