Sunday, March 16, 2025…Jeans On (Keith Urban)

   The Canadians, Tina and Wayne, came by to talk to Kim last night…they had to leave early this morning.  They’ve been in the U.S. for a couple of months, spending a week here and a week there.  Somewhere along the line, they traded in the motorhome they came in for a bigger, newer model. When they bought the motorhome, they had to make an appointment for crossing back into Canada via Port Huron, which is their entry point since they live 15 minutes from there. Something about having to declare their purchase, pay Canadian tax, and whatever else to get it back over the border. Their appointment is Thursday, which leaves them 4 days to travel 2,101 miles to the Port Huron border crossing. The general route we take is about the same distance so they should be able to make it with some steady driving…and providing there aren’t any flat tires. 😏  

   They have grandchildren with them, a seven- and two-year-old. We recommended a visit to Rooster Cogburn’s Ostrich Ranch since kids seem to have fun there.  They did go and reported to Kim that the kids absolutely loved it, although the two-year-old got bit by a goat and tried to milk that for sympathy the rest of the day.  I guess he wasn’t aware that you shouldn’t stick your fingers in a goat’s mouth.

   Tina is concerned about the tariffs that have been imposed since they left, but Wayne is certain that will not be an issue since motorhomes are not on the list.  They do have plans for a trip to Florida next year for a family gathering and based on Canadian travel requirements coming out of Washington, D. C., they might find that visit a little more involved than it was this year. But they’re willing to deal with it.

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   Two things I’ve learned about rabbits in less than 24 hours: they eat prickly pear cactus pads, and they move their ears as a means of locating sound.  The latter of these two discoveries shouldn’t have been new information to me but since it was something I never thought about, I was slightly surprised when I saw it.

   I went out early this morning with my camera, just to sit still and wait for the yard/tree to come alive with birds. I was sitting in the shadow of the bushes as one of the cottontails came under the fence to nibble on the cactus pad across the yard. When it was done with that, it started hopping around the yard,

eventually making its way toward the camper; it stopped maybe five feet from me. It sat stock still, probably assessing the danger level from the dark blob in its sight line (me).  I also sat still, taking pictures of it on high speed continuous, which makes a rapid clicking noise…at that point, its ears started twitching ever so slightly to catch the sound of the camera shutter. That was the only movement…ears moving independently to pinpoint the direction of the sound. I found it fascinating to watch.

   Once it decided I was not a threat, it hopped merrily on its way under the camper.  Quite often they travel under the camper to get into our side yard, and we’ve seen the bunnies playing in the empty site beside us, so it seems that we are visitors in their space, and they’ve made the best of it.

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   Took a solo walk today as Kim woke up with a sore knee. I wore the wrong shoes so I didn’t go far…maybe 4 electrical poles past the big tire.  But I feel accomplished for having done it. And tomorrow I’ll wear the correct shoes.  

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   About one o’clock, we rode with Tammy over to Florence to have lunch at the River Bottom Bar & Grill.  We’ve seen it many times in our years coming out here but have never stopped because the parking lot was always so darn full.  Plus, it had an unpaved driveway…not my favorite thing when I’m on the bike. Since we didn’t have any concrete ideas about where to ride, Tammy suggested the River Bottom, saying they have good food and live music. So off we went.

   To say the place was busy would be a gross understatement. First thing was to find a parking space in the gravel parking lot that we’d be able to get out of; found one off to the side. I appreciated the fact that there would be no backing up involved, just pull out forward. The second thing was to find a place to sit. There was a band performing out on the patio, but it was on a break when we arrived; and there were no open tables outside. Waited a few minutes to see if a table would open up before heading inside to see what was available. Found a table, placed an order with the waitress and waited maybe 30 minutes for our food. By the time we finished eating and wandered outside, there still wasn’t an open table. We could have stood off to the side to listen, but what’s the point in that? So, we headed back to camp, making a quick stop at Safeway

   Lots of bikers were in attendance, which is probably the norm since River Bottom features a motorcycle in its logo. It was maybe a 30-70 split between normal street attire (shorts, sandals, trendy clothes and well-managed hair) and biker attire (leather vests, black shirts, jeans, riding boots, and ball caps to hide helmet hair).  But everyone was well-behaved and seemed to be having a good time.  Lots of money being spent.

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   Immediately changed out of jeans into shorts when we got back and sat outside watching the birds, camera at the ready. It seems silly to take pictures of the same birds year after year, but it also feels wrong to be outside without a camera. Amateur photography is a creative outlet for me…especially when I’m in Arizona. I take the pictures, sort through them, post some and put the rest in a file on my computer. I also add some to the journal to illustrate what I’ve written and print some to send to the grandkiddos, but other than that those pictures don’t get much attention when we get home. But taking pictures is part of the way I document my life experiences; so, the pictures stored in the Arizona 2025 file will be saved on an external hard drive along with oodles of other files for my kids to deal with when I’m no longer around. It’ll be my digital legacy. 😎

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   No imaging tonight because of some very thin clouds. Tomorrow night may be the same but then we should have 4 or 5 clear nights in a row.  It’s all about patience.

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   Oh, happy day! We got a squadron of javelinas on the cell camera tonight!!  Two approached the camera and there were at least two more sets of glowing eyes in the background.  It’s about time!! 

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