Where Did all the People Go...

"What are you doing up there?" the lower Raven said.

"I'm trying to see where all the people went."

"Hey guys... 

there's one over here."

"I don't see any."

"You would if you turned around!!"

Ravens are my favorite birds,

but while they were having fun harassing each other,

I was getting too hot... 83 degrees already, so I headed 

for a shadier spot one with mega misters.

Yes, I did.

Too Hot to Trot

This morning I started my walk at 6:20 and it was already

72 degrees.  By the time I got home 45 minutes

later it was 83 and it's headed for 103!!! 

The next few days look pretty miserable (and

Phoenix will be 4-6 degrees hotter).  I bet this makes

you think your place of residence is pretty nice about now!!!

So, I took my breakfast, yogurt, 1/2 banana,

a few blueberries and a little granola (for crunch)

and sat sulking on the back patio in the shade.

The Dove sitting on her nest,  on a  leaning ladder

perch, which is on the back deck of the home right behind us,

really had something to sulk about. Fortunately the nest will be in the 

shade about 10:20 for the rest of the day.

    

We also observed the nest building for several days.

This is the end of week one of "egg sitting" and the 

eggs hatch in 14 days.  I'll keep you posted.  

Common Everyday Things

Social Distancing has made us appreciate

the common everyday things we see so that's what

today's blog is about... starting with a tribute to

MEMORIAL DAY

Our 55+ resort is always beautifully manicured
Greenbelt freshly mowed...



and shrubs perfectly trimmed...



and while walking this morning, I caught glimpse of a male
Northern Harrier Hawk as he lowly flew by me and
landed in a tree a short distance ahead of me.  WOW
 It's all about having your camera in the right place at the right time.




The Palo Verde tree, with its light green bark, is the
AZ state tree...



and if you are a nearby cactus, this is what you can look like!!!



Can you guess what this is?  Pollen from an assortment
of trees, which covered the street.   So the maintenance
crew blew it to the curb where it was easier to "pick" up.



I loved the way my table looked when friends arrived
tor pizza.  Handwoven placemats, handwoven napkins
and paper plates to match.  No cooking or dishes tonight!!!



Don had a  non-surgical  procedure to fix his
 Dupuytren's Contracture (also known as "Vikings Disease")
last Tuesday.  Since his activity was limited, this  gave us time
 to catch up on family affairs.



Grandson Everett (r) who is 30, posed for a
picture with brother Kenny who is 16.
  Kenny is taller (as he pushes 6' 2" in his stocking feet)
than Everett who is wearing shoes!!!  Thanks for the pic Kenny.

And talking about family events, Everett became a father,
which made daughter Kristine a GRANDMA... (known as Grammy)
and Don and I became great-grandparents Feb 13, 2020 to
Shaelyn Alyse who showed off during a recent visit at Grammy's!!!




And our son Eric'( 6'3") is still the tallest in our immediate family, but
Kenny's giving it his best shot...  Eric & wife Susan
gathered with their kids Megan & Max for a "last supper" when
 they sold their family home in Eagle River AK last spring.
 Eric & Susan spend time between AK & HI,
 while granddaughter Megan (26) lives in CO,  and
grandson Max (29),  also  lives in AK,
 and is still trying to be taller than his Dad!!!

Max may not be the tallest, but he's a creative guy as evidenced
by this video on his buddy's commercial halibut boat.
Video, drone, underwater shots & production ©Max Harvey 2020.

One of our favorite memories is the driving trip we took

in our 5th wheel June 28 2004 (when we were only 

64 and 65)... from Colfax CA,  North to Dawson City YT Canada

which was only 2645 miles one way... plus site seeing!!!

Of course our favorite dog Rider, whom we rescued from

the Anchorage animal shelter and enjoyed for 13 years,

was excited to "get in the truck".

He was a mix of Border Collie, Greyhound,

Siberian Husky and of course Black Lab. 

And he's still with us in all our memories, here in AZ

as a Mosaic Dog which has its benefits, which I'm 

sure you can figure out without my elaboration.

Don's Day???

Don had a few geocaches he wanted to find in the Florence AZ
so I agreed to go along!!!   This meant he'd have to multi-task
by doing all the driving, stopping frequently so I could take pictures, plus find
those  six geocaches. We both learned something new
about this extensive farmland area...

Here's the general layout of where we went

and this satellite view gives you a better look at the lay

of the land.  Total wandering round trip to and thru this vast

farmland from start to finish was about 120 miles.

FYI:  Farming in this part of Arizona started 4,100 years ago with

 corn.  Little by little, over the centuries, travelers brought in

 beans, squash, gourds, pumpkins, tobacco, cotton. 

alfalfa, hay, wheat, citrus, olives and potatoes.

And sometimes I just take pictures

because I like what I see while Don's finding a geocache 

or two

or three.   

A couple of geocaches were on the perimeter

of the old Coolidge Airport, so we took time to

revisit this old army airfield

and we enjoyed it just as much this time as last time.

This plane was missing a few important parts,

but still had a smile for the visitors.

This great hanger made you want to

look inside.  WOW those are impressive planes.

A couple of more geocaches appear on these

two short videos.

We enjoyed our "color coordinated"  picnic lunch

in the shade under some beautiful trees 

at this impressive park in Florence.

Speaking of trees, the Desert Ironwood puts on a beautiful

display this time of the year.  FYI, it belongs to the pea family as

in sweet pea.  You could tell by closely checking out the blossoms. 

Just prior to blooming, its leaves turn yellow and shed before

the trees flower.  The flowering lasts only 10 day to 18 days,

but the desert is currently full of them in various stages of bloom.

Amazing...

  

“”How Long does it Take You to Make That?”

The title of this blog is a phrase often asked of creative  artistic people.

 I’ll give you this handweaver/tapestry weaver’s answer shortly.

My current weaving project involved weaving 5 dish towels…

each with a different color of thread so they all look different.

They were woven at 24 threads per inch (threads on the loom)  

and woven with 24 picks (rows per inch) for the weft

 (the yarn you weave with).  Makes sense to me... 

However, when working on a grid made up of horizontal and 

vertical threads, it’s hard to weave a perfectly round circle,

because most weave structures (interlacement of warp & weft) 

shrink at a different percentage rate.  For example in this project, the 

length shrunk 20% (after washing & drying)  and the width 17%.

This complex structure created neutral colored

circles on one side while the circles on the reverse

are colored, all on a multi colored vertical striped background.

Sure glad someone else figured this out and all I had to do was

 read the directions in my weaving magazine, thread my loom and weave. 

Now to answer the "how long does it take" question...   

Before I start weaving it takes me about 10-12 hours to 

measure the warp threads and thread the loom. Then the weaving begins. 

And once I’m at the end of my warp (not rope), which took about

 2 1/2 minutes to weave a 1 1/2” pattern repeat… over and over 

again for a length of 33 inches for each of the 5 towels, 

the  woven cloth was  removed from the loom,

but it’s not finished yet.  I washed all 5 1/2 yards of 

cloth in the washer and  dried it in the dryer, and

 then used my serger to cut the towels apart.  This fantastic time saving
 device cuts the cloth and overcasts the raw edge all in one step!! 

Then I set up my sewing table & New Home
sewing machine and 

carefully measured, pressed and sewed the hems in place,

 

while  outside a couple of very skilled, artistic & hardworking
 craftsmen created 

a 4’wide by 45’ long paver sidewalk along the side of our house.
And how long did that take?  Only took them about 6 hours

and they left the place spotless!!!

I started sewing when I was 9 on my mothers 

New Home treadle machine which was hard for me to get the hang of… 

since I’m left handed I  seemed to be very good 

at getting it to go backwards.

In addition to creativity, will power,  interest and desire, it 

often takes lot of expensive equipment  that  helps 

us do the the job easier,  quicker and hopefully more successfully… 

At least that's my excuse, what's yours?