Our little dog, Cabela, flushed this nasty-looking fellow from behind the compost bin today. She was about to investigate further (and probably would have been stung) but I held her away from the scorpion while I administered a stomp that ended the threat. It was still twitching a bit when I took the photo. Click on the image to enlarge.

At dusk last evening, a herd of javelina meandered down the road in front of our house. There are seven adults and two offspring in this photo. There may have been one or two more.

Image: Herd of javelina - click on the image to enlarge.

We were in the office and would have missed seeing them were it not for Cabela’s loud barking from the great room. Verna called to me to bring the camera. We went out into the courtyard where I snapped several photos. The herd then moved on down the road as they foraged for their evening meal.

The following is excerpted from Arizona Game and Fish Department page “Living with Javelina.”

Though some people think javelina are a type of wild pig, they are actually members of the peccary family, a group of hoofed mammals originating from South America. Javelina are common in much of central and southern Arizona, including the outskirts of the Phoenix area, most of Tucson, and occasionally as far north as Flagstaff. Javelina form herds of two to more than 20 animals and rely on each other to defend territory, protect against predators, regulate temperature and interact socially. They use washes and areas with dense vegetation as travel corridors. Javelina are most active at night, but they may be active during the day when it is cold.

I have several wind chimes and ornaments hanging in the mesquite tree next to the RV pull-thru. My brother, Fred, and sister-in-law, Sherry, brought this from Grand Canyon years ago and gave it to me. The Kokopeli figure and Native American decorations plus the colors are a perfect match for our beautiful new home. Click on the image to enlarge.

We attended a class yesterday devoted to home protection and gun safety. One of the topics they taught had to do with equipment for the home. Of course, we already have firearms but we need to research some of the other tactical gear that we ought to have on hand.

The course instructor advised that if we’re going to have firearms handy that it is a very good idea to have a high-quality flashlight on hand to aid in locating and identifying potential targets. Not the cheap Chinese crap that you find at the discount stores, but a good, reliable and BRIGHT tactical flashlight similar to those used by military and law enforcement. Pursuant to that end, I have started a ‘wish list’ on a well-known on-line retailer site where I have entered several candidate flashlights. Over the next few days, Verna and I will down-select to a single flashlight and then order two of them. One for her and one for myself.

Last weekend, Bob posted a panorama of a segment of US 60 between Harcuvar and Hope, AZ. He mentioned in that post that directly behind the camera line of sight there was a rock with native American petroglyphs on it. This is the petroglyph rock. Click on the image to enlarge.

We get monsoons - sometimes at sunset. Click on the image to enlarge.

We had to head down US 60 today to the Valley Metro Area. Every once in a while, we have to leave our little enclave here in the country to go and get some provisions from the big city.

We had a list of things that we needed to get plus we scored a few other things to re-stock the freezer in the garage. I bought a pork loin and some pork baby back ribs. I divided the ribs into two slabs and packed them into vacuum freezer packs for later consumption. I carved the loin into several chops, a couple of thicker chops for stuffed pork loin and another couple of petite roast chunks for making pulled pork sandwiches or carnitas burritos at a later time. As it is, we don’t need to go there again for a while, although next week we may go and look at some furniture for the office.

We pity the folks that abstain from pork. And, we pity even more those that abstain from meat.