Verna and Bob's Weblog

Arizona

65th Annual Gold Rush Days Parade


Some readers may recall that I missed the 64th Annual Parade due to falling on my head early the morning of the parade. Fortunately, that did not happen this morning. Verna and I walked to the parade route (about a quarter mile from home) and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle.

Billed as the fourth largest parade event in Arizona, we witnessed the passage of some of the usual and some of the most unusual entries in the event. The American Legion Color Guard (local chapter) led the parade with a herd of Watusi Longhorn Cattle in trail. Popular character actor Wilford Brimley rode in the stagecoach along with the Riders in the Sky western music ensemble and several other “Grand Marshalls.”

Many of the classic cars we saw yesterday rode in the parade along with some we had not seen. There were bands, dancers, cowboy poets and a bunch of the local merchants and businesses that passed by. A couple of unusual entries were the Watusi Bull in a Cadillac and the “Poodle Posse” toward the end. We had fun and although we could see traces of snow on the foothills, there was no rain on our parade.

February 9, 2013 by Arizona Culture Leisure Photography

Sun Rays

rays.jpg

Some white puffy clouds floated across the sky this afternoon. I captured this image of the sun’s rays as one of the clouds passed in front of it. Click on the image to enlarge.

February 6, 2013 by Arizona Climate Photography

Curve Billed Thrasher

Curve Billed Thrasher

There are a pair of curve billed thrashers who are expressing an interest in nesting in our big saguaro. When the crew installed the cactus in August, it had a couple of abandoned bird nests in the arms. Today, the thrasher was on the cactus singing a different tune. Instead of its usual wit-WEET call, it was making a warbling, squeaky, hurried song, which we think is a mating call.

We had thrasher chicks last spring and summer in a nest in a nearby cholla cactus. It was low enough that we could walk over to it and take photos with eggs and then chicks, in the nest. The saguaro is a different proposition; this nest is eight feet above the ground, so we won’t be able to get a camera up there. Click on the image to enlarge

February 4, 2013 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

Groundhog Day Dinner

Tenderloin steaks, scalloped potatoes au gratin and asparagus

Tenderloin steaks, scalloped potatoes au gratin and asparagus. This isn’t exactly a holiday weekend, but when Groundhog Day and Superbowl Sunday fall in the same weekend, it’s a good enough excuse to celebrate. Verna prepared this meal to perfection. She had a glass of Chardonnay and I enjoyed a Samuel Adams Winter Lager beer. Click on the image to enlarge.

February 2, 2013 by Arizona Food and Dining Holidays

More Cleanup

More Cleanup

I cleaned up one of the mesquite trees up on the hill above the RV drive last week. During the trimming, I noticed some deadwood still attached to the tree. I would have removed it, except the shears I was using weren’t big enough to get around the largest part of the deadwood.

Yesterday, I went into the hardware store and bought a hand saw. Today, I was on the hill hacking through the deadwood. Verna stuck her head out the back patio to catch this image of me between hackings. Click on the image to enlarge.

February 1, 2013 by Arizona Home & Garden Retirement

Avalon 1998

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