Varmint Control

trapped.jpgBefore we left for California last month, there was a white-tailed antelope squirrel burrowing under the quarter minus landscape topping in our courtyard. The burrowing would have endangered some of the shrubs in the courtyard, so I caved in the critter’s excavation, patched up the holes and covered it with a large flower pot to keep it from trying to burrow there again.

When we got home last week, there were no signs of additional burrowing, so we thought the problem had gone away. Yesterday, however, Verna saw the little critter gnawing on a decorative scarf she tied around the neck of a small statue of a coyote. So, I set the little Havahart rat trap next to the statue and baited it with a couple of dog kibbles. Sure enough, the trap sprung this afternoon with the critter inside. I took the trap over to the neighbor’s unimproved lot and let the squirrel run off into the underbrush.

I do not know if catching the squirrel will discourage it from returning to the courtyard, so I set the trap again. We’ll see what happens. Click on the image above to enlarge.

Camera Casualty

camera.jpgOur recent vacation to visit friends on the Colorado River was great. We both had a lot of fun and enjoyed our friends and their friends company. There was one small glitch when I waded from the riverbank out to a pontoon boat; I totally forgot that my little SX110IS camera was in the cargo compartment of my shorts. The camera was off, of course, but water leaked into the battery compartment, the LCD display and other electro-mechanical stuff.

I didn’t discover the problem until much later in the day. I noticed that the display looked sort of funny with discoloration around the edge. When I tried to turn on the camera it was pretty much DOA. I removed the memory card from the camera and found that all the photos taken before the dunking were still in memory.

Fortunately, I recently purchased another camera, a Canon SX-40; that camera was with us and it won’t fit any pockets I have so I guess it’s safe from the type of screw-up I made with the SX-110.

Saguaro Shack

Verna drove home from the Colorado River yesterday, so I was in charge of the camera. On the road near Bouse (rhymes with house) Arizona, I took a photo of a little roadside stand where the porch had been built around a couple of saguaro cacti. Click on the image to enlarge.

saguaro-shack.jpg

Home From The River

river.jpg

We had a great few days with our friends Jim and Karen on the Colorado River. Today, we got back home after a relatively short drive across the Arizona Outback. We’re looking forward to visiting them again, maybe in June. Meanwhile, back to the grueling task of being retired. 😉 Click on the image to enlarge.

Mom’s 92nd Birthday

moms-92.jpg

I drove from the California house up to my Mom’s place to wish her a happy 92nd birthday and to bring her a gift. I also shared about 50 photos on my laptop with her. I programmed an SD memory card with the pictures and left it with her to plug into her electronic picture frame.

She is in pretty good health considering her age. Her grandmother lived to age 96 so there is longevity in the family that I hope I inherit. 😉 Click on the image above to enlarge.