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Category: Arizona

Bunnies, bugs, birds, bovines, blooms, and making videos

split-eared Jackrabbit scratching Skull Valley AZbee white Cliff Rose flowers Skull Valley AZ

Temperatures rising into the 90s causes me to be awake early enough to see lots of morning wildlife and gives me plenty of time for making videos.  I wish making videos included traveling, almost anywhere.  Instead, I’m taking the time to learn and experiment making videos.

Stormy view West past Bridgers Knoll Crazy Jug Pt Kaibab National Forest ArizonaGrand Canyon from Crazy Jug Point 7-8-15

With no shade on the 5th-wheel and temperatures in the 90s, I dreamed of summer travel to higher elevation.  I still think about working at 8000 feet at Bryce or Grand Canyon.  My first planned summer travels in 30 years would cover at least 5300 miles and cost $3000 or more just in diesel fuel.  That’s really not in the budget.  Yet if it consistently gets hotter here I’ll be weighing the balance between paying the electric for AC—which I don’t really like—or diesel fuel.  I could at least camp on the 8000 foot Kaibab Plateau only 140-325 miles depending on which side of Grand Canyon.  Then I’d be making videos in a known environment.  Mostly I dreamed to avoid thinking about going back to town the next day.

Jackrabbit Skull Valley AZ

Sierra cat watching cow thru RV window Skull Valley AZI was up early and saw a Jackrabbit and cow before leaving the house.

sunlight on grass Skull Valley AZGood thing I went to town early as I got lucky parking in the tiny lot at the laundromat.  Thirty minutes later I’d been out of luck.  Fuel at $5.34/gal diesel, a few groceries and back home.  I’d left the AC on for Sierra so she wouldn’t overheat.  Up to mid-90s isn’t really that hot, except inside the RV is at least 10° hotter even with windows open and a fan.

white Cliff Rose flowers & Metallic Woodborer bugs Skull Valley AZTypical down day after braving town.  But always plenty to do.  Windows opened early and as I sat at the computer making videos I heard the motion of lizards scurrying about.  Cliff Rose bloom outside my windows.  A bush I learned to love at the Grand Canyon with its sweet smelling blooms.

white Cliff Rose flowers & Metallic Woodborer bugs Skull Valley AZwhite Cliff Rose flowers & Metallic Woodborer bugs Skull Valley AZ

Flowers here open in the morning, bees pollinate, Metallic Woodborers eat the blooms and within an hour, the petals are gone.  More buds hold tight until the process repeats the next day, and the next…

trees boulders Raven birds Skull Valley AZLater it gets warm inside and while sitting outside reading in the afternoon shade I heard a raucous.  Sure enough, a murder of Ravens on nearby boulders appeared to be having flight lessons with the fledglings.  Sadly, way too far away for making videos.

reverse sunset clouds Skull Valley AZ

meadow trees sunset clouds Skull Valley AZAnd then a soft sunset.

cow yard Skull Valley AZMy desk window view is a micro-world of life from front row lizards and bovines, birds and bunnies on the other side of the berm, and beyond to deer and coyote, plus Turkey Vultures continuously kettling overhead.

Gamble Quail bird on mano Skull Valley AZAlthough I see two adult Quail several times every day their call back and forth is even more frequent.  Yet still haven’t seen any little ones, though I suspect they have a nest nearby, or maybe they’ve fledged.

white Cliff Rose flowers Skull Valley AZ

white Cliff Rose flower & Metallic Woodborer bug Skull Valley AZAnd every day, more Cliff Rose blooms to be eaten.  Can you see the metallic sparkle of this Metallic Woodborer?

The AC on my truck quit working last fall but I didn’t worry about it over the winter.  Now that the temperature is rising I thought about having it looked at.  Seems the AC compressor clutch is shot.  So now I get to decide if I can live without AC instead of spending the money on repair.  Only driving to town once a week at most doesn’t make this a high priority.

Gaelyn in tie dye chair Skull Valley AZ

afternoon shade view E Skull Valley AZView from my shady seat

Instead I’ll stay home making videos.  In fact, I made a video to introduce Geogypsy and share Herstory.  OMWow!  YouTube shared that video all over the place and so far it has 1.7k views.  I gained more subscribers too but am still working on the next 100 for the month of June.

And because I’m a retired Park Ranger, who is a national park junky, I read the National Park Service’s daily news releases.  It dawned on me that other people might be interested in some of this news, so…  I’m making videos of National Park Updates.  Wouldn’t you know it, the first one is about a woman gored by a bison at Yellowstone.  Wonder if anybody was making video of this touron.  I didn’t have to go to town this week so I’m happily staying home, watching wildlife, and making videos.

split-eared Jackrabbit Skull Valley AZ

split-eared Jackrabbit Skull Valley AZCheck it out, I thought this Jackrabbit had three ears.  Then I cropped the photo and see the ear is split.  Guess this bunny got lucky and got away.

          Might be the she bunny

Also appeared it was trying to “get lucky” with the other Jackrabbit within sight.

Arizona, Places I've been, Skull Valley, United States, YouTube videos , , 24 Comments

Days to play after going to town


Geogypsy

Thursday is town day, avoiding most working people’s weekend, and leaves me six days to play every week.  This retirement thing just might work out.  Especially if I only have to go to town every other week.  That’s my goal leaving more days to play.  I mean why is it, when I lived 2 1/2 hours from shopping I only went to town every 3-4 weeks, and now only 30 minutes away I go weekly.  Ugh.  Not my cup of tea.  Speaking of tea, note my new profile pic to match the rest of my struggling new Geogypsy brand on YouTube.  More about that coming.


Prickly Poppy Skull Valley AZ

Anyway, another reason for Thursday to town includes stopping at the dump weekly.  One 13 gallon bag, and sometimes something else, ranges from $1-$3, depending on who’s there or maybe a whim.  I don’t know.  It’s cheap enough.  That also being the southern direction for this town day about an hour away to Wickenburg.  It would be warmer 2200 feet lower in elevation so I took off early for me.

Prickly Poppies at the gate

repaving Iron Springs Rd Kirkland AZOf course the road is being resealed, it’s summer around here.  Stopped along the way at Peeples Valley Market and bought local ground beef plus filled the camper’s propane tanks to refrigerate my groceries for the return journey.  Drove through Yarnell and took video driving down the Yarnell Hill on SR89 because I’ve wanted to for a long time.  Haven’t shared yet.  Made a thrift store donation of—dare I say—outgrown clothes, and bought a couple summer tops and shorts.  I haven’t needed summer clothes in many years as I usually wore a uniform.  After stocking up groceries for an anticipated two weeks, I returned via Congress to meet Gypsy for lunch.  Two hours later, I discovered the local laundromat closed.  Minimal hand wash would get me through another week.

sunset clouds Skull Valley AZNice way to end a long day.

Sierra cat on desk Skull Valley AZFirst of six days to play often becomes a down day, recovery sort of from all the running around from town day.  I’m not entirely lazy as I work on the computer and online.  Why do I call it work?  Not used to retirement so I have personal work that I’m going to start calling play.  What the heck, nobody’s paying me to do this, yet.  I loved my work for so many years it’s a hard habit to break.  OK, I will admit to a lot of reading on the couch, with my feet elevated.  And thus, the only photo taken, from said couch.

sign Please Close GateBesides, the next morning was another early rise to beat the heat as I met Joann at the gate around 7am for a day trip in search of flowering cactus.

horses feeding fence mts AZJust the other side of Brushy Mountain from where I live, in the Lower Kirkland Valley a gravel sideroad caught our eyes.  We stopped regularly to take photos.  This is ranch country, horses and cattle.

Turkey Vulture birds perched Kirkland AZ

Turkey Vulture bird roosting Kirkland AZTurkey Vulture bird roosting Kirkland AZ

                                                                           Hello handsome

A wake of Turkey Vultures alerted us to a small wetland.  They perched at the top of mostly dead trees, some exposing stretched wings to the morning sun.  There was very little water.

Willows nursery log Kirkland AZGrowing out of a nursery tree

pink Desert willow tree flowers Kirkland AZYet enough to support the Desert Willow with showy blooms.

rd desert mts SR96 AZ

gate frames moon AZBack on pavement it was not long before a wide shoulder with a closed but not locked gate beckoned.  It appeared to be State Trust Land presumably “leased” to graze cattle. More about that in the video.

yellow Prickly Pear cactus flowers AZ

bee inside yellow Pickley Pear cactus flower SR96 AZbee inside yellow Pickley Pear cactus flower SR96 AZ

I was glad to see even sparse flowers on the Prickly Pear cactus though many were already gone.  Lots of pollinators doing their jobs.

cactus boulders SR96 AZ

Saguaro cactus flowers & buds AZWe continued westward, downhill through a curvy canyon noting the limited shoulder parking for the return drive.  Certainly in Saguaro country and just starting to flower.

gravel rd AZ

Santa Maria R AZAnother gravel sideroad drew us along 13 miles according to a sign, sometimes following the Santa Maria River/dry wash.  Almost turned around a couple times, but what’s just up ahead pulled us on.  Plus, even without looking at a map the direction would dump us onto a known highway.

broken windmill abandoned ranch Santa Maria R Rd AZSaguaro cactus buds Santa Maria R Rd AZ

Stopped at an abandoned ranch which I included in the video and saw more Saguaros covered with buds but only a few flowers.  Just a little early.

valley below Bagdad AZValley below Bagdad

Sure enough, we ended up on US93 and went north a short ways then looped back to SR96 and took a left to Bagdad for lunch.

cabin AZ

abandoned house desert AZTurned around and closed the loop with an additional stop for yet another abandoned building (again in the video).

wrinkled Saguaro cactus SR96 AZOnce back on the road towards home, thought I saw a cristate or crested-like Saguaro.  Located high above the road without a good place to park I merely snapped a few quick shots.  Once the images were on the computer and I could zoom in an extremely wrinkled cactus appeared.  I was told by a Sonoran Desert Ranger friend it’s a wannabe cristate.

It took nine hours to cover 180 miles of fun and still had four days of play left to my week.

Raven bird walking Skull Valley AZI spent the entire next day playing with photos and making a video of the previous day’s adventure.

trees boulders Skull Valley AZHad to balance out all that sitting at the computer so dragged my butt out for another early morning walk.

meadow trees boulders Skull Valley AZGone for 1 1/2 hours and barely walked half a mile.  I feel a little guilty even calling it a walk.  Especially as I’ve been watching two friends walk the 500 mile Camino de Santiago.  But for me this is good.  It would take me a lifetime to walk that far.

Cottonwoods Skull Valley AZWalked west through the gravel pit and to the big wash that had just a little bit of puddle water.

dead tree boulders Skull Valley AZOf course I took video and haven’t done anything with it, yet.  It’s an interesting balancing act carrying the big camera and using the phone for video, but I’m getting better at it.

Whiptail lizard Skull Valley AZWhiptail lizard

I am easily entertained by my window views and think I live in Lizard Land where there seems unlimited days to play.  So many different species.

Gamble Quail birds Skull Valley AZThe Gamble Quail strut by every morning, and if not within sight of each other call back and forth, and back and forth, and…  Repeat that show in the late afternoon.  Could be a nest nearby but I haven’t seen any little ones.  I continue to dream about summer travel.  Yet may have to be content with days to play on the ranch.  It’s not a bad place to be.

old car Skull Valley AZI know, I’m pushing the videos.  Trying hard to set some goals which include continued traveling on a limited Social Security income.  I didn’t plan for retirement because I figured I’d have to work until I die.  Seasonal employees for the National Park Service don’t earn retirement.  It was a trade off, but retirement reality is setting in.  I have skills and should be able to earn supplemental income doing what I love, travel, write, photograph, share stories, and now video.  So, I’ve taken on a new job called play.  And I’ll share more about that coming up.  In the meantime, I created another video introducing myself to the YouTube world.  And then ran out of days to play because it was Thursday, and you know what that means.  I didn’t make it two weeks between town runs because I HAD to get the laundry done.

Arizona, Bagdad, Kirkland, Places I've been, Skull Valley, United States , , , , , 25 Comments

Try to catch the moon and lunar eclipse

rocky outcrop Bradshaw Mts Skull Valley AZI watched the moon rise near home for almost a week before May’s full moon and lunar eclipse to get an idea where it would crest on the horizon.  Looked good for a rocky outcrop of the Bradshaw Mountains in the middle ground.  And then there were clouds.

waxing moon in clouds Skull Valley AZ

waxing moon in clouds Skull Valley AZFive nights before the full Flower moon and lunar eclipse, I sat outside before sunset, 70° with clouds floating overhead and the waxing moon peeking through.

Cottontail rabbit Skull Valley AZA cottontail watched me from nearby.

grass trees Brush Mt sunset clouds Skull Valley AZ

grass trees Brush Mt sunset clouds Skull Valley AZ

hillside sunset clouds Skull Valley AZ

The sky turned from gray to gold before a glorious goodnight.

The next day, heavy wind kept me inside working at the computer all day.  It felt cool and the nights low dropped below 40°.  No, it didn’t snow.  But the electricity went out for several hours and I didn’t even notice until opening the electric fridge for lunch.  Everything else in my RV home works fine with propane and batteries.  Thankfully power was restored before going to bed and I even ran a little heat.

I wanted to get an early start in the morning for chores starting with the dump then Prescott for shopping and maybe laundry.  The later didn’t happen as the tiny parking lot was too full to accommodate my big rig.  Not my favorite chore anyway and I still have clean clothes.  Have you ever discovered a new to you place that’s been there forever in an area you shop regularly?  When I go to Prescott I usually stay on the west side of town, it’s a huge town of 45 square miles with a population of 43,460 as of 2020.  And it continues to grow in all directions.  In fact, I think the sleepy ranch community of Skull Valley has become a bedroom community of Prescott.  Anyway, when I got to town hungry for breakfast I discovered a Dennys in the same parking lot as the Wallys I’ve shopped at for at least 15 years.  And guess what, it’s been there at least that long.  I don’t eat out often, or at this restaurant frequently, but I do like their breakfast.


new vacuum

Exchanged a mini-shop vac for a Dirt Devil upright that’s suppose to pick up pet hair.  Ha, ha.  No vacuum with a revolving brush isn’t going to become immoveable once wrapped with my hair and long cat fur.  I should know better.  Otherwise, it works well.


tie dye chair

 

 

 

Best buy of the day, a tie-dye looking camp chair.  A friend says they won’t be able to find me sitting in it because this ole hippie likes tie-dye clothing.  Ran into a Yarnell friend and we chatted in the aisle for almost an hour.  Maybe I should get out more.

 

Western Tanager bird Skull Valley AZ

Western Tanager probably migrating through

Naw, I’d rather stay home and watch the outdoor world.

Side-blotched lizard on matate Skull Valley AZAfter a day of shopping I stayed home.  Yet there’s plenty of activity as the daytime temperatures rise into the high 80s and the various lizards provide entertainment scurrying about.  I’m getting to know them by name, Fred, Ann, Wendy…  The side-blotched lizards put on the most colorful show in a rainbow of colors.  This shot is highly cropped and taken through a window.  It’s a regular hanging out on the metate decorating my yard.  Good thing I can be so easily amused at home because with the rising cost of fuel, especially the diesel I need, I won’t be going very far anytime soon.

almost full moon Skull Valley AZThe ranch even provides open and dark sky views to watch the moon and lunar eclipse, if there are no clouds.


Raven in tree top Skull Valley AZ

With the next day’s high pushing 90° outside, which means almost 100° in the RV, I took advantage of the cool morning to work inside on the computer.  I find myself spending way more time with editing video thrown into the mix of processing still photos and writing blog posts.  I enjoy it.  I’m trying not to run the noisy and expensive AC but have fans moving the air around.  I just don’t like AC but if I’m here for the summer will have to get used to it.  I’ve been trying to change my sleeping pattern by going to bed an hour earlier and gain the chill time in the morning.  Fortunately, with a late afternoon breeze and shade I can sit outside in my new chair reading and once again watching the world.  I learned that from Raven.

bushes tree moon rise Skull Valley AZ

bushes tree moon Skull Valley AZ

tree moon Skull Valley AZLater, I moved around just a bit playing with the moon, knowing there would still be plenty of light for hand-held shooting with an iconic clear blue Arizona sky.

The next morning started off cool inside but warmed quickly and by 8:30 all windows and the door were open.  Then closed again just before noon when I turned on the AC and continued to work on the video 5th-wheel tour.


curled grass Skull Valley AZ

May 15th, opening day for the North Rim Grand Canyon I felt a little homesick.  Sure hope I can make it up there at some point this summer.  Heck, if the temperatures here climb over 100° I may move in the truckcamper to the 8000’ Kaibab National Forest and become a hermit there.  I can move every 14 days with amazing views along the rim.

trees clouds Skull Valley AZ

grass brush clouds Skull Valley AZI did manage to get outside in the afternoon and watched the clouds dance and flow.  Something I love, but not on the evening of a full moon and lunar eclipse.

sunset clouds Skull Valley AZ

17b DSL_1749leccwfbr Coyote Skull Valley AZ g-5A little privacy please

Jackrabbit Skull Valley AZ

What’s up doc?

As I stood on the berm in my yard watching the sunset I saw a coyote and jackrabbit giving me the eye.

Bradshaw Mts full moon rise Skull Valley AZ

cloudy penumbral lunar eclipse Skull Valley AZSadly, low clouds on the horizon blocked the first rise as the moon entered the Earth’s shadow.

moon & lunar eclipseThen it rose above the clouds close to totality giving a glimpse of the dim red known as a Blood moon and lunar eclipse.  So fortunate to see this much before clouds covered the whole show.  That’s as far as I saw until a late-night glow filled the 5th-wheel as I went to bed.

Sierra on arm desk Skull Valley AZOf course the next day I had lots of photos to process with the help of my assistant.  So I once again stayed inside and turned on the AC in the afternoon.  I’m not getting outside to walk enough.  A dear friend suggested I change my morning pattern more than just up an hour earlier.

fence line Skull Valley AZSo the next day I set the alarm for 6:30am, dressed, grabbed the camera and a bottle of water, and out the door I went for a walk on the ranch.  Walked the eastern fence line, made a left and started to climb a hill along the northern fence but too much brush, so turned around.  I walked sauntered about 3/4 mile in an hour taking pictures along the way.

Jackrabbit Skull Valley AZ

cattle fence meadow Skull Valley AZStartled lots of bunnies, saw Blackie with another cow, and listened to the birds.

Not a lot of wildlife but did see a lot of track and scat.  Then back for coffee at about the time I’d normally wake up.  And I did it again the following day, taking and making a video.  Will I walk every morning like that?  Probably not.  I’m not that disciplined.  But with summer days getting warmer I will keep trying to get up earlier, and some mornings get out and walk.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Sometimes posting a week behind is confusing, writing in the past tense, double that with video which is more NOW.

I’m already tired of staying home and feeling itchy feet but high fuel prices is like having severe blisters so can’t go anywhere.  Heck I’d think about returning to work at high elevation, but I really don’t have time.  Besides it’s more fun to make a video exploring with a friend.

The next full moon and lunar eclipse visible in Arizona occurs November 8, 2022.  I’m thinking about a meetup in the desert.  How about you?

Arizona, eclipse, full moon, Places I've been, Skull Valley, United States , 26 Comments

Lijit

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