Winter-into-Spring... and it's already Summer!!

Oh, my goodness! (That’s OMG, isn’t it?) We’re enjoying our spring-into-summer seasons in Clarkston, WA, where we spent a lovely spring last year. This spring was chillier and rainier, but you get what you get, and now it’s summer. How time flies! It’s been so long since I posted anything I thought I’d share some winter-into-spring musings along with some photos of sights around the part of Arizona where we’ve stayed the last four winters. (I’ll share some of our more current experiences and pic’s from this area very soon.) For those who checked the earlier blog & photos about our kitty experiences, we're kitty-less as Eartha didn't work out. Oh, well. Onwards and upwards or whatever.

When we're at Eagle View RV Resort at Fort McDowell, AZ, on the Yavapai Nation Reservation, we’re in the Sonoran desert away from lots of buildings and walls common in that area, but close enough to everything you can imagine with the town of Fountain Hills a few minutes away and Scottsdale only a few minutes further. If it gets too hot we can hop in the car for a trip to a higher, cooler elevation. We were fortunate enough to get the best site in the resort for the last three years, and when we step out our door we see Four Peaks (part of a nearby mountain range) to the East, framed between a couple of scrappy trees. That view and others are part of the draw to the area. Some people come for the gambling at the casino owned by this tribe, but we prefer the mountains and all the great sightseeing and day-trip offerings, even though we’re mostly homebodies. Cross the road and you can take a nice walk in the desert but not get lost. This year southern Arizona was quite a bit wetter and cooler than normal with unusual amounts of rain that moved across the country as nasty storms that many of you experienced. When it rained, the mountains would be frosted with snow and we’d wake up to frost on the car, inspiration for many pictures. The Verde River, out of sight but right behind us, flowed much higher than usual. Daytime temps remained comfortable, although too chilly for me to sit outside and bird watch and read.

Being sunny (most of the time) Arizona, swimming pools beckon those who don’t mind the chilly winter air or are willing to stay in the heat. Ellen Meloy wrote in The Anthropology of Turquoise that she always wished her father would stop at motels with swimming pools, which didn’t happen, whenever they were on a summer vacation. I remember one summer trip when we didn’t have to beg our dad to do that; he enjoyed a dip as much as my sister and I did that year. At any rate, I couldn’t help but laugh at a motel sign across from the RV dealership where we had some work done. The sign lit as dusk was settling like a cloak, a shapely woman taking the plunge to a pool that no longer exists. She’d make a small splash, then start her exercise again, burning non-existent calories lighting that sign until well after I stopped watching. With all the big chain motels along the highways, you rarely see that kind of advertisement.

While we were away from Eagle View last summer, the tribe removed almost all the shrubbery behind our RV (and the other RV spaces along our row) and paved the space with pink gravel. All the rocks and wildflowers were covered over, very strange to come home to such different scenery. They decided to take this action because of “Heidi’s snakes”… the huge rattlesnakes we saw last January. My sister, Bobbe, brought them to my attention behind and between our rigs, two huge guys doing a twisty kind of dance and then thumping to the ground, only to begin again. I took off for the office to have Sandy call for the “snake patrol” (two firemen arriving in their big red engine and armed with a long pole and a tub with screw-on lid) while Gary started taking pictures. The snake patrol remarked they’d never picked up any snakes that large, never in late January, never had more than one at a time much less three… the third hiding in the scrubby shrubbery, waiting for the guys to decide which was the king of the pit; thus we should play the lottery if we thought we’d ever enjoy that sight again. Anyway, the cleaned up area has its good points and not-so-good ones as well. It was nice to take chairs behind the RV for shade when the afternoons got too hot and the shade shifts. Dog walkers liked the area not available to them earlier, although cleanup didn’t always happen. Some folks thought that area was now an off-road drive having been a rocky, scrubby area that no one would have thought of as a trail to anywhere. (They have to enter the area between RVs and exit near us or vice versa. There’s no vehicular entrance, nor anything that resembles one.) One guy was racing his little black car along the fence, looking for what I don’t know. One plump, aging couple drove their truck back and forth looking for eagles. Really. They never saw them; you’ve just gotta get out of the truck and sit back a while (or stand at the fence) to watch the fishing expeditions as the bald eagles sweep up and down the river. The birds don’t just fly by and pose because we want them to do that!

Shortly before we left AZ in April, I was trimming my grass with scissors (won’t let the Yavapai spray my “wild flowers”) and came upon a baby rattlesnake curled against a big rock. I backed away before it woke up, hidden by the grass as it had been. When I returned to my garden after raking and removing the clipped grass, it had moved on… perhaps to a different part of my rock-pile of a garden, perhaps to a different neighborhood I hoped. It came out again when I was watering my flower pot garden, so the snake patrol was called again, and the one little snake reluctantly left the neighborhood in the big canister. Not quite as exciting as the previous year, but there's never a dull moment! It’ll be interesting to see what changes the tribe makes while we’re gone compared to last summer’s changes. It’s for sure I won’t be moving rocks to decorate our space once I bring a few potted plants home!

Going from the wet winter to a glorious spring, we enjoyed the beauty of the blooming desert as a result of all the moisture. Spring ’08 was similar and we were here longer, taking pictures as if our lives depended on them. Watching flower buds develop and open has always been fascinating, and there was no disappointment with all the new flowers we’d never seen. We enjoyed seeing various lizards, feeding hummingbirds and other feathered friends, although not as many as before… perhaps because of less cover? The hawks circled regularly, especially when Eagle View had a lot dog show visitors; the small ones left outside looked very inviting to those hawks! We didn’t witness any dog snatchings, but heard stories.
We were able to enjoy the strenuous hill walks in Fountain Hills after Gary’s ankle healed enough to tackle more than the level ground at the RV park. This year the hikes were easier for me than before, yay! and the views from the ridge where you can look to Four Peaks, Mount Ord and off to the Superstitions in one direction and other mountains beyond the town to the other, well, everyone should be so fortunate. We enjoyed visiting the botanic gardens in Phoenix as well as to Boyce Thompson Arboretum, always well worth the day trip. As before at Eagle View, we had time to renew old acquaintances and meet new people, share moon-rises with them (including a blue moon), read, bead, sew, go to car shows, enjoy music and so on. It’s a good lifestyle. We hope you enjoy the photo albums. Share with others if you like.

The photo albums:
Winter Musings: http://picasaweb.google.com/NotesOnWings/WinterMusings
Spring in the Sonoran Desert: http://picasaweb.google.com/NotesOnWings/SpringInTheSonoranDesert

Remember to visit http://cdbaby.com/cd/GaryWingerd if you want a copy of Gary’s CD or to get one for a friend. His music is also available through iTunes, amazon.com, and many other places on the internet.

Kitty Friends

Our dearling Precious went to kitty heaven a week and a half ago. She was my indoor-outdoor cat, then our indoor-only for 17 years collectively. She became the traveling companion, enjoying the sights when we'd hook up, once in a while making a quick escape out the door only to return as fast as she could; she'd lost any desire to explore new outdoorsy places. We thought we could live without a feline presence, but we were both at a loss for that special cat "thing." We should probably have our heads examined, as we'd said "no more pets" not terribly long ago. But, we're cat people; it's just difficult to be without a cat underfoot at our kitchen or by the front door while we're trying to get in or out and the cat's doing the opposite... and definitely in bed where one of us (moi) might prefer no more fur up the nose while attempting to snuggle with a human rather than having a kitty in the middle. I mean, the kitty messiness isn't really a problem in itself. Duuuuhhhhhhhhhhh. So Gary went online to the McPaws shelter just outside McCall, so many cats and kittens from which to choose! We went for a visit and enjoyed meeting a couple of longhairs that would have turned the RV into a rolling fur ball rather than home, beautiful and affectionate as they both were. Then we found Eartha, a 4-year-old (best guess) part Siamese girl. We can't figure out why Eartha has no home, as she'd been declawed and spayed. She enjoyed our attention, petting and chin rubbies, but didn't like being around other cats/kittens. She has a wicked lioness growl, the loudest and most sincere that either of us have ever heard from a house cat when we brought her into the "playroom" at the shelter with another interesting kitty. We brought her home last Saturday. It took just a couple of minutes for her to try to find a way out of a bedroom corner at the edge of a slide-out. She did a bit of poking around and then discovered the awesome air bed. She loves the water "fountain" dish where the water's filtered constantly; terribly thirsty, she's drinking all the time it seems. We think she may have gotten a bit dehydrated at the shelter where she also picked up a cold, so we hope that passes soon. Having had an accident the first evening, she spent that night enclosed with the litter box in the bathroom. She meowed a few times and was quite for the night. We thought she'd be bursting (meowing and full bladder), but no pawprints or "gifts" in the litter box. Next morning she finally decided using the litter box was a good idea. Yay! Out came the treats, and she's had the run of the house since. She loves to be close to either of us, sleeping between us, and is napping a lot... extra since she's not feeling too spiffy. She reminds us a bit of Precious, almost as if Kitty-1 sent us to get Kitty-2. She has a quiet purr that starts the instant you touch her, happy to be immersed in love. She seems very well-behaved, waiting nicely for a bit of chicken or salmon, yum! Many thanks to everyone for their kind words of concern for our loss of Precious and congratulations on our gain with Eartha. Happy campers again, we are. See Precious and Eartha in these two little albums:
Remembering Precious: http://picasaweb.google.com/NotesOnWings/RememberingPrecious#
Eartha Kitt-y: http://picasaweb.google.com/NotesOnWings/EarthaKittY#

McCall, ID July and August, 2009

We're enjoying summer this year not roaming around a lot, but staying put a month here, a couple months there. We arrived at the McCall RV Resort early in July, having left Clarkston, WA, before it started to heat up too much. We love being able to move to where the weather's more moderate than not. We had stayed here for a week our first summer "out" when we were going everywhere we could throughout the summer, meeting friends, seeing as many National Parks and Monuments as Gary planned into our adventures.

We're parked in a sunny setting right on the North Fork of the Payette River. The scenery is fantastic, and we have late afternoon shade from huge pines that provide a wonderful place to sit and read, watch birds, enjoy the river movement. We always have good neighbors, always.

When we arrived, the meadow across the river was filled with wildflowers that are now fading, although it's not a dreary view by any stretch of the imagination. There's a small bridge frequented by fisher people (men, boys, women, girls, dogs, birds) and walkers (myself included) who cross to follow paths throughout the meadow. Glance into the river to enjoy the colors of the rocks and emerald green algae, fish, and various other critters. The tree swallows and violet green swallows work the area for small bugs while osprey and kingfishers are checking from loftier heights for their next meal. A couple of osprey chicks call out as they fish or land in a huge pine, something to the effect of "feed me, I'm hungry." It's not long before an adult (not much different in size or coloring) joins the fledgeling to help direct the activity or request. Western bluebirds abound, and we see yellow birds, presumably lesser goldfinches, along with others. From time to time I see the floaters and bobbers, actually cormorants that float along and then dive under the water, swim a while, then pop up like bobbers. The hatchlings were particularly amusing, reminding me of the yellow rubber duckies we've all enjoyed (maybe still do?).

Did I mention the fragrance in the air? There's a mix of the crisp pine and spruce along with wildflowers that are impossible to pinpoint, but would be an encouraging mix for a perfumer! Kevin, the owner of the RV park described the orange-y fragrance of engleman spruce which I have yet to find. The wildflowers are abundant and changing. New ones show up continually. It's no wonder it's difficult to pin down any specific fragrance.

McCall is central to all sorts of outdoor sports from skiing and snowmobiling in the winter to hiking, boating, rafting, fishing in the summer. The town is small, on the edge of Payette Lake where you'll find a nice beach and boating opportunities galore. The two grocery stores offer sporting goods, clothing and shoes, and all manner of things you wouldn't find in grocery stores back East! There are interesting specialty shops and dining opportunities, our favorites being The Pancake House (great breakfasts and terrific homemade soups) and Ruperts (wonderful lunches) at the McCall Hotel where you can sit on the patio and enjoy the lake view.

More soon. Time for a bit of a walk for me. Visit our photo album showing some of the sights, including magnificent homes, at http://picasaweb.google.com/NotesOnWings/McCallIDSummer2009

Cheers then...

Getting off the ground

Memories on the go, it's long past time to share with family and friends the places we've been, things we've seen, experiences we've had. Lengthy newsy-letters are no longer happening, thus a bit of a blog. Since I didn't start this when we first went "on the road" almost three years ago, it won't be in any sequential order. That said... Enjoy!