The Wandering Minstrel

I reckon that we were only five and a half hours past the solstice on the first day of summer when I took this photo of the time and temperature atomic clock on our patio. At 3:46 PM, or so, the temperature hit just on the slightly high side of 107° here in Wickenburg, Arizona. I’d say summer is off to a good start in our town.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The Better Half and I are used to the warm temperatures; we used to own a time-share in Palm Desert, California and were the only one of the four families in the group that stayed there during the summers. We rather enjoy the desert temperatures and, in fact, we spent most of the afternoon on the patio reading and enjoying the back yard.

Regardless of our tolerance for the warm temperatures, we are looking forward to having the new spa installed later this month or early in July. A nice dip in the water (without the heater or bubbles) seems like it will be refreshing.

The Better Half and I took a ride a few days ago. Our route took us to the north and east of town driving past ranches and farms. Twice along the route, we crossed the Hassayampa River. The “raging” Hassayampa isn’t as dry as it looks, though. The river flows along the bedrock below the river bed and flows on the surface south of town where the bedrock is close to the surface.

Clickable image courtesy of The Better Half - Looking south towards town with the Vulture Mountains in the distance and Vulture Peak at the far right.

This area used to be one of the places the nomadic Yavapai Indians dwelled as they wandered between seasonal agricultural and hunting sites. I’m reading a book about the history of this area and find it to be very interesting to learn about our chosen retirement town’s past and culture.

I don’t usually post flora and fauna pix, but today, The Better Half caught this nice (clickable) photo of one of the cardinals that are frequently seen in our back yard on his way from the mesquite tree to the seed block that she hangs near the patio. We have seen at least two pairs of cardinals contending for the goodies that The Better Half hangs out for most takers. We shoo the greedy cowbirds away to leave the munchings to pretty birds like this.

The Better Half snapped this (clickable) photo of a sign along a scenic route north of town today. It appears that some folks get their target practice on public property.

C’mon guys - stay classy. The sportsmen’s club is more than happy to have you shoot at their facility.

By the way, click the image to see how beautiful the scenic route is.

The Better Half and I spent most of the day today watching the critters and birds that populate our backyard. She took this (clickable) photo of one of our neighbors, a rock squirrel. I have heard about squirrels storing nuts, but this little guy is taking it to extremes.

My project over the past couple of days has been installing some solar garden lights along both sides of the drive leading to the RV pad behind the patio at the new house. The Better Half and I went to the local discount store and bought sixteen light stakes to illuminate the path after dark. I finished installing them Tuesday and they look great after dark.

The RV pad itself can be illuminated by floodlights on the patio roof but we’re not always sure that they will be turned on so the new solar lights will be available to guide our RV (or someone else’s) to the pad. Full hookups are available back there since we asked our contractor to provide for that during construction. Clickable image.

We had beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures today. I broke out a couple of beef tenderloin steaks today and grilled up a feast that included the tenderloins smothered in mushrooms, roasted potato wedges, asparagus, Brussels sprouts and grilled squash. Damn - this was good eats. The Better Half tended to the veggies and I took on the steaks. Clickable image.

Not much to discuss today except that this was a delicious Mustard and Maple Syrup Pork Loin Roast. On our fourth 80+ degree blue skies day in a row, we thought outdoor cooking to be in order. Clickable Image.