September 1, 2013

September 1, 2013

Dear Friends and Family – 

I didn’t need a calendar this spring to tell me when we’d been here a year; the spindly Ocotillos waved their fluffy orange hands to remind me.  In that year, we completed our basement and added a 10 X 24 addition which greatly expands our tiny living area.  While Chuck and Travis (our neighbor/helper) work on painting and other finishing touches, I’m haunting the thrift and Habitat for Humanity stores for cabinets and other furniture. 

My other interest is in gardening and the guys made a large elevated container with screen shading for me on top of a cement slab in back of the garage.  Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that the full-timers start their produce gardens here in February – so the few things I tried to establish by seed pretty much burned and died under the scorching sun.  I learned that the type of gardening which works here is called xeriscaping.  Xeriscaping refers to a method of landscape design that minimizes water use.

Cacti are one of the low-water-consuming plants used in Xeriscaping. Almost all plants are planted in a depression that is lower than the surrounding ground to maximize the water they receive and rocks are often placed around them to deter animals. 

I was advised to look for plants that have a silver colored cast to them; don’t know why that makes them better candidates but it seems to be true.  Also, to my surprise, cacti for transplant come with directions.  By that, I mean that before a cactus is transplanted, they mark the direction it faced as it grew.  When you move it (usually with an old piece of hose wrapped around it to avoid the needles), you plant it facing the same direction.  I bought a huge Ocotillo from Home Depot and read that the twist in the wire (that held the limbs together) indicated that side should face South.  Oleanders and Bougainvillea offer colorful relief with much more of a mid-west feel.                                   

One of the things that mystified me for a long time was the pervasive smell of the land, which became really noticeable when it rained.  Via the internet, this was eventually explained as the odor of the creosote bush.  http://phoenix.about.com/cs/desert/a/creosote.htm

“The leaves of the creosote bush are coated with a resin to prevent water loss in the hot desert. The resin of the creosote bush also protects the plant from being eaten by most mammals and insects. It is believed that the bush produces a toxic substance to keep other nearby plants from growing. Creosote bushes are very long lived, many of them existing for one hundred years, and can grow to a height of 15 feet. There is one living creosote bush that is estimated to be nearly 12,000 years old!...

The creosote plant was a virtual pharmacy for Native Americans and the steam from the leaves was inhaled to relieve congestion. It was also used in the form of a medicinal tea to cure such ailments as flu, stomach cramps, cancer, coughs, colds, and others.”

I think that I’ll wait for any end-of-time events to try that cure. 

We’ve seen a lot of animals that are new to us as well – from the scorpions, to tarantulas, a variety of lizards, gila monsters and snakes to the larger hawks, coyotes, javelina, and a few wandering free-range cattle.  The animal has caused us the most joy/frustration, however, is our adopted Weimaraner daughter, Madison (Maddie).

We had fully intended to be home this summer but I had a full-blown case of sciatica and was in too much pain to travel.  My right knee, which has now been diagnosed as “crumbling” from osteonecrosis (same problem I had with the left) has also slowed me down.  I’m actually happy to be having surgery this month at Mayo in Scottsdale.  I’m thinking about going to a rehab center afterwards so stopped in for a tour.  Clean? check; good rehab dept? check; nice atmosphere? check; coffee? Free Starbucks throughout the day! Where do I sign up?

It was a good thing we decided to stay put as – much to his surprise - they found that Chuck had a heart “flutter.”  He underwent ablation where they froze a tiny section of his heart and he was out the next day.  He seems to have stabilized and I’m thankful that the risk of tachycardia is, at least for now, resolved.

Even Maddie had a trip to the ER.  I was in town with the truck when Chuck called to say that Maddie wasn’t responding normally.  I raced home like a madman (notice that I retain the gender for this word) and we both were concerned that there was something neurological going on.  We then raced back into town with her (a 45 minute trip) to the 24 hour veterinarian clinic.  Of course, about 10 minutes before we arrived she perked up and became her obnoxious self.  We decided that we should go ahead with the exam anyway, and a hundred plus dollars later got the “everything checks out” report.  We wondered if she could have gotten into the poisonous oleander leaves.  Someone else said she might have encountered a Colorado River Toad. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_toad   Eeek!  Another hazard to watch for.

Even though we didn’t make it home, we want you to know that we are thinking of you and enjoy seeing your updates on Facebook and e-mails.

All our best –

Vicki and Chuck

October 9, 2012

Don’t turn the Coffee on…until the Antenna is Down! Some of my friends are urging me to write a book. “You could make a lot of money” they say. Ha ha…Really? It always seemed to me that this is just the way my life is. But now I’m flirting with the idea and possible titles come to mind such as “Don’t turn the Coffee on…until the Antenna is Down” referring to our never-ending electronic issues or “Coup de Gracie (Allen).” Don’t hesitate to forward your suggestion if you feel inspired. The time we spent at home really flew by. We reconnected with Judy and Andy Herr, Jan and Vince Martin and Karl Redell as well as Chuck's cousins Carol,Cindy and Outlaw Jack Weigel. Chuck was pretty much sidelined by sciatica due to spinal stenosis - the same problem that drove me to surgery. He was able to get in two cortisone shots before we left which helped greatly. In the meantime, I was able to catch up with: my sister Jessie; two neices - Carm and Jaimie; friends Barb Schmidt, Carol Ketter Rosen and Dianne Schabarker Michael among others. The October 2012 RV trip back to AZ was far different from earlier travels. For one thing, Chuck wanted to take a work table and two work stations back to “the bunker.” These were disassembled, and the RV dining table was cleared and lowered to accommodate all of the heavy, awkward pieces. We also packed extra dehydrated foods and another most unusual category of items - reloading equipment. The powders, primers, casings and specially manufactured device used to fill almost every type of bullet. This is a top trade item according to Prepper Modlin. In addition, we loaded Chuck’s favorite (massive) chair which was retrieved from the basement by dividing it into two sections. The chair and numerous other items filled the couch. While Chuck was making the all-important last trip to Costco prior to departure, I was trying to secure all of this with clothesline which wasn’t easy - as the handles on the upper and lower compartments were about all I had to run the line through. With all of this extra weight on the left side, I was concerned about using our slide. If we put it out, would we be able to get it back in? and, if we couldn’t get it back in.…then what?? I made the executive decision that we would leave the slide in place for the entire trip – knowing that this meant that I would have to twist my neck watching TV from the front seat for a week. The first incident occurred when I drove into a gas station to fill up. When my Dad was teaching me to drive, he always said don’t worry about the back end…it will follow where the front end goes. It doesn’t quite work that way with RVs. I DID clear that steel stanchion with the front end. Just didn’t look back and down. Never even knew there was a problem until Chuck went out to pump and started shouting my name to come look. What was his problem? The problem was that the middle of the RV was smack dab against the stanchion and the stanchion was winning. Fortunately, we’ve had so many bigger issues that this teeny tiny little crease in the compartment was like spit in a bucket - even if it did spoil our momentary dent-free status. The next issue that arose was that gauges showed no oil pressure. I would never have noticed it and would have driven on without a care. As my father used to say, “you girls would drive a car until the tires fell off.” So true. When Chuck took over driving, however, he zeroed in on the problem immediately. We’d had the oil changed right before we left so there was a concern that some mishap had occurred in that process. All of the other gauges read normal (which Chuck confirmed with our Cummins QC1000 diagnostic device) however, so we knew that we weren’t overheating. We pulled into the old, and sadly familiar, garage in Gallup, NM where they inspected it and couldn’t find the cause. So – Chuck called the Fleetwood folks and learned that either a wire was broken or the gauge was bad. We could continue without repair or worry for the time being and the mechanics finished up just in time for us to have a quick lunch with Navajo Ranger Stan Milford, a dear friend that we met through our MUFON work. After lunch, we continued on to the Meteor Crater in AZ – something we’d kept missing as we criss-crossed the West. This gave us a day of leisure prior to meeting another great friend, former Navajo Ranger, Jon Dover, in Flagstaff. This led to the next disaster which apparently – even though I wasn’t at the wheel at the time – was ALL my fault. We’d had lunch with Jon and his family at the very nice America Inn in Flagstaff – which Jon had picked as there was room for RV parking. Unfortunately, I left my credit card there and this is where things started to really go South. We went back to pick the card up and as we were leaving, Chuck approached the portico at the entrance – the entrance which held a dirty little secret. The sign over the portico gives the heighth clearance BUT what it doesn’t say is that the next overhead beam is lower than the first one. Advancing because he felt confident that we’d cleared, we were shocked to hear a very loud and distinctive WHACK! made by our satellite dish hitting the second beam. It took approximately a half-hour to back the RV out, borrow the Inn’s ladder to get up on the roof and inspect the damage. The dish was loose but still connected to the wiring. Liberal amounts of duct tape and clothesline were applied to secure the dish. We weren’t very far down the road before it was clear that the dish had escaped -despite all of Chuck's efforts to fasten it down. That roadside scenery pull-off sure was welcome but now what? Without a small ladder to get him up to the point where the ladder starts on the back of the RV, it was too difficult for Chuck to go up. With one foot on the dolly and Chuck’s shoulder to gain stability, I was able to get on the ladder and very, very gingerly climb to and across the top in pretty solid winds. I now needed to cut the wiring to the dish. Despite my personal EE’s advice that there was no way I could get shocked, I closed my eyes as I cut each wire. After that, all that was left was to (not so) gracefully lower it over the side on clothesline. Gee – those things are pretty heavy! We stashed the dish in the car and were ready to get back on the road. The Coup de Gracie of our trip was, however, still ahead. We pulled off the road where we were to meet our friend/helper Travis. The plan was to transfer the heavy/bulky items to Travis' truck before we started the trip in on dirt roads/trails. As we left pavement, we went over what seemed like a moderate bump and all hell broke loose. I hadn't yet taped down the cabinets and something (a pickle jar or who knows what) went flying...marked by a loud crash. I went back to look and absolutely could not comprehend what I was looking at - hundreds of pieces of what looked like black glass...couldn't figure out where it came from until Chuck noted that the glass front of the oven was gone! That's a part we'll never ever find again. We transferred the desired items and continued in on the road that Travis had gone over with a backhoe. We thought it went pretty well until - to our surprise - we surveyed the RV body at the end of the trip. Once again, part of the back bumper had ripped out. In summary: We’ve landed in AZ. Total damage this trip....satellite dish, couple of broken cabinet doors, crease in lower compartment, wrecked oven door, back bumper realignment. Number of days of life left in the RV = dwindling!

August 19, 2012 - Chuck's Birthday!

The plan was for us to complete work on the house and return in June….so I’d set up a June MUFON meeting in Wisconsin, featuring Richard Dolan – famous for his authoritative writings on UFO historical events. The plan and reality, however, didn’t mesh so I left Chuck behind and flew home. This gave me time to visit with Barb Schmidt, Mareta and Bob Prill and Pat and Richard Olson – so nice to catch up. It also gave me time to have my dentist analyze the botched dental work I had done in AZ – which caused an opposing tooth to crack in half. The tooth will have to be pulled and an implant installed in its place. I just HATE it when I lose original parts. . Chuck was still in the cement-pouring process when I left. Whenever we have services come onto “the Ranch” (as the area is called), one of us has to drive out to the paved road (20 minutes) and lead them back out to our property. One time, after leading a new cement truck driver in over the bumpy roads and trails, he gave us a studied look and asked “Are you two in the witness protection program or what?” On one occasion, the guys had a blow-out on one of the walls causing cement to seep out – an expensive and messy event. I was out leading a second cement truck in when it happened and hastened to the edge of the bunker to see for myself. I looked down and didn’t recognize the figure in the hat, up to their calves in cement – shoveling like mad. It was our good friend Marsha (Travis’ mother) who’d rushed over to help. I couldn’t believe it; Marsha is almost our age…what a woman, what a good friend! . I really thought I was going to stay home in Wisconsin for the summer. When Chuck told me that a production company was coming out to the desert to film him, however, I couldn’t miss that and flew back. We expected that the interview would take place in the house. To our surprise, they spent 6 hours outside, in the bunker and in the RV (where they didn’t want to run the air conditioner due to the sound). It was 106 degrees out! They kept handing Chuck paper towels to dab the sweat from his face. The chief cameraman was from Waukesha and he was struggling with the heat as well. We hope that at least some of the footage makes it to TV – will definitely let you know if it does. I felt like the “water boy” running glasses of cold water back and forth. One of the first items Chuck bought for the house was a water cooler, which I thought was totally unnecessary. Proved to be invaluable - as our water from the almost 800 foot well comes out of the tap at 81.7 degrees! . The annual MUFON Symposium was held in Cincinnati this year and since Chuck was teaching, I was finally able to pull him away from AZ. The trip was not uneventful. On the second day of driving, Chuck noticed a truck driver’s signal for us to pull over. He hadn’t even realized it but one of the tires on the car dolly had blown – leaving only shreds of string remaining. We were in nowheresville and the issue turned out not to be getting someone out to help us but getting someone out to help us that had that particular tire. Having the internet onboard is invaluable in this type of situation! Chuck’s ESP must have been working because he tried to buy two tires but they only had one. On day three, I was driving and noticed for a second or two that the car dolly wheel seemed to be wobbling more than usual and poof…the other tire blew in a puff of smoke, taking the fender with it. We cooled our heels in nowheresville#2 for three hours while waiting for help. We think that the months of sitting out unprotected in the AZ sun must have harmed the tires and will take precautions against this when we return. Our big tires cost about $600 so you know we’re going to be covering those. . The Symposium is always a good time to connect with people that we talk to and e-mail throughout the year. Travis Walton was one of the main speakers, and even though this was the third time I’ve heard him, I was impressed and moved again by his story. Travis is the logger that was out in the woods in 1975 with 6 other guys when they saw a light. They thought it might be a fire or hunters and drove towards the light to investigate. To their amazement, they found an unidentified craft hovering over the forest. Travis, the intellectual of the group, got out of the truck to get a better look when he was struck, picked up and thrown backwards, by a beam emanating from the object. His companions were scared to death and took off. They went down the road a ways until their conscience got the better of them, then went back to see if Travis was dead or needed help. When they arrived back at the site, Travis was nowhere to be found. Travis was gone for 5 days. The local police suspected foul play and that he had been murdered by his fellow loggers. Five days later, Travis awoke at the side of the road outside of town. He and his companions have taken and passed two sets of polygraph tests which showed no deception. Travis’ remarkable story is found in the book and movie “Fire in the Sky.” And where, you might ask, did this event take place?ARIZONA! . The trip to Wisconsin from Cincinnati was further complicated by lengthy stops at two truck garages and over $4,000 of repairs. I don’t even want to go there except to say that Chuck always seems to be the one who has to contact the Fleetwood RV expert and obtain schematics in order to diagnose the problem. ARRGGH#@!$$%# . We finally made it to the Wisconsin State Fair RV Park where we hope to sit, without incident, for at least a month. Although we miss the desert, it’s so great to be home!

May 10, 2012

As the orange fluffs on the Ocotillos started fading, the stately Saquaro took center stage. Short, pudgy finger-like protuberances started to appear at the ends of the Saquaro’s head and arms. The “fingers” eventually produced the Saguaro’s magnificient white, waxy flower. (I made several attempts to photograph them – but it’s just not possible to get good pictures unless you’re willing to haul a ladder around.) After about a month or so, the abundant flowers on the end of the “fingers” started to develop into ruby red buds. They remind me of the hooked, painted fingers that you see on turntables in so many nail salons. The buds will turn into fruit but again, without a ladder….. …we’ll have to settle for fruit cocktail! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro On the harsher side of desert living, we’ve seen quite a few tarantula hawks. These insects, with bright orange wings, have nothing whatsoever to do with birds. It’s a wasp that paralyzes tarantulas in order to lay an egg in it. The sting of the tarantula hawk is considered one of the worst possible – fortunately, they usually leave humans alone. Ugghh…don’t read this over dinner: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula_hawk I knew attitude adjustment day was coming….and it finally arrived. Travis, our neighbor across the mountain, is our right-hand man whose special expertise is operating a back hoe. Very handy! In any event, I had asked him where the broom was and he went to find it. With the pouring of the cement for our back porch, we’d slipped into a false feeling of security out there. When I heard Travis’ urgent call for Chuck, however, I knew something was up. I ran to the door where I could see Travis pinning a huge, bad-ass snake up against our barbecue station with the broom. This was the day I’d been practicing for - so I grabbed my Beretta and headed out the door. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed; Travis reminded me that the interloper was near a propane tank so snakeshot definitely wasn’t the preferred mode of execution. Travis told Chuck to get the garden spade but by the time Chuck made it back, Travis had done the deed with a piece of iron pipe (in the conservatory). I tried not to think too much about it during the rest of the day…don’t think about the rattle of the tail…don’t think about the huge gaping mouth with needle sharp fangs…don’t think about what you’d have done if you were alone…don’t think about the fact that Travis’ mom, my friend Marsha, said it was the largest snake she’d seen in her 23 years of desert living. \ The Western Diamond Back rattler…don’t even think about it. Disclaimer: There was absolutely no connection with this incident and my departure for home two days later. You can still come out to visit – we have “off-snake” season here. Vic

April 3, 2012

Poof! Overnight, the Ocotillo have bloomed and when the wind stirs the stems, the orangeish blooms wave. Exhibiting their spring finery, they seem to be saying "Hey,look.... I'm here."



http://aneyefortexas.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/the-splendid-ocotillo

I ordered 500 Ocotillo seeds as they're used as a type of hedge. I'll get some grown plants too but the 6 footers go anywhere from $20 to $125 so the hedge won't be complete in my lifetime.

Another first this month was the sighting of a javelina, mistakenly called a wild pig and a/k/a the collared peccary.



The one I saw was out for a stroll on Patton - a paved road. As I sped along at 65 mph, the little stinker got the lead out and gallumped across the road quite smartly. He looked pretty funny but I hear that they can be aggressive so I was glad I was in the car.

That was not the most exciting part of my day though. Chuck was going to be taking the RV out for repairs and I was concerned about a part of the road that would cause a side to side rocking. Out here, if you don't like something about a road, you go around and forge a new one....which I did. I was on my way to Big O tires as we found a nail in one tire and when I got there, they asked what the heck I'd been driving through!. Well hey, it was just a few Cholla Cacti that I drove over...requiring two new tires. Guess people forge these roads using something other than a low-slung Chrysler convertible. We've been looking for an old workhorse truck but until we do, the convertible will continue to take a beating. Like the RV, I'm glad the car was old to begin with.

Chuck now has our solar totally up to speed and is happy that we don't have to continually make runs into town for propane. We should start drilling our well tomorrow and will be overjoyed to discontinue water hauling...this will enable us to take long showers and be able to install a clothes washer! Wahoo!

Our other news has nothing to do with the desert. I was recently voted on as an Intern Board Member (no voting rights yet) for MUFON. I'm honored and excited. MUFON's new Headquarters is in northern Kentucky so I'll be flying there four times a year starting the end of this month.

While installing our new solar panels, Chuck started thinking about how to protect them from EMP (electromagnetic pulses). This led to the filing of a provisional patent which would have an amazing number of applications if his idea works as he thinks it will. So - now I'm involved in trying to find a company or companies to align with that would assist in testing, manufacturing and sales. The largest solar panel company in the world is right here in Tempe so we've contacted them and are holding our breath to see if they get back to us.

We feel, at 65 years +, that we're reinventing ourselves....using our minds and having fun. If only our bodies were going along with the program.....

We won't be doing anything special for Easter but will thinking about all of our friends and family.

Happy Easter -

Vicki and Chuck

March 6, 2012 Addendum

Per our realtor:

"It's very normal behavior for the Gila woodpecker. He's marking his territory by hammering on anything metal. It's even more entertaining when you are in a neighborhood and there's more than one hammering on the metal chimney caps.

Isn't nature wonderful at 5 am??" Elaine

Chuck says he doesn't think it's cute, entertaining or any of that crap that the Gila Woodpecker is marking his satellite dish!

March 6, 2012

The Wacky Woodpecker

Every once in a while, in an early and otherwise totally silent morning, there’s a vibrating, staccato sound that is felt as much as heard in the “house.” It seems to come from over the bedroom area. Chuck, who always sleeps in, hears nothing and continues to snooze – he doesn’t have his “ears” in. If I didn’t know better, I’d wonder if I was picking up some kind of radio wave through my newly crowned and very pricey molar. Then, not knowing anything about pipes, I assume it has to be the pipes…but we’re not running any water. Could it be something the Feds are doing?

After considerable thought – having few other pressing issues out here in the desert - I come to the conclusion that it could be a woodpecker. And, yes, there it is on the internet. The Arizona Woodpecker….a brazen little guy with a bright red band on his head, the females more elusive and subtle in their attire. http://birdfotos.com/birdfoto/woodpecker/arizona.htm

This morning, armed with my camera, I was out with the dozen or so paint chips that we picked up at Home Depot yesterday. With my back to the sun, I hold the chips up so that I can compare the color on the chips with the desert vegetation. We want to pick a new color for the exterior of the “house” that will blend in with our surroundings – making us even less visible. This IS ISNAS you know (It’s Survival – Not A Spa). Using one of the very few skills I acquired in Art 101 at UWM, I squeeze my eyes shut…is it chip A or B, B or C? I’m amazed at how dark the green is that I eventually select…we thought it was going to be Behr Outback but it’s Crocodile instead!

In the midst of the great paint chip selection process, I hear that vibrating sound; now I have a chance to investigate further. And – it’s a dang woodpecker pecking on the TV antenna for all he’s worth. No wonder it’s vibrating. Really, does that behavior serve as a type of knife sharpener and he’s honing his beak or what? As I’m trying to capture him on film, he senses my interest and flies….to the satellite dish on top of the RV. More rat-a-tatting. This would not please Chuck. So now I have another question to ponder. Is this normal behavior or do we have a wacked out Arizona Woodpecker on the loose?