I have often wondered what it would be like to have "down time". It is a period of time where one does nothing - like riding on the hay wagon ride at Mortimer Farm's Corn Days Festival. Bill, David and I went to the Corn Festival today out in Dewey, AZ. We parked the car at the Country Store and rode the wagon down to the festival area. There was a line waiting to get in. There were people ahead of us who, when they reached the entry way, talked to the attendant and then turned around and left. I wondered why? Well I soon found out why. They were charging $10 per head to enter. I asked what we got for the $10 and I was told, well, entry to the festival, and any of the games and activities are available for no extra charge. Of course the advertised Corn on the Cob meal was extra - but the TV slot and Internet Web Site did not mention a price for the meal as being extra. So we wandered around the inflated jumping houses and they were full of children, the inflated balloon thing that kids got inside and then rolled around on an artificial lagoon (read that HUGE inflated swim pool), and since I no longer qualify as a child, that too was off limits. There was the usual artery clogging Fry Bread and fixin's that we passed up as well as the hillbilly swing - built only to hold small children. They had pony rides, but I am not a horsewoman and Bill probably only played cowboy when he was little. The horses looked too frail to hold David so we passed that up as well. They did have a live honky tonk cowboy band playing music for a while, then they brought in a new trailer full of freshly picked corn that they were selling - we bought a dozen. It looked like a war zone when the people converged on the wagon to snag their share of the fresh picked corn.
There was a vendor there who was selling dried Gourds. I bought a big one and David got two tiny ones.
We lined up for the Hay Ride and off we went. That is when I decided I was having 'down time'. riding on the trailer and doing nothing other than enjoying the green of the mountains around us and the corn on one side and pumpkins growing ready for the Harvest Festival in October. The tractor was an International Harvester Farmall tractor - 35 years old - but still chugging with about 20 persons riding on the trailer sitting on straw bales. There was a young boy holding a rooster that he had caught and was inviting the little children to come pet the rooster. the bird looked none too happy and when the boy changed his hold on the bird, you could see what his perspiration had done to the chest feathers - they were all wet and disheveled.
The tractor driver stopped along the way to explain about the age of the Cotton Wood trees lining the route and the river bank. He also invited some young children to take the wheel and drive the tractor. That was a little scary when the little girl drove within two feet of the drop off. The next to last stop was at a Sweet Corn field and we were allowed to go in and pick an ear of corn. Apparently only one ear of corn grows on one stalk - a fact I did not know before this. The farm workers were down in the center of the field picking more corn to sell to people coming to the festival or in the farm store.
We shucked the corn and ate the freshly picked ear. I think that this wast the first time Bill had ever eaten a raw ear of corn.....not bad for a city boy. Our crew re-boarded the trailer for the trip home, but on the way, we stopped by the brooding structure (they raise their own baby chicks), and the rooster was returned to his harem of hens.
On the way back to the start of the ride, a man sitting across from us was complaining about itching on his bare legs. Yes, he had wandered into the corn field and the 'no-see-ums' had feasted heartily.
At the end of the ride, I went back to the gourd man and bought some small gourds from him for table decorations for Tuesday when my quilt group comes for lunch.
We got in the wagon for the ride back to our car and then we went to the Grill at the Stone Ridge Golf Course. At a table nearby were some very well off people. I began to wonder at their life style and try to determine how they made enough money to live in this fancy development.
The highlight of the day was receiving a letter from the Morrison County Historical Society, and see all the Doroff genealogy they had sent me. I hit pay dirt for Jacob's genealogy and extended his line one more generation.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
The Green Hills of Home
Normally our landscape is a warm brown broken up with army green to grey green squatty little bushes here and there and of course there are the eternal cactus plants to relieve the monotony of the brown. With all the rain we have had since July 10 (around 4 inches according to the rain gauge in our back yard and substantiated by the report in the paper), the hills have turned from warm Brown to bright green. Everything is green - it is as if the Wizard of Oz has been turned loose making everything look green.
I went walking by Watson Lake today and to my joy the lake is full - the paper says that is has risen 2 feet and that they have opened the release valve so that some of the water can flow into Willlow Lake. They are joined by a sluice that they open to drain one lake into the other.
I was surprised to see so many roads still closed as I drove around Prescott today. One stream close to one of the ladies I visiting teach was closed yesterday she said, and the debris is still visible because it was stopped in its flow by the fence on the bridge. Still, some streams are flowing slowly as they drain the landscape. The park near Staples was closed because of flooding. They found a body in the creek a few days ago, and the man who reported the incident, ended up being arrested on another charge and now is cooling his heels in jail. He also insists that he did not have anything to do with the drowning. He said, according to the paper, that he had been drinking and had spoken to the lady, had then gone for a walk along the stream side trail and when he returned she was in the water face down. He loudly claimed that he had not pushed her into the water. Well, we will somehow find out what happened - that is if some sort of catastrophe does not push such stories to page 7 where we may never find it.
David is coming up to visit this weekend and already he has sent me a text outlining all the food he wants to eat while here. He will not be here long enough to eat the entire proposed menu, but at least he will get a home made pizza - that is his absolute favorite food and it has to be made by mother. He suggested that he be taken to Arby's for their 5 for $5 beef burgers. I asked him if he intended to eat the entire 5 burgers and he said yes so I told him that he would then be eligible to be hired as the fat man in the circus as a result.
I checked the meal I left out for the pack rat and see that it has all been consumed and the food tray pulled into the area where he has his hideout. At least I have not found any more tomatoes on the ground - he has been nipping them off the vines and leaving them on the ground.
I had an accident in the kitchen this week. As I opened the door, the margarine tub fell out and I cannot find the lid. I think it has found a new home under the fridge. Well, I took a yard stick - our favorite tool to do myriad jobs - none of them including measuring anything - and I poked around under the fridge and could not retrieve the lid. I did fish out some pieces of glass from the Jam bottle I dropped and broke 2 months ago so that was not a wasted effort with the yard stick, after all.
Our newspaper offers us some insight into the social makeup of our fair city. We live in a High End, retirement community yet in the past two weeks they have put pictures of the babies born in our area on the back page. Usually there are only 4 to 8 babies each week but in the past two weeks we have had 35 babies born. Twenty of them last week and 15 of them in today's paper. Someone has been busy and you can bet it is not the post menopausal couples who comprise the majority of the population here.
I went walking by Watson Lake today and to my joy the lake is full - the paper says that is has risen 2 feet and that they have opened the release valve so that some of the water can flow into Willlow Lake. They are joined by a sluice that they open to drain one lake into the other.
I was surprised to see so many roads still closed as I drove around Prescott today. One stream close to one of the ladies I visiting teach was closed yesterday she said, and the debris is still visible because it was stopped in its flow by the fence on the bridge. Still, some streams are flowing slowly as they drain the landscape. The park near Staples was closed because of flooding. They found a body in the creek a few days ago, and the man who reported the incident, ended up being arrested on another charge and now is cooling his heels in jail. He also insists that he did not have anything to do with the drowning. He said, according to the paper, that he had been drinking and had spoken to the lady, had then gone for a walk along the stream side trail and when he returned she was in the water face down. He loudly claimed that he had not pushed her into the water. Well, we will somehow find out what happened - that is if some sort of catastrophe does not push such stories to page 7 where we may never find it.
David is coming up to visit this weekend and already he has sent me a text outlining all the food he wants to eat while here. He will not be here long enough to eat the entire proposed menu, but at least he will get a home made pizza - that is his absolute favorite food and it has to be made by mother. He suggested that he be taken to Arby's for their 5 for $5 beef burgers. I asked him if he intended to eat the entire 5 burgers and he said yes so I told him that he would then be eligible to be hired as the fat man in the circus as a result.
I checked the meal I left out for the pack rat and see that it has all been consumed and the food tray pulled into the area where he has his hideout. At least I have not found any more tomatoes on the ground - he has been nipping them off the vines and leaving them on the ground.
I had an accident in the kitchen this week. As I opened the door, the margarine tub fell out and I cannot find the lid. I think it has found a new home under the fridge. Well, I took a yard stick - our favorite tool to do myriad jobs - none of them including measuring anything - and I poked around under the fridge and could not retrieve the lid. I did fish out some pieces of glass from the Jam bottle I dropped and broke 2 months ago so that was not a wasted effort with the yard stick, after all.
Our newspaper offers us some insight into the social makeup of our fair city. We live in a High End, retirement community yet in the past two weeks they have put pictures of the babies born in our area on the back page. Usually there are only 4 to 8 babies each week but in the past two weeks we have had 35 babies born. Twenty of them last week and 15 of them in today's paper. Someone has been busy and you can bet it is not the post menopausal couples who comprise the majority of the population here.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
The rain we prayed for
Oh yes, we have had 4 inches of rain - measured in the little rain gauge in our backyard. I-17 has been closed at New River due to the rain swollen usually bone dry river bed - Agua Fria River. Yay Team!
yes, you can blame it on us - our congregation was asked to fast and pray for much needed rain and in within days it began to rain - spotty at first but now in all earnestness.
As I drove around Prescott today, I could see the amount of water that was flowing into Watson Lake. the water level has been down for the past 4 years or more but now the ducks really have enough water to swim in and their feet will not touch bottom......
The News tonight shows that one area has had over 8 inched of rain. In Phoenix some people were in a park and the water came up so fast and stranded them on a small mound. They had to be rescued. Of course the usual number of Silly Drivers had to be rescued when they tried to cross flowing river beds. Ouch! that will cost them dearly.
My garden is dancing in the rain - the tomatoes have never been so bathed with heavenly blessings. I do not have to water them today.
We have a pack rat in our little shed - had one when we came home from Maine. Not a good scene for the rat - put out some food for him.
Bill went to work today - against doctors orders. He was supposed to be off work for one week but he decided that they (the pharmacy) needed him............and so it goes. I insisted that I still drive him because in the handout from the hospital he could finally see (had to be helped to see) the words "No driving for one week". When he came home he went to bed with the ice pack on the wound.
At quilt guild on Monday, one of the ladies came up to me and started talking to me about family history. Apparently she had been to the Family History Center, and the sister missionaries were there and they got to talking and she found out that I was on the staff there. So we had a wonderful long conversation about her adventures in the Citizens Cemetery - it is a historic site here in Prescott. Coming up is a big reception at $50 per person to dine with the dead. They set up a big tent in the cemetery and eat a catered meal etc. and it is a fund raiser for the cemetery upkeep. I have invited her to be present at the Church this week for the Family History Presentation - a lesson to help teach people how to organize their genealogical materials.
I am very glad that Life in a Blender site let me in. I hope to keep writing on this blog.
After all, life in Prescott really is like Life in a Blender.
yes, you can blame it on us - our congregation was asked to fast and pray for much needed rain and in within days it began to rain - spotty at first but now in all earnestness.
As I drove around Prescott today, I could see the amount of water that was flowing into Watson Lake. the water level has been down for the past 4 years or more but now the ducks really have enough water to swim in and their feet will not touch bottom......
The News tonight shows that one area has had over 8 inched of rain. In Phoenix some people were in a park and the water came up so fast and stranded them on a small mound. They had to be rescued. Of course the usual number of Silly Drivers had to be rescued when they tried to cross flowing river beds. Ouch! that will cost them dearly.
My garden is dancing in the rain - the tomatoes have never been so bathed with heavenly blessings. I do not have to water them today.
We have a pack rat in our little shed - had one when we came home from Maine. Not a good scene for the rat - put out some food for him.
Bill went to work today - against doctors orders. He was supposed to be off work for one week but he decided that they (the pharmacy) needed him............and so it goes. I insisted that I still drive him because in the handout from the hospital he could finally see (had to be helped to see) the words "No driving for one week". When he came home he went to bed with the ice pack on the wound.
At quilt guild on Monday, one of the ladies came up to me and started talking to me about family history. Apparently she had been to the Family History Center, and the sister missionaries were there and they got to talking and she found out that I was on the staff there. So we had a wonderful long conversation about her adventures in the Citizens Cemetery - it is a historic site here in Prescott. Coming up is a big reception at $50 per person to dine with the dead. They set up a big tent in the cemetery and eat a catered meal etc. and it is a fund raiser for the cemetery upkeep. I have invited her to be present at the Church this week for the Family History Presentation - a lesson to help teach people how to organize their genealogical materials.
I am very glad that Life in a Blender site let me in. I hope to keep writing on this blog.
After all, life in Prescott really is like Life in a Blender.
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