November 21 -- FARANUF For My New License Plate, And Maintaining A House In The Country

I decided to renew the Arizona registration for my Tundra; it's due by the end of the year, anyway. I hadn't received anything by snail mail, so I checked online -- and you can renew it there, just so long as you don't need a smog check (and I don't think I do as they accepted the payment). So at the same time I paid the fee, I ordered a new license plate, "custom" one. And it will read -- of course -- FARANUF.

One of the important things about being the sole homeowner is keeping things maintained, especially the more "big ticket" items. For instance, the York heat pump that both heats, and cools, the entire house. If THAT went out -- well, I'd be up the proverbial creek. Thank goodness the original, previous owner kept all the paperwork have to do with Faranuf -- seemingly every scrap of paper. And I'm continuing to do that, too, as there are so many things here concerning maintenance that I couldn't possibly remember everything -- or even anything. For instance, there is a procedure to follow in replacing the water filters in the well house. I foolishly thought I could remember, but when the time came I didn't. So I had a neighbor who was a retired plumber come out and walk me through it --- and wrote it all down before I forgot. (Believe me, it's that complicated.) So as I bought Faranuf almost a year ago -- December 16; I remember the exact date for signing the closing papers -- I know that it's been nearly a year since I had both the heat pump and water softeners checked. All the receipts and business cards are in a bag, and divided up into different sections so what I'm looking for at the time is more easily found, so I find the original invoice for the York heat pump, see that it's still within the warranty (it was purchased in 2012), and call to have someone come out to service it. And of course since this isn't a big city, or near one, there are only a few service technicians, each of which has a huge service area to cover, which sometimes even includes Mexico. So I have my list of items to call about on my MacBook Pro's iNotes -- as mentioned, heat pump and water softeners, and right now I'm racking my brain to think of anything else. (Nope, nothing else at the moment.) The appliances are covered under a home warranty that is separate from the insurance for the house -- which, since it's a manufactured home, is in a category that isn't available from most insurance companies; I found Foremost, through AARP. Regarding the Internet and phone landline, there is only one company out here for those -- VTC, short for Valley Telephone Cooperative. There is only one choice for the Internet through them -- DSL. It works fine for me as I'm not in the canyon, but for those there it's a spotty affair; same with cell phone service, too. Once again I lucked out with Faranuf's location. And I thought DSL would be slower than what I was used to in San Pedro, which has Internet through Cox (now ATT) cable. But thankfully, it's just as fast here as it was back there. But there are other things here you have to consider that wouldn't necessarily come to mind in the city. For instance, when there's a long power outage, both the computer and digital phone line would be out -- and your cell phone battery doesn't last forever, and you can't recharge it with the power out. So how can you reliably stay in touch with the outside world? Someone on a Facebook page (specifically "Cochise County And Its Wonders", a great site to link folks here in Cochise County) recommended buying an "old fashioned" phone that you just plug into the phone line -- no plugs into an electrical outlet like the current phones have. Good idea!  I'll find one at Wal-Mart, or even better still a thrift store...

Mr. Broad-billed hummingbird is still here. I gave him his own feeder; it's on the new feeder hanger that I purchased from Amazon, and is closer to the mesquite where he perches so he doesn't have to cross all the way over to the back deck where the other feeders are hanging. (Ok, so I'm spoiling him -- but I want him to stay as he's a special little guy.) And one of my Elegant Trogon photo got Photo of the Day on the Arizona Highways' website, Arizona Highways being the premier travel magazine here in the state. Here's the photo --

Elegant Trogon is one of the wonders of the Chiricahuas, and SE Arizona. It's the Target Bird for many birders who visit here, and I just happened to encounter this one when I first visited the area back in 2008. I still find it amazing that I could possibly find this bird within 10 miles of Faranuf...

Mom with her 3 "kidlets" is still visiting the water feature, pretty much at the same time of the day; here are the 3 young ones -- 

They're getting somewhat used to me, but I still view them from inside the house through the back sliding door. Any sudden movement spooks them, so I try to move slow when they're around... 

It was a dusty and windy day. The San Simon Valley, the west edge of which is where I live, is knows for its dust storms and high winds, though thankfully they haven't occurred much during my 3 months here. But yesterday the Peloncillos to the east were hazy; same with the Chiricahuas, and they are of course much closer. But there's a silver lining even in the less positive weather events here; the dust kicked up into the sky created a wide beam of light from the sun setting over the classic silhouette of Cave Creek Canyon -- 

It was a quiet day compared to others lately -- but it still had its memorable moments.