Even in "paradise" there's an occasional challenge or two... I was reminded about that the other day. I was still out on the front porch, watching a lightning display (one of the joys of living here in "paradise") when I heard a banging coming from the side of the house. It was coming from the York heat pump, which I'd just had serviced. Oh, crap. Then I looked on top of the unit -- and there was a dead mouse lying on it. I think what happened is it was inside -- I've seen dissipated rodent bodies in there; there's an open area underneath the fan assembly -- and somehow had gone caught in the rotating fan blades. Though it was nearly cut to ribbons, it appeared to have managed to crawl out onto the top where it gave up the ghost. There's a hole on the lower side of the pump, and a few months ago, before I had the RV canopy and was sitting on the Discovery II watching the sunset, I saw a small mouse scurry inside. I've since covered the hole with duct tape, and since it wasn't eaten through I assume I'd trapped whatever was still inside. There's a known pack rat nest just across from the pump in a pile of rocks. Well, at least it was a TINY mouse...But keeping critters out of the house and garage is a constant challenge out here in the desert, and especially in the Chiricahuas as there are so many species of, well, pretty much everything -- lizards, snakes, insects...And the monsoon season is just around the corner (the beginning of July), and that's when the buggers really start to get numerous. And it seems like the majority of them want to get inside. I've told them time and again (yes, I talk to the critters, whether they be deer, birds, or creepy crawlies) that they can live outside -- but once they're inside, they're dead meat. So that's why there are seals around the doors and the garage door. The other day I noticed a chink of light coming through the bottom of the garage door where it meets the concrete "lip". A piece of concrete had broken off, and now there was a small hole that spiders and other insects could get through. I found the broken piece and put it back, so now it's closed up again, but it's an ongoing battle. My friends Mark and Lori have found poisonous Recluse spiders and centipedes inside their place, and Mark, as everyone else here does, makes it a point to keep the doors open only long enough to get in or out, which is especially important with flying insects. The other day I noticed something in a corner of the carpeting ---
It was a small centipede, thankfully dead and desiccated, meaning it had been there for awhile. But the point is -- it had somehow gotten inside. That's a small one, so it didn't overly worry me. This big brute, however, did --
It's a Banded Desert Centipede. Pretty nasty-looking, eh? And it can deliver a painful "pinch" with those pincers. I think I'd have a heart attack if I came upon one of these inside my place; thankfully this one was outside, and very dead. But they can jump, and I could imagine it coming from the dead and attaching itself to my face, though the photo was taken from a safe distance. I've had a Black Widow spider living behind a side board of the house right next to the front door, and a knowledgable friend, upon seeing it, said it was a female, and will probably deposit numerous little ones. So to make sure all of these fine folks stay outside, I've sprayed around the house a product that kills insects and such, but is nontoxic to larger animals. It seems to be working; for instance, it's what probably killed the monster centipede. However, it probably doesn't affect rodents, so while I don't worry about them coming into the house, there is the well house, and as I've been sweeping up mouse droppings inside, I know they're there. Irish Spring soap bars placed into the corners worked for a time, then didn't -- and some of the bars even disappeared! I never figured that one out. Now I'm using mothballs put in baggies with holes punched through, which is used by many folks here. And just to be on the safe side, I now have the mothballs AND Irish Spring. We'll see how it works, and the big challenge is coming up with the monsoons...
I had to do an emergency grocery run the other day, and instead of going to Douglas, I decided for the sake of variety to go north to Willcox instead. Though Willcox doesn't have an Walmart superstore, it does have a Safeway, and it's only about 15 miles longer than going south to Douglas. I took Foothills Road, which starts right in front of Faranuf. It's 28 miles to Interstate 10, and 15 of those are dirt. Still, it cuts off about 40 miles from the paved route, and is incredibly scenic; here's a view looking west, with cactus along the road and Cave Creek Canyon in the distance --
One of the scenes that, at least for me, epitomizes the vastness of the landscape here, and how puny we are in it -- ok, and how few people live here -- is seeing a lone car, most likely a truck, off in the distance, with a plume of dust trailing behind it. If it's a windless day, that dust trail can sometimes reach a mile in length. While going on the dirt portion of Foothills, I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw a trail of dust that I'd kicked up. I got out and took this photo --
I have "new" birds coming to Faranuf's back yard, and the most handsome one by far is a male Blue Grosbeak. Here's a head shot of Mr. Grosbeak, taken with the 500mm "Big Boy" lens --
The weather has been monsoon-y lately, though without the rain. But the cloudy skies make the already dramatic scenery even more so -
The virga (rain that evaporates before reaching the ground) creates really spectacular scenes, wisps of moisture like thin, wavy curtains --
Coming up, an Elegant Trogon census...
That dust plume picture you took shows little haystack mountain on the right and Blue Mountain right behind it. At the base of the Blue Mountain on the southern side is my Grandfathers old ranch.. Spent many a week there as dad had brothers and sister my age.. Our place was on down the road going North about 8-10 miles turn right at the mailbox that is way up in the air (for airmail delivery) if its still there and that was called the old Hayflat Ranch, I was raised there...Good Memories...thanks, Phyllis Noland
ReplyDeleteHi Phyllis -- Thanks for that look into your memories, and into the history of the area. There's so much here that remains to be re-discovered...
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