February 23 -- Where The Heck Is My RV Canopy? And Those Darn Mice In The Well House...

It was another windy day yesterday, though not as bad as the day before when a friend had clocked winds as high as 50mph. (I still don't understand how my backyard birds on the ground didn't get blown away.) So I decided to stick close to Faranuf and get "schtuff" done, schtuff being things that you've put off for probably too long. I have a RV canopy for Discovery on order, and it's been nearly 3 months now since I originally placed it. Since then, the company was bought out by another one, and when someone from the new company called about 2 months ago, she didn't know anything, only that they'd honor my order. (Why, THANK you! That was the least I expected.) She said she'd call back in early February to let me know that status. So I gave her until nearly the end of February to call -- and she didn't. So I called her, and got a new person on the line. She said they're trying to get the factory in New Mexico up and running; they make their own materials. She took down my phone numbers and said she'd call me back later in the day to let me know the status of the factory. She didn't, (Do we see a pattern here?) At this point, all I ask is that I have Discovery's canopy installed during my lifetime. But a fellow down in Rodeo who'd also purchased a canopy said it took him 6 months before they installed his. Meanwhile, Discovery II bakes in the intense Arizona sun... Though only on one side, and I'm keeping awing out to protect that side during the day. As long as it's not windy, of course...

I've been checking daily on the status of the mouse issue in the well house. The Irish Spring bars that I put inside at the corners worked for about a month, then the boxes containing the bars were gnawed, and some bars mysteriously disappeared. So I checked online for alternate methods and saw that peppermint oil worked to keep out bugs and mice, so I soaked some cotton balls with it (I had a bottle as it's also supposed to keep bees and wasps off the hummingbird feeders, but decided not to use it as I didn't want to take the chance of their getting sick from it), put them in jar tops, and set a few where I saw mouse droppings and possible entrance holes along the walls. When I went to check the next day, one of them was still in place, but the other was slightly pushed away from where I'd put it -- and there were more mouse droppings there. These mice are tenacious!  So I pushed it back to its spot, and checked the following day. Now the jar lid with the cotton balls soaked with peppermint oil was in the middle of the well house!  And there were more mouse droppings on the floor. OK, that didn't work. Then I remembered that Fabian, the guy who came to service the water softeners last week, mentioned he uses mothballs hanging in a bag with holes, and hangs them where he thinks the mice are entering, and that works for him. So I checked online again (reviews at Amazon, which is my source for reading reviews, then purchasing, most of the things I buy for Faranuf) and saw that, besides the smell, which is the reason why the mice stay away but is pretty strong, it's worked for people. So I ordered some from Amazon, and am crossing my fingers that this will do it. Otherwise, it's back to the Irish Spring bars...

Sorry, but some days here are more glamorous than others; this wasn't one of them. And the sunset didn't pan out, either, but the lengthening shadows over the landscape were quite pretty --

And the evening's clouds were putting on a bit of a show, before they disappeared -- 

So today I'll again be staffing the Visitor Information Center here at Cave Creek Canyon, and I'll fill you in on the adventures tomorrow...