Our Neighbors

 

Looking north into Beans’ hunting grounds.

Looking east into the morning sun.

South...

...and west.

There are none!

Why?  Is it that difficult to put into a plastic bag and take with you?

Today’s rock art feature is something I can see in the far distance from my dining table window.

What is really amazing is that it shows up on the Google satellite image.

The blue dot at the bottom is where we are and the black arrow points to a white speck,

the stack of white rock.

 

A Strange Find

 

One day I walked down the wash behind us to see what there was to see.

This saguaro has had a rough life.

In case you ever wanted to know what they are like inside.

Those are the “ribs” that give it the strength to stand upright so high 

I came upon this cement slab about three feet by four feet.  Why is it here?  There was nothing else around, no sign of any foundation or wall and no one who had any idea of making a home here certainly would not build in a wash where flash floods occur.

Nearly fifty years ago someone poured this cement for some purpose.

I looped on back on high ground and found this.

It looks hand painted.  There were no other pieces around and I have never come across any Indian artifacts anywhere in this area.  I really do not think it is.

The wall of the bowl was a half inch thick and appears to be like cement.  The inside had a glazed coating.  Maybe whoever poured that slab made himself a bowl although the two finds were not anywhere close to each other.

Cleaned up with water.

Almost noon, best go back and fix lunch

The Archeological Site

I discovered this when we were out here four years ago.

 I never have found any information as to what was here or when.

On my first visit back then I walked on out following this path and saw nothing.

But I was successful in losing the key to the motor bicycle I had back then.  Talk about panic!  Fortunately I stayed on the path during my exploration so I retraced my steps and found the key.  Had I wandered about among all that rocky ground I would never have found it.  

Big lesson learned: Never just carry the key in my gloved hand; put it in a pocket!

Hi!

The Arizona Peace Trail is a 675 mile long off road vehicle loop in Western Arizona.

I thought I would take it back to camp.

I went about a quarter of a mile and then remembered this short section I would be on was a bunch of steep up and down stuff in very rocky rutted terrain.  Just something I really had no business doing out here all by myself.  So I went back the way I came.

Just this short section on the road was bad enough.  It doesn’t look bad but it is loose rock and gravel on a steep grade and just a couple of well placed rocks can cause you to loose control and down you go.

This road has been chewed up much worse than it ever was four years back.

Rains also have created deep ruts.

The coyote cleaned the bowl of the last can of dog food dumping part of it out onto the dirt.

I finally found a footprint.

Mr. Lucky

 

I’ve been enjoying my new bar-b-que when the days are not so windy.  This day was just slight breeze so the solar oven I found a couple years ago in a dumpster shields the bar-b-que just fine.

Boneless pork ribs.

After dinner I took Beans out for her evening walk and she got another lizard.

After a bit of torment she lost tract of it.  

As long as they don’t move they are pretty safe, 

blending in among the pebbles

He wasn’t harmed any and I set him in a bush when she was looking elsewhere for it.

Dang it!  He was right here...somewhere, I know it.

Fool Coyote

 

I walked on out to the feeding station to give the coyote the last can of dog food.  The bowl was gone.  He didn’t just take it to his usual spot, he hid it on me.  I looked all over.  No bowl.  So I dumped the last can into one of the regular dog feeding bowls I had found earlier.

I decided to walk up the hill and go back a different way.  There up on the top was the bowl.

He had brought it up from the shade tree down there at the bottom.

I had walked back a way to take this photo.

There you can just make out the bowl in the other direction.

That is a long way to carry it for no reason.

I took off towards the saguaro to have a look at it.

 

Midway something was shining in the sun.

It was one of the flattened dog food cans I had left back in the fire pit along with all the other trash.

So he brought this up here too?

That’s it Mr. Coyote.

All gone.

Go back to your lizards and mice and rats.

A Successful Hunt

 

No better way to begin your day than with a good roll the dirt.

Yep, I’m feeling it.  Today is going to be a good day.

I got one!!  I’m taking him home.

Now what?

What to do?

Then she let it go and lost it in the bush.

I saved the tail to add to her collection.

I know you are in the there.

We gave up and went back home.

She was very unhappy about losing her lizard.