Backway To Mt Lemmon

I took the Jeep the backway to Mount Lemmon from Oracle, AZ. It's a crooked, dirt trail that requires a high clearance vehicle. Although I enjoyed the ride, there were not enough "WOW" moments for me to want to do it again anytime soon.

I thought the paved road coming up from Tucson was much more scenic and would be a good Sunday drive, particularly, in the hot summer months.

Fine Wine

My neighbor, Missy, works for a very wealthy individual in Wisconsin, who collects and drinks expensive wine. At the end of the summer, he gives her a bunch of bottles that he no longer wants. As a thank you for some work I did for her, she gave me two bottles of Ornellaia 2016. Out of curiosity, I went online and was able to find it on sale for only $279.99...

Not wanting to drink alone, I shared my good fortune with my other neighbors last night. Nothing like a $300 wine with your smashburgers. The sad part of the experience was I could not tell much of a difference between it and my $10 bottle of wine with the screw top. Apparently, I do not have a sophisticated enough palate.

Rummaging Rodent

My neighbor has a large rat running around his tool shed at night, so we setup a trail cam to monitor its activity and see if we could trap it. Although we got some great video clips, the rat was too smart for the trap. Watch how it plays with and moves the trap without tripping it...

 

Tonight, we are going to switch the bait from cheese to peanut butter, drop some poison bait and then see what happens.

Update 10/27/2024: That rat outsmarted us once again. It is so big that it was able to reach the peanut butter without putting enough weight on the plate to trip the trap. However, it did take the poison bait, so we may get it that way. Video posted at https://youtu.be/cApdJcVSIv4.

Update 10/28/2024: It appears we may have gotten the rat with the poison bait as it did not reappear on last night's video...

Mesmerizing Sunset

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SoloCam S340

I recently added a eufy SoloCam S340 to the front of my park model. One nice feature of the camera is the ability to track and follow moving objects...

 

They are "spray painting" the streets in the park this week. It is a temporary fix to make them look good for returning snowbirds. I was told they will resurface the streets next year.

FEMA Failure

The federal government cares more for illegal immigrants than for its own citizens...

 

Elon Musk and private individuals have done more for the victims of Helene than the entire Biden/Harris administration.

Another Democrat Debacle

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More Liberal Hypocrisy

Kamala Harris drops millions on private jet spending despite calling climate change an 'existential threat'...

Apparently, it's okay to pollute the environment if it is for political purposes such as fund raising
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Old Age Humor

 

Surveillance Cameras

I recently purchased two wireless solar surveillance cameras to cover both entrances to the house. Last night was a good example of how effective these cameras are as an unknown vehicle was recorded checking out my place a little after 8:00 pm. Although it was probably someone who did not realize I tend to go to bed with the chickens, it's reassuring knowing that I will have video evidence if an intruder steps onto the property.

 

Arizona Heat

I believe I have come up with a way to beat the Arizona summer heat...

Coyote

When you live out in the desert, you get to see a lot of interesting critters...

 

Siphon Fire

A fire in the Superstition Mountains north of me has burned over 2,000 acres and is 0% contained. There have been a number of evacuations east of Apache Junction, but I am far enough away that there should be no problem here. This is the view from my front porch...

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Update: You can now see the flames from the fire...

Unleashing Elon Musk

This is the type of thinking that we need in government...

 

Toad Heaven

We finally got some monsoon rain & wind and I am pleased to report that my awning is still intact and my new roof does not leak. One group that enjoyed the downpour are the desert toads...

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Storage Shed

One disadvantage to living in a park model is not having quite enough storage space for all your stuff. Today, I had a Suncast resin shed delivered which then had to be assembled. I suspect a good handyman could probably put it together in less than an hour. However, it took me almost three hours (which I think qualifies me to be on a state road crew). Once again, I was reminded of how bad my endurance is, particularly, in the desert heat. I would work for 20-30 minutes and then need a break. I am hoping that consuming mass quantities of alcohol and ibuprofen will dull the pain tonight. As I have often said "getting old is not for sissies".

Baby Rattlesnake

When I opened the front door this morning, I was greeted by a baby rattlesnake wanting to join me for coffee, so I called Scott, our professional snake removal expert here in the park. He told me that he had recently removed another rattlesnake near my home which makes me wonder "where is the rest of the family".

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818,000 Fewer Jobs

How can you trust an administration/government that overestimates job creation by 818,000...

 

Nails & Screws

One hazard from having work done on my awning and roof is the number of nails and screws left on the ground around the house...

And just when I think I have found them all, I'll walk by a couple of days later and find a few more. It's like a never ending scavenger hunt.

Roof Repair

The same storm that damaged my awning also damaged a number of shingles. After looking at the roofer's photos, I decided to replace the entire roof with newer, heavier shingles so that I do not have to worry about leaks in the near future. My knees hurt just watching one of the workers haul 70 pound bundles on his shoulder up a very tall and steep ladder...

The other thing that amazes me is how Hispanics can work in long sleeve hoodies in 100+ degree weather!

Awning Repaired

I finally got the damaged awning repaired...

It's nice to be able to park all my vehicles in the carport again

Eerie Eyes

The toads were out in force last night...

Kamala Harris Parody

 
Sadly, the parody Kamala is more truthful than the real Kamala

Another Pack Rat

I noticed a rather large hole in the front of my home, so I setup a trail cam to see what was using it...

I'm setting out more traps and throwing some poison packets under the house to stop the infestation

Illegal Voting

A majority of House Democrats voted against a bill that would require voters to show proof of citizenship. Under current U.S. law, only citizens can vote in federal elections, but the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 prohibits states from confirming citizenship status. In my opinion, this is why Biden and his DEI administration have allowed 10+ million illegal and unvetted immigrants into the country. In swing states, it would only take a small percentage of illegals voting to influence the outcome of an election.

Democrats do not care about the country nor its citizens. Their only interest is getting and keeping power and they are willing to do and say anything to achieve that goal. If the DNC believed those illegals would vote Republican, I suspect Pelosi and Schumer would be on the first private jet to the border to help erect that wall.