Desert Blooms

So many of the winter visitors headed north the past few months to go back to their summer homes....and often arrived to sit in snow, dark skies and rain! They left behind all their cactus in their yards which have been blooming in blossoms of white, yellow, coral, pink, and red. I have some newer cactus planting in my yard that are blooming for the first time, and they are the ones I have pictured. The desert willows are all in bloom along the streets in town, and the soaring saguaros have their white blossoms that will turn to fruit. The occotilla bushes are full of deep red, pink or white blosssoms and the bees have been busy harvesting for their honeycombs. Yes, the weather is now in the 90's (but it is a DRY heat, remember!), but the warm, dry sunny heat feels good to these ol' bones. It is also so good for the morale to see the sunny skies, colorful blooms, green bushes and leaves, and the ever-changing hues of the mountains every day. Will be nice to see the lakes and pines in the north again this summer, but am sure glad I didn't leave early and miss the beauty of this spring and approaching summer!

MOTHER'S DAY 2009

Growing up, Mother's Day was one where my sisters would make home-made cards for Mom, and we would make her breakfast to bring up to her in bed. At night, we would turn down her bed and lay out a new nightgown. Dad usually bought a corsage for her to wear to church when we marched in....5 girls wearing hats, gloves, and carrying St. Joseph missals.

I think Mom misses those chaotic Mother's Day mornings. Yesterday I drove her and a friend to church, then we all went to the church hall for rolls, coffee and conversation. I offered to take her to one of the many brunches being offered around town, but she preferred to have a meal at home. I grilled some chicken, and she make a salad and we had blueberry pie for dessert. We let the food settle as we watched a movie on the Hallmark channel, then off to the pool to cool down and work off that good pie.

Mom seemed a bit down in the morning, with missing sharing the day with Dad and her girls, but she had lots of calls and flowers to brighten the day. All her girls called, Chris and Kelly also rang and she talked to CJ and invited him to come join her in the pool (" I can't now, Gramma Ann....we are going for lunch for Mommy's Day").

So it was a day of reminicing about Mother's Day's past, and new beginnings as Jen celebrates her first special day, and Kaila's awaits the birth of her first baby, Mom's 12th great-grandchild, which is due any minute!

So here is to the generations and the circle of life. Happy Mother's Day all!

"NEW" TRUCK!!!!

Pulling my horse trailer over the Rockies last fall convinced me that my 150 truck was just not up to the job. She was fine for my smaller Circle J trailer and over the flat lands, but with my living quarter and mountains to travel, I knew it was time to upgrade. I only had 34,000 miles on my '05 truck, and it was a nice truck, but have been looking for a Ford 250 extended cab for awhile....without much luck. I happened to be at the Ford dealership when a local contractor was trading in his personal truck....and I decided to give up on a gold/brown 250 extended cab, and bought his trade. It just happened that the Doherty's were arriving in town at the time, so I had them check it out for me, and got their approval. Cindy and I test drove it out to the ranch, and decided it would look good with the trailer, too. So I am now driving an '06 Ford diesel 350 Lariat crew cab 4x4 short bed. I "girlied" it up a bit by adding chrome side protectors, handles and wheel well protectors, and will be adding a soft cover on the bed tomorrow. The gray leather interior should do a much better job of hiding Wylee's hairs...they really were a pain getting out of the old black carpet!! I really appreciated the extra power when I hauled Bart over the mountains in Yarnell on the way to the Las Damas ride. No need to downshift....we just drove right up! It feels big, and that diesel is the usual noisier motor, but I do feel much more confident when I am hauling now. And I discovered at the Las Damas ride that a white diesel 350 is pretty much the norm for hauling trailers....LOTS of rattling diesels running as we were all pulling out on Friday! And to top it off, I got 15 mpg driving it on short pulls and over the mountains. I would have been lucky to get 9 with the 150 gas truck, so that helps offset the higher cost of diesel fuel. And my old truck? The dealer sold it to his son-in-law an hour after I brought it in!

So now I am ready for that long haul to Minnesota, but this summer the new truck will stay home. I have decided to fly up with Mom and visit family and friends, and will drive the Camry back....if the ol' gal will make it. She now has 180.000 miles on her! But for now we are talking about a camping trip to Groom's Creek Park at Prescott next month.......WOOHOO!

And what is a good name for a big white truck??????
Blizzard?
Larry the Lariat?
Grande?
Fred the Ford?
KeepsMeBroke?

LAS DAMAS RIDE 2009

It isn't often that the expectation of an event surpasses the actual occurrence, but it happened this past week as I experienced my first Las Damas 5-day Ride. This was the 61st anniversary of the all-women ride. I was a "Pigeon" or first year invited guest. If I ride on 4 monthly rides this year, and attend the 5-day ride next year (and ride on 4 of the 5 rides during the week), I COULD be invited to join the Las Damas organization. It would be an honor to be included with the wonderful women who plan, organize, and carry out these rides.

This year the ride took place at Coopers Ranch, a 28,000 acre private property near Peeples Valley, about 30 miles south of Prescott. It is near the source springs of the Hassayampa River, which eventually flows down to Wickenburg. About a hundred years ago, a dam built broke, and a 40' high flood of water wiped out many of the ranches and much of Wickenburg. The remains of some of those ranch buildings can still be seen today, and we observed them on our trails.

I had a shady campsite under a huge cottonwood tree that overlooked the riverbed and surrounding mountains. The meals were catered, and we were treated to BBQ ribs and chicken, prime rib and lobster tail, roast pork loin, individually made omelets.....you get the picture....it was all first class. The week was planned with skits around the evening bonfires, songs song by local songwriters and poets, much fun conversations and laughter, beautiful well-trained horses, and a daily fashion show as the riders and horses were decked out in beautiful attire for the rides and evening meals. One night was designated "Bling Night" for dinner, and one almost needed sunglasses as we had our Happy Hour adult beverages and observed all the decked out cowgirls!

The trails took us through desert cactus and blossoms, up rocky hills, and across the Hassayampa River many times, which was a treat for thirsty horses. My palomino, Bartles and Jaymes proved to be the trailhorse that I appreciate, and carried me safely over the 5 trails we chose. There was an official photographer for the week, and she thought Bart was a pretty boy, and took many pictures of him....including one that she had enlarged, framed in a wood and barb wire frame, and had displayed on an easel with all the proofs!

So I have safely returned...my "new" 2006 Ford diesel 4x4 crew cab was awesome...towing my trailer easily over the mountain passes though Yarnell. I was a dusty, pooped cowgirl when I got home last night, and Bart seemed happy to be home in his pen....about 70 pounds lighter and up a notch on his backcinch. I left him snoozing and brought the trailer home. I now have the sheets washed and bed remade, trailer emptied and cleaned, and will now get the propane tanks filled and bring the trailer back to the ranch to drop off.....until the next time! We are already discussing a trip to Grooms Creek next month....and I can't wait. LOVE this horse-camping and the great friends that share the rides!

THE COMPLETE DESERT EXPERIENCE!

The Irish have a saying "Be careful what you say...if you brag the leprechauns will hear you and change your luck". And it is often all too true.

As we were reaching the ranch after a wonderful scenic ride on a fresh, sunny morning with a fresh breeze, I remarked to Betts "Someday I will tell you that we had a lousy ride. But again, it won't be today!" Not 5 minutes later, Betts horse froze and I heard a rattling. Looking down I saw an angry Mohave rattler about 5 feet to our side. Both horses looked...then walked on. So much for our history of snake-less rides this spring! Maybe the gila monster we saw along the trail was our first hint of the things to come.

Then as we were unsaddling, I heard a roar behind me, and looking around, saw a huge tornado of brown sand whipping up to the sky and heading our way. I yelled at Betts "Sand Devil coming", untied Bart, and we both hunkered down as the brown sand tornado spun by us. Both horses jumped, then tucked in and were full of sand and brush in their mains and tails after it passed.

I hosed Bart off, and was about ready to leave...then decided to give him a light flake of hay. When I was breaking it apart, I felt a sharp stick, and thought I had picked up a sticker or thorn. But I didn't see anything, yet my hand hurt...then started to swell...and felt like the pins and needles of an awaking leg that had fallen asleep. Betts suggested I go to the ER, and that sounded like a smart idea. I thought about aphylactic shock as I waited for the light to turn in town, and then for the front desk to get me signed in.

The nurse assured me that there are no Brown Recluse in this area, and if it had been a Black Widow spider, I would be in intense pain. His diagnosis was a scorpion sting. So I took an Alavert, put some ice on it, and now have pins and needles in my hand and running up my arm.

Before the ride, I dropped off a box with a new extended mirror in the unopened box for my old truck, and a matching used mirror at my neighbor, who was having a garage sale. When I got home, I noticed they were closing up, so I stopped in to see how they did. She angrily told me that someone had asked if he could take the mirror over to his truck to see if it fit (the box clearly said "For 2005 Ford 150 truck"). Apparently, the potential buyer took both the new and used mirrors....and left! So I lost out on the $40 I almost had in hand. And it is only 3:00! Maybe I should hole up and not do anything more today! But I plan to go for a swim, then to the clubhouse for the monthly pot luck. Sure hope I don't get food poisoning!!!!!!

Grandkids

My sister, Terri, is expecting her first grandchild next month. I just wrote her on how much more fun being a gramma is rather than the tough parenting. I am looking forward to seeing both my grandson's together this summer when Niels and Jen bring Danny to Minnesota this summer. Lots of photo ops!

Speaking of, here is a picture of my older grandson experiencing the fun of ice fishing with his dad. He is growing up so quickly...and I miss seeing his new discoveries. He sent me a picture of two cowboy saguaros with a note "I miss you, Gramma Chi"...that he made on the computer! And my new grandson is now cooing, smiling and rolling over....and I am missing seeing it all. But thanks to the Internet and Skype, I can see him, even though I can't cuddle him right now.

The snowbirds are packing up and heading north, and the weather is warming up, with 90's predicted this week. In about two months I plan to head north again ...maybe with Bart...maybe with Mom....maybe with both...and am looking forward to cooler weather in the pines, fishing, golfing and seeing friends and family again. I will miss my house and friends here, but I am sure it will be nice to escape the Arizona summer temps for awhile.

But in the meantime, I am enjoying wonderful trail rides on Bart with Betts in the hills, seeing all the cactus putting out their colorful spring blooms, and relaxing in the warm pool and Jacuzzi. This week I will be cleaning up my trailer to get ready for the 5 day Las Damas ride in Prescott next week. Will be nice to ride in the pines again, and to be out camping. I will raise a glass of wine at the campfire for those wonderful horse-camping friends in Minnesota, and am looking forward to joining them in a few months.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

OK...you have to admit I have been very good in my restraint in publishing pictures of my darling grandsons. But Jen just posted this on her blog and I just couldn't resist passing it along. My little Danny Boy is doing well...still tiny but now up to 13 pounds at 4 months. Appears he has luckily passed on the Manthei chubby gene and chosen his fathers ectomorphic metabolism.

As another holiday approaches, I again feel sad in missing spending it with my grandsons. I love living in the warm, sunny Southwest, but it is just too far from the family in the Midwest for frequent visits (my son and daughter in laws must be relieved!!!). Again this year I won't be able to help dye eggs, watch their glee in finding their Easter baskets and stuffing their faces with found jelly beans. Probably the boys are starting new Easter traditions passed down from the other side of their families.

I think back to my early Easters. We usually got up early every morning during lent and attended Mass before school (often with a trench coat over our jammies and a scarf covering the rollers in our hair!). We walked the 4 blocks on the crunchy ground as the thawed yards of the day before had frozen again at night. Then Holy Week were days of fast and abstinence, Stations of the Cross, Washing of the Feet, and then finally Easter Sunday! We wore our new Easter dresses, patent leather shoes (unless there was yet another blizzard and we had to wear our boots one more time!), white gloves and a new hat with bright, artificial flowers. But first, we woke early to search the house for the hidden baskets of candy that the Easter Bunny had hidden, and to see who could find the most hidden jelly beans that might be on window sills, in a shoe, on the bookcase or on the picture frames. After Mass (and family pictures), we would come home for hard boiled eggs for breakfast made from our colored eggs (and were often the color of the shell inside, too), then later had a big ham dinner in the dining room, complete with Mom's best china, silver and goblets. Then it was over....the morning treks to Mass, spring vacation (which was called "Mud Vacation" if the thaw made the dirt rural roads impassable for the school buses to travel....my city cousins were amazed that we were released from school for a week for something called "MUD VACATION"! The jelly beans lasted a little longer, but not too much. Weeks later a jelly bean or two was usually found in a well-hidden spot and devoured.

I still love jelly beans (especially the cinnamon ones that Brach's makes) and malted speckled eggs. And I still get a bite of a chocolate bunny as I nibble the ears off the ones I send my daughter...TRADITION! And now another generation is ready to celebrate Easter. I'm sure they will continue some, change some, and forget some. There are new traditions and memories to be made. HAPPY EASTER!