Last Post for 2012 (Patagonia, AZ)

Happy New Year!

So, another year has zipped by.  The older I get, the faster they seem to gooooooo!  But..it has been a good year filled with memories of family, friends, and adventures.  I would not change a single moment.  Well, okay, maybe a few moments...like those "hay-fever" days or that "darn-headache-won't-go-away" day.

Enjoy photos of Lesser Goldfinches while you read. :0)

New Year's Resolutions?  I don't have any new ones for 2013, but I do plan to continue the ones I started last summer.  Yea, I was a little late getting started.  It only took me six months to really get motivated.

My first resolution was to cut back on computer time.  I was beginning to feel like I spent a good 7 hours on my laptop.  My neck and shoulders were telling me all about it every morning. I realized that I wasn't spending any time doing what I enjoy the most - quilting and photography.  This 2012 resolution is going well and I'm getting a lot more projects done.

Also mid-summer, I changed my eating habits to healthier lighter choices.  So far, I have lost 7 pounds.  I hope to lose another 10 pounds before the end of 2013.  Slow and easy.  This is one resolution I will keep for the rest of my life.  I certainly do feel better.

We already have plans for 2013.  We plan to meet my brother at Zion National Park.  Dan and I have been there twice, but we have never walked the Narrows.  Hopefully, we will be able to walk the Narrows while we are there.  If not, it'll still be a great time visiting with my brother and seeing the sights.

General plans include heading back to the NW coast.  We did not get enough of it last time.  We also plan to visit our families again.

This next one is for  my sister-in-law and me:  We are going to Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show!  WhooHoo!  washing-machine dance....washing-machine dance....oh sorry...I get a little excited over the idea that I will finally get to see the town of Sisters covered in QUILTS!  Ever since I saw Sisters on Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson many, many years ago, I have wanted to go.  Sigh!  This is going to be such a wonderful year!

On The Cutting Board

True to my resolution, I have been working on several projects and I am finally finishing a few of them. This is my second Bear Hugs quilt for children.  I hope to get it quilted during our next two days off.  This will be another Project Linus quilt.

Wishing everyone a safe and healthy new year.  So, what are your plans for this year?  hmmmm?

Planning Our Migration (Patagonia, AZ)

You will be happy to hear or read that we have agreed to come back to Patagonia next winter.  Yep, I will be able to get more photos of all the wildlife a second time around.  The reason we don't stay all year is....well, it sort of defeats the purpose of living in a motorhome, you know?  So, we will be returning around October/November time frame.

Lesser Goldfinch

So here's our "migration pattern" for this year:

Going northbound, we plan to visit a few RV parks in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon.  From Oregon, we will go to Washington to visit family in Spokane.

Then we are hoping to take the North Cascades Highway to the NW coast.  It has been a long time since we have taken that route and I look forward to traveling through the mountains.  We will probably spend some time in La Conner an excellent spot for watching Eagles.  Oh yea!

Wipe your chin!  Messy! Messy!

Our southbound travel will be slow and easy along the Washington, Oregon, and maybe N. California coastline.  It'll be so nice to see and smell the ocean again.  From there, we will start making our way back to Patagonia.  TaDa!  A full circle!

Just remember:  Nothing is written in stone.

I'm not sure what this weed is, but I love the colors.  They look like yellow cherry tomatoes.  No, I did not try one.

Freebies Update!

I posted a new My Memories Freebie to download.  Go to Freebies! Discounts! tab to view and link up to My Memories. 

It's Like Herding Cats (Patagonia, AZ)

 We have had a few inquires about our cats being outdoors without their leashes.  I thought it might be easier to answer your questions here.

I'm coming!

I know a lot of people believe you can't herd cats, but that isn't true.  If they are trained, they can be herded.  We started training our cats while we were still living in our house.  They were allowed supervised visits in our fenced backyard.  We did not like the idea of our cats running around the neighborhood.  Plus, I would never sleep if one of our cats happened to spend the night outside.

I heard you!

So, how did we train our cats to stay in the backyard?  It wasn't easy and it took a lot of persistence on our part.  During their outdoor time, we tried to keep the cats away from the fence area.  Less temptation if they are not near it.  

Wait!  I need to sniff this tree first.

As soon as one went over the fence, we would bring them back.  We never had a problem with picking them up or getting them to jump back over the fence.  After fetching a cat back from a neighbor's yard, they had to wear their leash with a small object tied on the other end if they kept insisting on jumping the fence.  Dragging the leash and object did not bother them until they tried to jump over the fence.

Oh....Did you call?

Like training a dog, repeating the same words and using the same signals taught the cats what we wanted them to do.  When it is time to go indoors, we say loudly "House!" and clap our hands.  

Come on Dusty, time to go in.

Sometimes, we had to resort to using water from the hose.  We did not get them wet.  We would start the water streaming behind them.  Slowly moving them towards the door while calling out "House!".  Their only escape from the water was to run indoors.

He says he doesn't want to go in!

We can call each cat by their name and tell that one cat "Come Here!" and they usually do.  If they don't and they see us walking towards them, they usually come running.

That's why 3 of our 4 cats are not on leashes right now.  Since we are the only people on the Preserve in the evenings and the space around us is open fields, we feel it is safe enough to let our cats wander off-the-leash.

Oh look! Birds!

We keep an eye out for hawks although we are pretty sure our cats are too big for them.  We don't want to give a hawk the opportunity to find out.  We also have an excellent alarm system - the wild birds become silent or suddenly fly away.  The birds stay close by our motorhome for the seed even with us walking around with cats.  And no, our cats do not catch birds...they do watch them.

I thought I saw a puddy tat!  You did! You did!

Once we are back in the campgrounds, they will be wearing a harness and on a leash.  I'm sure they will argue at first, but they will realize it is the only way they are going outdoors.

I Feel Good ~ James Brown

Then there's Hitch, our youngest, full of energy, loves to climb trees, and thinks he is a great hunter.  He is still wearing a harness and a leash.  He is getting better about going into the motorhome, but he has his moments.  I'm still arguing with him about going under the motorhome and trying to catch birds.  For most of the time, I just follow him around to keep him out of trouble.

Every time one of the cats rolls in the dirt, I hear James Brown singing "I Feel Good"...  You know the song, right?  So, put your hands together and "sing-along-with-Hitch"!  (did I just date myself?)

I sho’nuff feel good

I feel good like I knew that I wouldn't

I feel nice, like sugar and spice

So good!

Yep, I end up with a dirty place to clean, but it is worth it to see them enjoying themselves.

Wordless Wednesday (Patagonia, AZ)

 Our feathered friends came for a visit...

White-breasted Nuthatch

Lesser Goldfinch (male)

House Finch

Lesser Goldfinch (female)

Bridle Titmouse

Family Time (Patagonia, AZ)

 We are having a great visit with our son, Shaun.  Thanksgiving dinner was good.  The hardest part was trying to find room for the leftovers - in the refrigerator not our stomachs..

Shaun and Dan walked the cats while I cooked.  Here are a few of the birds that came to visit.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Lesser Goldfinch

House Finch

 We went for a couple of walks on the Preserve.  We had to walk off all those calories and show-off our backyard.  He got to see the owl, but no luck in seeing a Javalina.  I'm so glad the fall colors are still here for him to see.

Gnarly old Cottonwood

Fall colors at Sonoita Creek

 Shaun will be leaving soon, so I am going to keep this blog short.  I'll be sorry to see him go.  I hope the rest of everyone's weekend is relaxing and filled with lots of leftovers

Dan & Shaun