Well ok...

 ... it's not over. 

Fall has been something of an oddity this year as it slides day-by-day in a gradual decline of daily high temp from 90s to 80s and now the 70s with 60s in the forecast for next week. It has been a fall like no other we've experienced over our roughly 13 years here in San Pedro Valley and specifically Benson.

Something that hasn't changed is the irritating nature of healthcare in Benson. When we first arrived in Benson there was a clinic on 4th street called San Pedro Family Care. The clinic is still here but the 2 doctors that ran the place, Carter and Andy Mayberry, have sold the practice to the local hospital. But neither brother is willing to work for the hospital and have instead gone to Chiricahua Clinic across from the hospital.

 San Pedro Clinic in Benson

So the issue is there are no doctors at San Pedro clinic. They currently have a PA (physician's assistant) and 3 nurse practitioners. They had a doctor but she left Arizona to travel to Florida so she could help with her brother's care. The NP I was seeing last year, Adriana, was sent to another facility. According to my beloved it was the hospital's idea not hers... just a name to fill an empty spot.

Which leads me back to the unsettling decision by the 2 doctors who founded San Pedro Clinic to refuse to work for the hospital. I feel like the writing is on the wall and I'm not reading it!

Anyway, this was supposed to be about weird weather as we slide mercilessly toward the cold weather that waits with such certainty. I will speculate it will be freezing every night by the last week of November. It's kinda where we're headed here in San Pedro Valley. 

We have heated water hoses and an insulated cover over the hose bib which has kept us in business since we first came here in Nov 2010. Generally we haven't had a problem with water or sewer connections.

We rented a 120 gal propane tank when we first moved to our "300 Row" rented site. When we got a lot in April 2013 we had that moved to our permanent site. So heating and cooking aren't an issue for us. Just give Barnett's a call when the tank gets down below 30% and have it topped up.

That happened for the first time this Fall in lste October. So we're good for a few more weeks. Propane cost has managed to creep up along with heating-fuel prices all over the country... no special passes for residents of SKP Saguaro Co-op. If I could buy propane from the park it would be less than $4/gal but that's not possible.

Anyway... Fall is getting colder and Winter is rattling its sabre. Be careful what you wish for in July when the temps are in the mid-100s!