I want some coffee!

About to start the day... How can we complain about cold winter temps when this pre-dawn sight greets us to start the day?! And yes, what we (I!) complain about for cold temps here in southeast Arizona are the basis for a balmy day in Minnesota. When I'm kinda' bumbling around getting to the casita for the morning call (an old fart in a hurry must be a scarey thing to see!) you would think I'd miss something like sunrise imagery. Even when in a rush I try to pay attention to what the day is going to offer and this is what I saw on Christmas Eve morning at 06:28.  It's just after Christmas, so dawn doesn't break here in the San Pedro Valley of southeast Arizona till after 07:30 this time of year. Oddly the National Weather Service says dawn was at 07:20 that day. On the ground, however, it happens later than that. Must have to do with Benson being in a valley which obscures the first light... ?? The sun has to rise above the Dragoon Mountain range which forms the ea...

... I just realized I haven't talked at all about coffee roasting in months (maybe longer!). And that was supposed to be the theme of this eternal essay. So it's still happening. Every Wednesday (or thereabouts) I roast anywhere from 1 to 7 pounds of coffee using the now 6 yr old Bullet R1 roaster. The Bullet moved in here in January 2019. Close enough to say that over the last 6 years this handy appliance has roasted something like 1,500 lbs of green coffee. About 683 kg of greens have gone thru the Bullet R1 roaster... about 1,506 lbs of greens. And no, the Admiral and I did not consume all 1,200 lbs of roasted coffee. Yikes!! That would be a lot of caffeine! I roast for us plus as many as 4 other people that live here in SKP Saguaro Co-op. Works out well: I get to play 'roast master' and they get to enjoy what I like to think is some really good coffee. I've mentioned this in the past: I started out with a tiny electric hot air roaster (roasted enough beans for...

... cuz the temps are down. Substantially. But then it's almost mid-December so it isn't supposed to be warm. If your habit is to walk early in the day (absolute must during the Arizona summer!) then you have to deal with some 'inconvenience'. This AM I saw a swing from 20.1°F at 0515 up to 30.5°F at 0545... 30 minute to swing +10F°. Which then immediately reversed itself and, over the next 20 minutes, headed back down to about 22°F. It's not that the swing was huge so much as how rapidly it changed. At least 'rapid' to my former water-based experience. We're still getting a pretty decent morning sky which I'll share here with my morning cup of coffee! Looking East across the San Pedro Valley toward the Dragoon Mtns; 11 Dec 2024 at 0900.

We're about 2 months into Fall and the temps have been gradually declining. Freezing most nights until the last week of November when it managed to stay above freezing for a week. So the Admiral has had a few nights off from covering plants. Covering is important stuff. She plants greens (chard and this year a red curly leaf kale) which goes well in our morning smoothy. One of the Earthboxes with chard ... ... and one of the 2 kale crops (lots of EarthBoxes at our place!).   It used to be a this-is-fun gardening activity. Then Safeway got yet another new store manager and with that comes yet another price increase. So anything consumable she can grow gets reflected in our bottom line. Life in the fast lane that is Benson, Arizona.

It happens every year and every year I act like it's news. 2nd weekend of Nov is Yard Sale day. That's the day everyone that has junk to get rid of sells their crap to their neighbor while simultaneously buying the neighbor's crap. No net gain but everyone is happy. Ugh! I want some coffee!!

 ... and I have the proof. It's our first freezing temperature for this Fall 2024. Time to get out the Long Johns! Oh... and it's a 'new moon'. Check this from a couple mornings ago. Yes, up for my walk before dawn (your laughter is rude!). Just in time for Halloween. (Almost a) New Moon- 29 Oct 2024 Life in the fast lane that is SKP Saguaro Co-op in Benson, AZ. And in keeping with the arrival of October it appears the snow birds are starting to return to the park (without the snow birds there would be no SKP Saguaro!).

... is much like watching grass grow. For those stimulated by change it's probably not too rewarding. And this year is more of the same but exaggerated. On the bright side there have been a few nice sunrises to enjoy as I plod around the park pretending I'm awake. I can make it about 1/4 mile then I have to stop till the cramps in my hip subside, then I stomp along like everything is 'peachy keen'. Mmm... to non-octogenarian readers, 'peachy keen' is like 'just fine' but with a sarcastic bent. I can think of several more self explanatory word choices but I'd probably offend someone. And, just so I don't look too conspicuous standing in one spot like I'm waiting for a handout, I get out my phone and pretend I'm reading a new text message or checking my BBC News feed. I'm living in a place with people much like myself so I'm probably not fooling anyone but it's what I do. Getting the phone out is also an opportunity to point one...