I want some coffee!

... and on and on!!  I'm whining cuz I like to complain and I'm good at it! But the various railroads lines that pass through San Pedro Valley are probably indifferent to my forte . They just keep coming and going and none of them stop to say "great whine dude!" They just keep moving thru town. What you see below is freight passing thru Benson and on to the East side of the San Pedro Valley. The hills in the distance are about 12 miles away.. We see a passenger train come thru daily (I think!)... AmTrak. They stop on the East side of Benson for passengers to get off or board.  Mid-morning freight train passing thru San Pedro Valley. The mass of trains, however, carry freight and are passing thru- they don't stop (except to allow other trains to pass). Like this freight train winding its way across the valley floor. The mountains on the horizon are apparently part of what are named the Galiuro Mountains (I've never heard that named mentioned by locals). There...

Sort of! Winter temps have actually been rather mild so my whines lack my usual, mmm... intensity! Even so, the temps have been getting down into the upper 20's most nites. And it has been clear so I had to be sure to grab this shot with a little moisture in the air. A little pre-dawn color. This is a pretty good time of year for me to catch a glimpse of dawn colors. In just a few weeks I'll have to be up before 0500 to see this... and that ain't gonna happen! And the Cactus Garden continues to be a nice pause on my morning walk. Always nice to take a short break on the provided bench and enjoy the shade of the mesquite tree. The cactus garden- a favorite stop on my morning walk. And just to confirm, yes- we did recently get a little of the white stuff. The park at about 3,600' elevation is at a sufficiently low elevation to miss the chance to look like Minnesota. Now they got hammered.   Pretty scant snowfall but we did get some this week. The last of some moisture he...

 ... but it is what it is.  We had clear skies which means we had really cold overnight temps... The morning sky has a blank expression with a tiny moon and not a single cloud. And then there's the local tragedy of a fire which resulted in the total loss of an RV which was someones' home. The result of a fire that reportedly was accelerated by a burst propane tank (hear-say info).   It doesn't happen often but it's been our experience that when an RV has a fire it's a total loss including personal possessions. We've seen 3 RV fires in our 17 years following this life style and each time the result was pretty much the same: a total loss. There appears to be salvaged (?) items from the fire in the image above. Those items you see have been moved forward of the RV remains but I don't know if they are from the casita  (located to the left) or if any of these things are from the RV. What remains of the RV appears to be a charred fragment of the steel frame and wh...

 ... the weather caught up with us! A light dusting of snow on the ridge behind the park... 4,000' to 4,300' elevation?   Yeah that's the dreaded "s" word: snow!! I'm guessing about 4,000 to 4,300 feet elevation. It was inevitable but I was kinda' hoping we might dodge the bullet this year. No joy. No bad consequential issues: the waterline didn't freeze, nothing happened to the power, and the (propane) furnace worked fine. So just another day at the office except I whined a lot! But it does signal that our 'free ride' with comfortable winter temps is probably over. Mmm... I think I want some coffee!

We managed to make it thru the holiday revelry here at SKP Saguaro Co-op without major issues. We got thru the entire celebration without a single golf cart accident. And no one stumbled and had a bad fall walking home from the celebrations at the clubhouse (we gave up on that annual event several years ago). The year is off to a good start! Our friend Les took a bad fall. He's only 1.5 years older than me so I'm pretty sure it was not an easy thing. His doctor is treating him for hip damage but he says what hurts are both knees. From the sound of it he had lost that argument before it started. I just love it when medical professionals brush off the patients complaint. I'm including the last sunset photo-op of 2025. Lots of cloud cover but no moisture...   The sunset colors are hiding behind clouds but it still has some nostalgic appeal to me. And here's a couple more 2026 shots for good measure since (with apologies to Ernest Hemingway) 'the sun also rises'......

Congratulations are in order: we've made it *most* of the way to 2025!   These are getting harder to catch with so many clouds recently. And a Merry Whatever-your-choice! It was a great year (we're still alive and kickin'!) and we even had some moisture to celebrate the year's end. The street has the tell-tale rivulet that says 'it's raining!' Rain in December? Very welcome in these parts. We often see very light snow in December (1/2" to 1-1/2") which never accumulates in our (relatively!) warm climate. But this year is so warm I guess we got the moisture from the produce section instead of frozen foods! Mmm... moisture vs. rain? My paternal grandfather remarried after my grandmother died. His new wife was Margaret Smith. Margaret was the birth mother of 2 men who owned and operated the Smith Ranch near Buffalo, Wyoming. Decades ago I learned from them that, in a climate where rain is rare, sparse and highly prized, you don't get rain but ins...

... here in our version of Winter Wonderland in Arizona. Sunrise on a mostly cloudless winter morning. We're not used to seeing warmish weather and consistent sunshine during the winter months. It's, mmm... weird. We had a high of 78°F yesterday and again today. I used to blame things like this on Russian conspiracies (yes, I'm joking!). I guess I need to find a new conspirator. Snowbirds have arrived and settled in. Prices in the stores are at all-time highs to celebrate their arrival. At least the Canadians aren't going to feel like they're being financially abused since they apparently aren't coming to the US this winter... our pres seems to have offended them sufficiently that they are finding new winter-vacation spots to spend their $$$. Yet another hit to Arizona winter income. ( Thanks a lot Mr. Pres .) To celebrate the season the Admiral - my Admiral - led a celebratory parade to the dentist's office to have a crown re-attached for the 3rd or 4th ti...