Umm, well, anyway, New Year

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCF

Sahuarita

It rained most of the day but just before sunset...

A Portion Of The Santa Ritas

And then...

Dirty, Filthy, Commie Taxes

The evening "roar-down" at the dinner table at which Michelle's grandparents excoriated the administration-of-the-day often closed with a final spew of this post's title. In my teen-age years I saw corporate welfare was a major support of the economy, a form, if you will, of Socialism...in disguise.

The fact that Jacobs has 80,000 employees with 400 offices worldwide and in 2020 had a negative tax liability of over 17% struck me as worthy of note. The following paragraph isn't TOO far down in the Wiki article....in case you wanna see some more of the story.

            ----------- Begin Wiki -------

In April 2021, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy listed the top 55 corporations that paid $0 in taxes for the year 2020. Jacobs Federal Income Taxes for that year were negative $37 million dollars for an Effective Tax Rate of −17.4%.^[16]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobs_Solutions

I chanced upon Jacobs Solutions when they were mentioned as having written a report on oil sands in Canada.

I have to wonder how many of the folks who "stormed the Capitol" on January 6th wanted Jacobs to help rule the nation; or even know that they probably do.

From his Wikipedia page: 

Jacobs also authored two books. The first, The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family, Culture and Ethics, was an autobiography published in 1991. The second, Compassionate Conservative: Assuming Responsibility and Respecting Human Dignity, was published in 1995 

70

I arrived around 6 a.m. The physician had to be called away from a Christmas party; he was drunk and Mom said they had a great time.

Here and there I've managed to be useful; inspired some hilarity; elicited a few screaming orgasms and screamed a few too.

As Dr. T once said, "We do the best we can."

Art! Here's Phoebe's schnoz and sans her wig. We're making ourselves comfortable here.

The coyotes are excited. It's a grand place. 

Like a Cicada

Sahuarita, Arizona

This morning as I came up into consciousness I accidentally encountered my nose. It wasn't until I'd done a thorough exam (external) that I recognized the shape. But I couldn't feel it.

Surprised, I drifted around further and found the idea that my body is just a shell, it's not me. Then came the thot that death is similar to the way cicadas molt. That was a new one and I went on to speculate about how my carapace, or whatever, is wearing out.

Dr. Marin said I'd know the end was near when the meds stopped working. Well, they haven't stopped; going up one pill -- two and a half years after the heart attack means I'm now at her initially recommended dose.

I took an extra at 1:30 but it wasn't until 2.5 hours later I was able to get up. I'd tried several times over the course of the day and couldn't do it.

I think I may have done some damage the other day when I tried swimming in the colder water. I swam harder to try and get my body temp up enough to handle it, but it didn't work. I got out and it was all I could do to get inside the door of the therapy pool and into a nearby chair. (I've alerted the lifeguards to my DNR, but need to get neck, wrist & ankle bracelets.)

Since then the angina's been nagging...not bad, but noticeable. It was there this morning soon after I recognized Mr. Nose. I've also had an ongoing headache since the swim.

I've heard lobsters molt, but I've yet to hear one sing.

For the record.

23.Dec 9:30 a.m. - There's a layer of ice on the wildlife water/washbasin.

Checking The Perimeter

The Experimental Range is a large tract owned by the University of Arizona. The part I'm exploring looks as if it hasn't been grazed in a while. I've only seen grass like this one other time...in the Animas Mountains in Southwestern New Mexico that The Turners bought and were rehabilitating.

I plan to make some phone calls next year to learn what this is all about.

There's some sturdy fence around it.

East Side Vibe

Southern Vibe

Poem by e

https://e-lifeinprogress.blogspot.com/2010/03/think-what-you-will.html?m=0

Tubac, Arizona

Unable to get into the Green Valley post office's parking lot, I changed my mail to Tubac, an arts community 20 miles south of Green Valley. This set off a flurry that concluded with:

How much pac could a Tupac bac if a Tupac could Tubac?

https://images.app.goo.gl/Eraz6AwTB2CXQ5DUA

Sahuarita

Nothing noteworthy...simply documenting.

Camp

Snow

Walmart ensemble

Note sexy ankle-showing...albeit with sock. Come summer though...

Smokey Swallow

Rarely am I awake for sunrise. But it seems my newly-found enthusiasm for swimming is having its way with me. 

They take reservations for the therapy pool starting at 6:00 a.m. I popped up like a prarie dog at 6:07 and secured a spot in the 2-3:15 session. 

I recently discovered this blog...

https://5fingerplatz.blogspot.com/?m=1

She hasn't posted anything since April of this year, 2022, but I started at the beginning and over the hour or so last night, what with looking up the Tsar & the Wolf, only made it to November of 2008. 

Perhaps we can entice her?

A Small, But Comfortable, Space

Functioning in so small a space is still a source of pleasure; rarely is it an annoyance.

Yesterday was a bit of a wrangle as I worked to cut down a box to fit a special need. As the sun set and the chill dampened my enthusiasm, I piled everything in upon itself. Fortunately, I'm not expecting company. 

At top right is a bag of trash under which are the remnant pieces of cardboard. Under those are my overalls; to the left, the blue bag has extra garbage bags & toilet paper, now only used as kleenex. Boots got thrown in the middle. The laptop, at the left, slipped between it all and this morning's need, at the edge of my crossed legs, coffee filters.

The outside is just a step away.

Update: 7:00 a.m. 9.Dec.

My rich diet of braunsweiger & beef tartare had me out in the cold & damp. I fired up the engine and pulled the settee, pictured above, next to the door so I'd have some heat. Nothing impedes a sphincter like cold. It's one of those rare mornings when something just can't wait.

Gunther, Christine und Otto

A story of one of Phoebe's German siblings, the Gelandewagen or "cross-country vehicle"...

http://www.bbc.com/news/special/2014/newsspec_8703/index.html

There's a section on the Mercedes website (link below) that begins...

"Within the timeless body..."

https://www.mbusa.com/en/vehicles/class/g-class/suv

There're some things that cannot be improved on.

Short sidewalls make for a bumpy ride.

In 2018, Suzuki, Phoebe's roots, reissued the two-door *Jimny.* It looks the same as the 1984 and aside from a triangle of beams to strengthen the frame, it has much the same mechanicals. Suzuki, in a concession to technology, added electric latches and L.E.D. lights thereby drawing to a close the much-loved tradition of their iconic whale-oil carriage lamps. 

The link below is to an earlier blogpost comparing (visuals) between Phoebe and the G-Wagon. 

https://newmexnomad.blogspot.com/2016/09/we-could-be-heros.html?m=1

Rain - It Happens

Late Afternoon

Even Later

Rumor has it most of the moisture happens in the winter.

The Rainbow Girls

And now, for something a little different...

All You Know of Me - Rainbow Girls

Don't Think Twice, It's Alright

The Staplers' Masquerade Ball

The battle between the Poodle & Stapler clans dates back to a time before now. 

Steve Cook - Panorama Boy

Michelle Cook - Costumery

Tap (or cliken) photos to largen.

From an earlier time...

Sympathy For The Poodle

Them Other People

My early years were in Japan & Germany, both countries/cultures immaculately clean. 

Exhorted as we are to embrace diversity, I'm puzzled as to how to respond to behaviors like this? We HAVE laws against dumping, but as an attorney remarked the other day, "Nowadays, everyone is guilty of at least six criminal offenses merely by being where they are."

This is State Trust Land, supposedly accessible by permit only. Several years ago I was confronted by two volunteers out checking campers' permits. I had mine. In decades of camping they were the only ones I've met. And I doubt they had any authority.

It's a third of the distance (from Tucson) to Sahuarita where I've been camping.

Vegetable Stew

Ingedients

Red potatoes

Carrots

Celery

Bok choy 

Fresh garlic

Green beans

Onion

Tofu

Salt

At 3:30 I began. At 5:20, sunset, it was done.

My thanks to Jozien for encouragement.

1996 Geo Tracker Clutch Adjustment

The drama! Those who eschew obviously have no appreciation for the MEANING it imparts!

As we, ah say, ah say now, Pay Attention When Ah'm Tawkin' tew yuh, son!..as we come intuh the home stretch to 70 years of age, despite D'nile as a primary tactic, I do b'leeve it be gainin' on me.

Yesterday we packed up and went and got the rubber washers needed to make the clutch repair Germannically solid.

1/8" Thick

Today, it was back underneath to measure -- by eye -- and cut the washers to fit in the recess in front of the clutch cable collar thereby shimming the cable back about half an inch.

Four...count 'em.

The cable's held in place by the tension on the clutch and there's about an inch and a half of pedal freeplay before the clutch disengages.

We came south to Sahuarita...and I am pooped.

Clutch Entertainment

One can't be too sure about these things, but I believe this is the third clutch since May, 2017.

I started on it yesterday when I determined there was no more adjustment on the clutch cable. Thinking to create more pull, I crafted a bushing from a cane tip. It didn't work.

I went into 4wd-lo got up onto the stump which gave easy access....but not good for sleeping. By yanking on the shift lever we achieved nuetral and rolled to level.

Today it's all up to the jack and maybe digging out a pit. I have an idea I've yet to try...plenty of food and water. I am, for the moment, taking my time.

LUNCH

Canned mixed vegetables -- carrots, potatoes, peas, corn, green beans, celery, lima beans -- dolmas (canned) with sardine paté on cracker. Mixed vegetables seasoned with salt & pepper and they & sardines got a dollop of mayonnaise.

All chased with a small sip or two of wine.

After Lunch

I did some light machining on the clutch adjustment nut to help it turn more easily. That isn't the problem, but it's something that needed doing.

2:04pm -- SUCCESS!! The bushing ended up working; it just needed to seat better. It then enabled further adjustment.

It's gonna need additional work, but I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed we can make it to the hardware store. 

Afternoon Light

Phoebe In Upper Right

Swimmingly

A most sensual of activities.

Around 3:20, the sunlight comes below the cover.

It's a combo - crawl with side-stroke legs...sort of

This was my first encounter with a scale. I got off thinking I weighed 325. A little doubtful I button-holed Mike, the program coordinator. He went with me to check the scale. He weighed 147....about what I'd like to weigh. He was about my height so I got to see what I'd look like...sort of....if I were 35 years younger. He said I was looking at kilograms. 243 was still pretty upsetting. But it was better than the 250 I hit a few years ago. Onward!

I left the pool at 4:30 and immediatly discovered rush hour. I made it to the grocery....along with everyone else. It's WILD to see people rushing. I was astonished at how polite everyone is.

Approaching the freeway, Phoebe hit 72 mph and merged just like any other. We skimmed along until the pack thinned then dropped down to her preferred 62.

We may do it again tomorrow.

Mornings - Coffee & Wine

I was 17 - Fresh from a Boulder, Colorado school for dropouts - I'd barely finished the ninth grade. I'd read about Sylvan Hart, The Last of the Mountain Men, and set out with a boy-scout backpack to find him.

Eschewing maps, I wandered the Salmon River Wilderness -- as it was known in them days. At the end of the road, before it turned up French Creek and wound up the mountain to Burgdorf, lived a tall, ninety-year-old string bean who started his day with a shot of whiskey.

I met him when I followed the road past the turnoff to see what there was. I walked in those days and, as now, was something of an anomoly -- just like everybody else in that part of the world. 

On Friday and Saturday nights around 10pm or so, I'd see his truck go by. The road was a narrow lane cut into the steep mountainside. There were sheer dropoffs into the river where folks dumped their unwanted cars and a few who missed the turn came to their end.

Accordion, Cup o' Wine & Boiled 'Taters

I start the day, after breakfast, with a bite of coffee. Wine in the evening causes reflux so I decided to copy the old man. And it facilitates accordion practice and cooking. 50+ years later, I toast his memory with a couple of sips -- on a fine day somewhat like then, for wandering.

It's 1:30 or later by the time I'm ready to roll. The wine, 

incompatible with the heart meds, has LONG since worn off. 

The Hazards of Piddling

I'm 4.5 miles south of I-8 and the road, all along the way, is CAMPED UP! Everyone has 1,000 acres, but every space is taken.

It was almost dark when I got to a BLM road. I fired up the GPS to note the location on the laptop. Climbing back into the cab, I noticed a light. I couldn't guage the distance, but drove ahead, thinking to find a place beyond them. 

Almost immediately I discovered they were only a few hundred feet ahead. I went past but after about 1,000 feet, there was an impassable wash. Fortunately, the road took a sharp dip just before. By now it was completely dark and I was exhausted. I made camp. I'm too close for proper etiquette, but we can't see each other...I just hope they don't have a dog.

Sheesh! Two years ago no one was out here. 

I got going today at 4:00 pm, so had an hour and a half to drive which, for me, translates to 45 minutes. I stopped in Gila Bend to get water and drove the remaining half hour (with the sun above the horizon) to the exit. I drove into four possible sites before finally settling here. The first two were still too noisy and the others were taken....with vehicles hidden by vegetation until I got close.

In one of Michael Pollan's books he interviewed an Idaho potato farmer. The family had a garden where they grew theirs. The farmer said they wouldn't eat the ones grown for commercial sale...too many chemicals 

I was surprised by how much cleaner the organics were. The rinse water for the regulars was muddy, but the water for these was so clean I used it to rinse dishes.

Buckeye, Arizona

A fruitful stop. I had a slow leak in the port side aft. A bolt, he said.

After the tire I went across the street & picked up a new battery from Walmart. Phoebe's is due to poop out any day. Price dropped $40.00. Last one was $100.00. This one $57.00. Same kind.

Nice supper of canned peas & porkchops with popcorn for dessert. Now, 8pm, kicked back with Yogi Egyptian Licorice tea...a recent introduction thanks to She-of-the-Capri.

This Spot Taken

It's dawg eat dawg out here in the West. I GOTZ to git me uh new hat! In the meantime ah dun peed on several creosote bushes. 

I'ma gonna try drinking coffee again. It's been almozt two years.

I needed a measuring cup. It does double-duty as a filter holder. 

I keep the katsup handy in case somebody stops by with some fries.

Wickenburg Bluegrass Festival

 

The Arizona Wildflowers

A Close Call

It was dark. Suddenly there was a turn, a steep incline, rocks and ruts. "Not in the dark," I said and backed down. I made camp a couple hundred feet away. In the morning I discovered a deep canyon with a straight dropoff.

Blind in one eye, my ability to guage distance is not  good, but I'm gonna say the first ledge is about 12-15 feet down. The second, the brown spot, about 60 more.

It's about 15 feet to the lip of the first ledge.

It would've only been natural to do an end-over-end. Duh sekunt flip woulda bin ober d'lip.

Looking at my tracks, I saw I'd backed onto a small turnout opposite the dropoff.

The faint lines cutting the diagonal from lower left to upper middle and upper right are Phoebe''s.

If I'd turned the other way I'd have gone over. 

What's that saying about drunks and fools?

Old Route 66

The old highway must've been awe inspiring. And the heat!  With the threat of the radiator boiling over, let alone a failed water pump!

The old route is much prettier than the freeway, but it would've taken some real motivation to drive it. Now it's the occasional youngster on their "organ donor" sport bike and the just-as-occasional olde dood on his Harley trying to recreate those days of yore. And no flyover!

Nice breeze...sunshine. Now, all that's needed are a few willing females; or ONE even. 

My dreams have been vivid vignettes of ambles in idyllic nature or cross-campus errands from my days as ombudsman in the College of Eduation at the University of New Mexico.

When I saw my former boss at The Frontier Restaurant, she said they'd had to hire two people to replace me. Of Italian descent, her parents had immigrated to Gallup to mine coal. She appreciated entreprenuership and let me run my businesses (note plural) from my office on the second floor.