Really "This and That!!

We are now in the peak of summer and a somnolence settles down on the southern part of Arizona. People still have to work a full day, yard work, believe it or not, is still necessary, and of course pools have to be meticulously maintained to make sure you do not get that green "stuff" greeting you first thing in the morning!

Where work is concerned, one has to slog on and be grateful that one still has a job, in this shaky economy. The desert gardens of houses in semi rural areas are usually home to mesquite trees and palo verdes. Lovely desert trees which require little or no maintenance and both drop seeds which soon sprout into new saplings after the first rains.
BUT! The palo verde, while beautifu in spring and early summer with its profusion of little yellow flowers, soon sheds them, all in one go, it seems. At some point, the ground beneath them seems to be carpeted in yellow, a lovely sight, yet it has to be raked up.
The mesquite does not really flower but grows thousands and thousands of pods which are the exact shape and length of green beans! Thousands of years ago, these beans were food to the indigenous people and when the beans dried they were ground and pounded into a flour like consistency and used to make a type of flat bread. At the moment the beans are all down and I am hoping some poor soul will offer to rake them up! But I think I shall just have to pay someone to do it for me as a bad back just does not let me do it myself.
As for the pool, that is my chore and my pleasure. At 6am. in the morning I skim the surface, check the Ph. backwash if necessary and then, all hot and bothered, I jump in even at that early time, since the water is at its "coolest" at 88F or 32C !!! after a swim, I remain in my swim suit and as soon as I dry up just a little, go in, have breakfast and do my home chores. This is the best way to keep cool while doing the housework. Later, at sunset, it is time to jump in again to cool down, sort of, as by now the pool is close to 92F or 35C ! then check the Ph. again and put in the necessary chemicals so that they work on the pool at night.

That is a day in the desert! Some time in between, shopping has to be done and of course, cooking. Summer menus are light and fresh and quickly put together. While the rest of the Country enjoys barbequeing on the week ends, it is just too hot for my taste, at least to cook outside. So I invent as many different cold meals as I can.

The big news is when the monsoon rains finally hit. It has already rained pretty heavily in several parts of the State but the area I live in has only got a sprinkling and done nothing to alleviate the situation!

I am still hoping and waiting!

The Promised Land(s)?

19/07/2009
Today's news just shriek out that we are nowhere near our Promised land and I do not mean just the Israelites!
The first item I read was that the Russian and Chinese Presidents have warned that if the USA does not put the brakes on Israel and its growing intention to bomb Iran's nuclear sites, this would mean another World War! Phew! a world war when several countries are armed with nuclear weapons? This would really mean Armageddon!

As if this is not bad enough, a video has been circling around on "YouTube" about the abysmally low birth rate in Europe and North America. It states that with declining births and increasing immigration mainly Muslim, by 2050 the Europe we know will have vanished and be replaced by a Muslim led society. The same goes for North America.
Muslims have no problem with having large families; on the contrary, as Muammar Ghaddafi himself said, Muslims can take over the world peacefully by being fruitful and multiplying.

On the other hand, the Western mostly christian world, has opted for mini families, whether because of financial necessity or disinclination to being tied up raising a large brood, especially if both parents want or are constrained, to work. The result is that the indigenous population is shrinking at an alarming rate. Already, in many western countries the median age is much higher than it was fifty years ago. People are living longer and the birth rate keeps dropping.

In several countries the rate has dropped so low that it is beyond recovery, even if the native population decided to go on a baby boom spree.

So where is our Promised land? What are we doing to ourselves? We had a country to be proud of. We had a set of rules by which we lived, we followed one Universal God and when we had to go to battle, it was for God and Country. We respected our neighboring countries and when their culture was in marked difference from ours, we respected that to, as they respected ours.

Nowadays each of our countries is a hodge podge of cultures and ethnic groups; no real harm in that, one would say. But, when one has to pussy-foot around the, up to now, minorities so as not to offend their delicate sensibilities, and this in our country, the one which is giving them hospitality and a livelihood, then it is too much! Much too much!

Unfortunately, we cannot do much about what is already done, but we surely can stand up for ourselves and our rights, take a more active part in our country's politics so as to really have a strong say in the way it is run, and finally to remember that this is our country, our culture our traditions and it is not up to us to change our ways to suit the newcomers but rather, they are in duty bound, even be obliged to assimilate and integrate into the country of adoption and to become as one with the country they chose to live in. After all, they can always go back to where they came from and to the traditions they miss so much and would like to impose on us!

Sarah Palin: Why the virulence?

For the past week we have been bombarded incessantly by news, pictures and videos about Michael Jackson and his untimely death. So much so, that the surprise news of Sarah Palin's upcoming resignation from her position of Governor of Alaska, has not generated the headlines and dastardly press in the amount that anything about her and her family usually causes.

No doubt, it shall all begin once again, now that Jackson has been laid to rest!
Why have so many people decided to be so virulent about her? What has she ever done to them. Why would the liberal Press be consistently and persistently so antagonistic towards her? Was there nothing about her that they found good or interesting or worthwhile? Are the people of Alaska so dumb that they would elect her to the highest post in the State if she really is all that the press say about her? I think not! The dumb ones are the press and their nasty minded readers and followers.

She came out from relative obscurity, called by Sen. McCain to be his running mate for his presidency attempt. She came over as a breath of much needed fresh air to a campaign which could only be described as boring. Her approach was natural, down to earth, home spun, some called it, but it boosted ratings for McCain in a way he would never have got on his own.
She spoke of a change for decency and honor in politics, for truth, for values, all of which have been sadly lacking. People who heard her loved her, but, those on whose toes she may have trod, hated her from the get-go and set up to destroy her in the meanest, most vicious and untruthful ways possible. Nothing was taboo. Her handicapped baby, her oldest daughter, her clothes, her way of life, all were brutally torn to shreds in a manner unprecedented in the history of modern politics. Why?

Nothing about the negative press gives a shred of evidence why they would hate her so. She may not be Presidential material just yet but this does not justify the hate. Nor does the taking for granted attitude that McCain would not live the length of his presidency had he been elected, justify their actions. McCain may be a senior citizen but he is healthy and strong. He survived the campaign and its brutal pace, didn't he?

I hope she decides to run for Senator. The next Republican President would be wise to choose her as his Secretary of State for Finance. She would certainly go after all those who have brought this great Country nearly to its knees with their greed for money at all costs and to hell with the people from whom they stole it. I think she would live once again to her college nickname," Barracuda," and clean up the mess left behind.

Who knows what the press would have to say about this!

My naughty Puppies

I have always loved dogs, but since I came to live in Arizona I have had quite a collection of them, thanks to sizable backyards.
My first was a miniature schnauzer who roamed into my back yard with no collar on, no tags, but nicely groomed. I fed him and reluctantly did my duty and advertised finding him in the local newspaper. No one claimed him so Luke became pet number one.
He was quite a character, would play with his stuffed duck and loved car rides. A short while later my younger daughter asked me to temporarily keep her one year old Border Collie as the dog was very timid and she had young kids visiting for a month. The month came and went and Dolly became a fixture, pet number two. She and Luke got on very well. Luke did not cry any more when I had to go out and leave them in the house as Dolly was his companion. Not only, since he was male, albeit neutered, he soon asserted his authority over Dolly and left her in no doubt who was the master! Unhappily,I did not enjoy him for long. He got cancer and as it became worse I had no option but to put him down. It was the first time I ever had to do this and I never imagined it would be so gut wrenching.

Dolly thrived and her herding instincts came very much to the fore when the grand kids and their friends would come and swim in my pool. She would watch them intently and as soon as one of them got out of the water she would gently nip their heels and make them jump in again. The children soon caught on and they would run around the pool's edge laughing and calling out to her and she would chase them one by one till they were all in the pool once again.She was by far the smartest pet I have ever had. She lived till she was about ten years when she got sick and finally had to be put down to relieve her of her pain.Another tragedy for me.
Soon after,having Dolly, my younger daughter decided that I really did not have a decent guard dog and at one visit to the vet, she found out that he had his daughter's German shepherd waiting for a new home, since the daughter was at University in Tucson and could not keep her
Her name was Mokey and she looked so pleadingly at us that we did not have the heart to leave her and so she became pet number three.

So for a time I had three dogs of different sizes living with me. If you think Mokey became the alpha dog, think again. She turned out to be as timid as can be and Luke soon asserted his dominance over her too.Some guard dog she turned out to be!
After Luke died I was down to two pets but not for long. Again, my younger daughter who would come visiting with her collection of dogs, she had an Aussie heeler mix called Pete who used to be pestered unmercifully by her favorite puppy, a Jack Russel Terrier, who was and still is a real terror. One day he categorically refused to go back home with her and comfortably installed himself in my house. So now I was again back to three. The three of them got on very well together, each with his own character and funny foibles. Pete was lazy and when we would go out for walks, he would walk perhaps fifty yards, then sit down and wait for us to return, when he would trot back in feeling very good about himself.
One day, he even refused to walk that much but chose instead to wait for us in the shade by the fence. there was no moving him! Both Pete and Dolly went to doggy heaven within a very short time of each other, yet another sad period.

This time elder daughter came to the rescue. We went to a private breeder, not a puppy mill, to look for a miniature schnauzer puppy. This lady's dog had produced a litter of four puppies of which two had already gone to one owner. I could not decide whether to get the boy or the girl and then started worrying about leaving the other one alone. yes, you guessed it! We returned home with two little bundles of fur. And that s how Max and Lucy came into my life, my family's life and to all who came to my house.

Max and Lucy are now two years old and the naughtiest puppies you can find. they do everything in twos. They run in tandem, they sit side by side in perfect alignment, they eat together, in other words, they are inseparable . They love socks and shoes and hiding them in the back yard.
But their biggest pleasure is chasing after bunnies, of which there are plenty, especially in spring and summer. Given half a chance they will tear off and chase them till they finally give up as the desert rabbits are extremely fast. No amount of calling them has any effect. They do come back, but after I have given chase and yelled myself hoarse.

I think, I shall need the Dog Whisperer for these naughty two.

my naughty puppies

in Johanna's backyard