Sunday, February 24
Wind, wind, and more wind.
Oh, the poor birds! I’m glad I got another feeder for them.
I mix up a sugar solution, pour it in, turn the thing over, and the water spurts out of each flower! Down goes the water line!
Well, I’ll try this again. I probably put it together wrong.
I reassemble it.
I test it with plain water. Good! It holds!
I make up another sugar solution, pour it in, and there go the flowers again, spouting the solution until it’s all gone. Each time it appears that it’s going to work, so I fight the biting wind to hang it up, and then I stand back and watch the water pour out of the plastic flowers. Frustrating! Four cups of sugar and sixteen cups of water later, I finally give up and email the Perky-Pet company.
Monday, February 25
Neighbor Glenda is at the door! We haven’t seen much of each other because it’s either too cold or too windy. The wind has abated and it’s warmer, so she and Jeff will have a campfire later. Would I like to join them?
While we’re talking, a pick-up drives up.
A man jumps out and greets us both.
“Sue, do you remember me?” Pause. “Last year? I saw you at your campsite over there.”
“Oh, yes! I remember now. What’s your name?”
“Terry, from Canada, but don’t hold that against me!”
“I remember. . . You’re the rock guy!”
Terry tells me he continues to read my blog.
“I was reading your blog yesterday about you passing a guy on the road, and I thought, hey, she’s talking about me!”
“That was YOU?” I exclaim. We share a good laugh over that.
I inquire about his wife who was being treated for cancer when I met him last winter. He tells us she didn’t make it. As Terry recounts the last months of her life — their last trip together followed by her rapid decline — my heart breaks for him. Glenda and I look at her photo . . . A beautiful woman with sparkling, kind eyes and a warm smile, a mother of two grown daughters.
In spite of his pain, Terry retains his exuberance for life.
He’s here to collect more rocks which he’ll take to Quartzsite. He’s also here to let the beauty of the desert help him heal from his loss.
We exchange email addresses and promise to keep in touch.
Around sunset Jeff builds a big campfire.
I set up my camp chair next to Glenda on their outdoor mat. I place the crew’s dog bed on it also.
“I bring this because it helps them settle down in one spot.” Of course, Spike proves me wrong by wandering all over the place. He prances and plays with Kira the keeshond for a while. Bridget clings.
Glenda and Jeff put together a list of suggestions for my Amazon products pages.
(See “Shopping Links” in header). Glenda explains each of the items and how they’re useful. I thank them for their thoughtfulness. (I really do appreciate how people support my efforts!) Glenda looks beyond the saguaro that guards their Casita and notices the full moon aglow at the horizon. We both grab our cameras.
Of course, I focus more on the crew than I do on the moon! (The BLT sits in the dark to the left of the moon in the photo.)
Before leaving for the short walk back to our campsite, I clip a headlamp on my hat and pick up my chair and the crew’s bed. Together we walk toward the moon and home.
rvsue
rvsue and her canine crew 