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Desert Boy and I just returned from a lovely adventure, which will be featured in next Monday's Desert Destination. But to give you a teaser, it involved all the elements needed for a successful trip:

Getting Dirty

Playing in Water

Hiking until Utterly Exhausted

Desert Boy and Henry Test Their Teeth

I'm living with two boys, two baby boys, two baby boys who are teething. One is a human boy, and one is a puppy boy, but they sure have a lot in common. Every day they both are chewing on a lot of things.

Fortunately, living in a rural desert area means we can leave things scattered around the yard and they won't get stolen or rusted from rain. So they both have lots of things to chew on as they wander around. And they do.

But sometimes having inanimate objects to chew on isn't good enough. The other day Henry took a little nip at Desert Boy. This happens often, and usually Desert Boy is able to deflect him. This particular day, Desert Boy got mad, turned to Henry, and nipped him back. He just grabbed the puppy, sank his teeth in, but Henry's skin is so loose he just got a little bitsy bite. I scolded them both and then tried my best to keep from laughing out loud. It was such an unanticipated movement, but clearly Desert Boy was going to show Henry who was boss. 

Desert Boy and Henry Go for a Swim

It's getting really hot here, into the 90s every day, which I realize isn't as hot as say, Phoenix, but it's still hot for me. And for Henry. And for Desert Boy. So the other day we went for a walk to the little pond near our house. We like the pond a lot, and had been there a few days earlier. It's a settling pond where the stream water goes before it's sent down a long pipe to the irrigation pivots in the fields below. As the stream water suddenly loses velocity, sand and gravel drop out of it, so the pond has gradually gotten a lot shallower. That makes it wonderful for us to go wade around.

Henry obviously remembered how much fun the pond was, because as we approached it, he took a flying leap and jumped in. Except it wasn't the shallow part, it was a deep part over his head, and he hasn't decided that he knows how to swim yet. He's a labrador retriever, so I thought it was sort of wired into his DNA, plus I did see him do the doggy paddle one other time when he got a little deep. But this time, he panicked and was trying to scramble out of the pond, but the edge was too steep and he was stuck. So recalling all my training from my lifeguard days, I walked over to the edge, grabbed his collar, and hauled him out. My reward was him shaking the water off him and getting me all wet.

Henry didn't want to get back in the water, but I figured he better get over his fear right away. So we went down to the shallow part and I threw sticks into the water for him to chase. No way, he was stubbornly staying on shore. So I walked into the water and called him. Then I looked up and saw that Desert Boy was managing to climb out of his stroller, despite being strapped in. I got out of the water, grabbed Desert Boy, got back in, and called Henry again. Seeing his pal in the water did the trick, and Henry leapt into the water and began splashing around, getting us a lot wetter than we wanted to be. Than I wanted to be. Desert Boy loved it.

Desert Boy Finds a Stinkbug

This lovely upended creature is called a stinkbug. It's a beetle in the Tenebrionidae family, which contains about 1,400 species in North America. In general they're called darkling beetles, but beetles of this genus, Eleodes, are called stinkbugs, and about 100 species are found in the western United States. They are scavengers, eating the leftovers that no one else wants. They are about one and a half inches long and easy to spot as they creep around a variety of habitats. 
When the stinkbug is upset, it sticks its rear up in the air. If it gets really mad, it can squirt a stinky brown liquid. I've never seen this happen, despite trying to provoke some stinkbugs. If you have seen a squirt, I'd like to hear about it! Okay, that gives you an idea of what life is like out in the middle of the desert, I get amused by watching stinkbugs wander around and wondering if I can make them squirt.
Here's a good view of that pointy behind. Some people call these clown beetles because they look like they're standing on their heads. They can live up to 15 years, an age that seems quite old for such a tiny creature. Because they wander around and are easy to see, they are eaten by mice, Loggerhead Shrikes and another stinky critter, skunks. 
Speaking of stinky critters, here's Desert Boy. He sees the stinkbug and can't resist trying to catch it. Is he coordinated enough to actually grab it?
Getting closer, he's determined to grab it.
Success! Now Desert Boy has the wiggling beetle in his hands. He likes feeling to learn about new things, but he likes tasting even better. So will he do it, will he eat the stinkbug? (For those of you saying that I should be intervening at this point, I have to say I was just enjoying myself too much. And after all the dirt he had eaten that day, I figured a little extra protein wouldn't cause any harm.)

Did he eat it? I'll let you decide.

Water + Dirt = Mud

We're going to give the moniker Desert Boy a try. If you like it, or if you don't, leave a comment and let me know. Anyway, to make this post sound intelligent, I'll say that we were beginning chemistry lessons with Desert Boy, trying to teach him what happens when you mix water and dirt. In reality, Desert Boy just loves water, and goes wherever he can find it, including Henry's water dish.
Desert Boy thinks he's helping Henry get a drink of water. At least that's what I think at first. Then I realize he's trying to tip the pot while Henry is drinking.
Henry backs off and Desert Boy starts jiggling the handle, watching the waves in the pot. I know that this stage won't last long.
Sure enough, it doesn't. He's got to get his hand in there and start splashing. I have to go and move a hose by the garden. It's only about 20 feet away. It only takes me about two minutes to move. But by the time I get back...
Desert Boy has dumped the pot with water, is potching in the mud, has gotten his clothes all dirty, and Henry is taking off with the pot. At least Henry hasn't tackled Desert Boy in the mud. This time.

Desert Boy and Henry Go for a Visit

It seems like Desert Boy, Henry, and I have had a lot of adventures lately. They haven't all had particularly happy endings, but as I look back at them I find myself chuckling, and perhaps tales of our wanderings in the desert will entertain you.

A few days ago, I decided to go for a bike ride because it was still cool in the morning and I needed some exercise. I have a bike seat for Desert Boy that is attached to the front of the bike, so he can see where we're going. He loves it. I also added one of the little squeeze bike horns that his hands are finally big enough to grab and squeeze, so as we started out of the driveway, he started honking the horn. All was good. But then Henry decided to come along. Henry usually stays in the yard, but this morning he didn't want to miss out on the fun. The only problem is that Henry didn't know how to run next to a bike, so he kept running ahead of us and getting slightly run over. After getting run over a couple times, he realized he better run by the side of the bike. I thought maybe it would work out, he would get extra exercise by keeping up with the bike and we would have a nice ride.

By this time we had crossed two cattle guards and were out on the pavement, which also happens to be the main road through town. A truck came from the opposite direction, and Henry decided it would be wonderful fun to start chasing it, so he darts out in the middle of the road. My heart started pumping fast as I wondered if our little puppy would survive his stupidity. He did, and I sighed a big sigh of relief and scolded him. We continued on, hoping that there wouldn't be any more traffic. But another came, and Henry ignored my commands and chased it. And then another.

By this point I decided we needed to get off the highway. So we pulled into the driveway of a friendly older neighbor. Her dog was in the yard, and I thought it would be fun to say hi to her and her dog. She says hi from her open kitchen window and then comes out in her nightgown. Just as she comes out I hear a hissing sound from the back tire of the bike. Rats, a flat tire. She says she has a pump, and I say great. But then I look at the tire closer and see green slime coming out from near the valve stem. It's probably a broken valve stem so I won't even be able to fix it. 

The neighbor offers to drive us back home, but I figure she's in her nightgown and we shouldn't disrupt her. I say no, I'll just walk back, we are less than a mile from home. She offers her bicycle, and I say yes. It has a flat tire, so after searching for and getting out two different extension cords and her bike pump, we finally find a combination that works and get the tire pumped up. I hear something beeping in her house and ask if she needs to go do something, but she doesn't remember. I figure that I will ride her bike back to the house, put the bike in the back of my truck, and be back in five minutes. But I have nowhere to put Desert Boy on the bike, so I ask her to watch him and tell her I will be back in five minutes. What can happen in five minutes? I peddle out of the driveway, Desert Boy starts crying, and Henry won't come with me. I realize that it might be a long five minutes for her, so I ride as fast as I can, hoping Desert Boy will stop crying soon.

When I get back to her house in my truck, I see that the sprinkler is on and Desert Boy is happily playing in it. No problem. But there's also a sweet smell in the air. The neighbor tells me that the beeping turns out to be the oven timer, but she had forgotten about it until the smoke alarm went off. She had been making hummingbird food and the sugar burned, filling her house with smoke and ruining her pan. She had opened all her doors and windows to try to get the smell out of the house. I apologized profusely, and then took out her bike to return it to the garage. She walked with me, and when we got back to Desert Boy, we found that he had walked over to the spigot for the sprinkler and had turned it on all the way, so the water was now sprinkling the inside of her house through the open window. I guess it would put out any fire. 

Desert Boy was sopping wet, so I grabbed him and told her we better be leaving before we caused any more destruction. When we stopped we had only wanted to wish her a good morning. Now she had a bike pump out, extension cords strung everywhere, a smelly house, a ruined pan, wet dining room curtains and carpet, and more excitement than she usually gets in a few days, all within a few minutes timespan. The phone rang, and she said it was the lady who checks up on her every morning. She was definitely going to have something to talk about that morning!

Playing in Water

Summer means it's time to play with water! It all started with Daddy taking Nature Boy irrigating. Nature Boy had lots of fun, coming home entirely coated with mud. We got out the little swimming pool and the hose.
Notice the mud around his mouth. No matter how many times we tell him not to, he still eats dirt and mud!
Nature Boy, sporting a lovely farmer's tan, did most of the work of filling the pool. He thought the hose was terrific fun. He was already soaking wet, so we didn't care how much wetter he got.
And when it got deep enough, he crawled right in, with his trusty sidekick close by.
We had so much fun in the morning that we had to come out again in the afternoon for some more fun.

The added benefit of playing with the hose is that our scraggly grass and trees got a little extra moisture. It's stream water and cold, but Nature Boy didn't seem to mind. I put my feet in for a couple minutes and that's all I could take.
Henry is back to his old tricks of tackling his buddy. Henry was good about staying out of the pool, but he wanted to be close to all the action.
The two share a special moment.
And they're both good about posing for Mama.

But I swear I didn't have Nature Boy pose for this picture. When I turned and saw him doing this I cracked up so much I could hardly hold the camera still. 

Driving Tractors Part I

First off, I've been told that Nature Boy is not viewed by some as a good nickname for my darling son. When I think of the term Nature Boy I think of a juvenile that has fun playing outside and doesn't like to come in much, but apparently the appellation holds other connotations for some. So if you have a better epithet for the little guy who likes to eat dirt, climb everything, wrestle with his puppy, eat dogfood, try to get into things he shouldn't, play in water, eat strange unidentifiable black things and get dirty, please leave a comment with your suggestion.

The ranch has many tractors of all shapes and sizes. Most don't work, giving my dear husband, his brothers, and the mechanic palpitations. Nature Boy doesn't care if it works or not, he just wants to see how much fun it is to pretend to drive it. So here are a few of the tractors on the ranch as Nature Boy "test drives" them.

This John Deere 720 is missing its seat (and probably several other parts), but it still looks cool. It sits down by the shop for everyone to admire (or not).

This is an important tractor, a John Deere 4450, which is used daily to feed the cows in the feedlot.
This John Deere 8100 is also used quite a bit.
Nature Boy likes the interior, but he will have to grow a bit to see over the steering wheel.
This seat appears to be a little closer to his size. He already knows he needs to shift. He's inside this old loader.

Here's an old John Deere 55. It hasn't been used in a long time, the wheels have sunk into the ground. But it has a lot of interesting looking parts.
Nature Boy pretends to like the different parts, but I notice he's putting some dirt in his mouth. When I tell him to spit it out, he just laughs at me.

Nature Boy loves the Backhoe (Case 580 Super M) more than any other piece of equipment, probably because he sees his Daddy use it often.
Or maybe it's because it has a comfortable seat. He crosses his legs all the time.

On the other hand, Nature Boy doesn't seem to mind the wind and lack of air conditioning in this backhoe. His Daddy says he needs to learn how to steer better. Maybe by the time he's 18 months. 

A Boy and His Puppy

Sometimes I scratch my head and wonder if I'm sane. What we were thinking getting a puppy when we had a one-year old? At other times, it's really fun to watch the two interact. Our son, whom I call Nature Boy, loves being outside. Our puppy, Henry, is overly exuberant and wants to be anywhere Nature Boy is. So little Nature Boy is learning how to deal with a bigger creature who wants to play rough.
Nature Boy is learning that he can distract Henry. When he's nice it's by giving him a stick or leaf. When he's not so nice, it's by pulling his tail or an ear. I call Henry frequently to get him to back off, but I figure it's good for me to be quiet sometimes to let the two of them work it out.

Nature Boy tries to get away, but Henry is quite a bit faster. Crawling just isn't adapted for high speeds! I think having a puppy will get Nature Boy walking faster, and we've noticed quite an improvement in just the last week.
Nature Boy feels confident that he's getting away. He tries to crawl faster.

But the feeling is short-lived. I love his expression! Note the dirt stains around his mouth. 

Mom helps him out and he's able to get upright. He's safe for the moment, regaining his strength for the next match. He keeps his eye on his quarry. Maybe someday they'll be good friends.