Family Fun

Desert Boy and I recently visited with family, including a bunch of uncles who were hoping to teach Desert Boy "bad" things. Now look at how sweet Desert Boy is in the photo above, riding on the shoulders of one of his uncles. Doesn't he look slightly angelic?

Then his uncles decide to twirl his brains on the merry-go-round, pushing it as fast as they could. They ended up dizzier than he did.

He got sent down the slide--upside down--into Grandma's waiting hands.

Then his uncle took him down to the creek to throw rocks and sit in mud.

So it's no wonder he looks a little zonked out in the swing, with his shoe missing. Next to him is his younger cousin. Apparently she is ready to imitate Desert Boy.

She's usually a wonderful, charming baby.

See how she grins while Desert Boy squirms?

And she coos while Desert Boy puts his finger in his mouth. At least it's not up his nose. But she doesn't have long until her uncles decide it's time to teach her "bad" things. I can hear them scheming now. 

2009: La Niña Returns?

So far the winter has been extremely dry out here, with only a dusting of snow left up on the nearby mountains and nothing on the valley bottom. NOAA weather scientists believe that a weak La Niña may be forming, and in our area, a La Niña means less precipitation. 

La Niña is associated with unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. These ocean temperatures impact temperatures globally for up to two years. During a La Niña, the easterly trade winds are stronger than normal, allowing colder water to upwell along the equator and western coast of South America. These colder water temperatures can be as much as 7 degrees F below normal.

In the U.S., La Niña causes drier than normal conditions in the Southwest, Central Plains, and Southeast; and wetter, cooler conditions in the Pacific Northwest. In our area, we hear news reports about places less than one hundred miles to the north that are receiving wonderful snowfall. But we are just far enough below the invisible line that we aren't benefiting from an excess of precipitation. We've been dry for the last couple of years, so it's not great to be getting a La Niña.

La Niña is part of a natural cycle, alternating with neutral conditions and El Niño, when the ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific are warmer than normal. During El Niño years, climate is often the reverse of La Niña conditions.

So I guess we'll just have to do the best we can for now and hope that this La Niña will be weak and soon end. The intensity of La Niña and El Niño events can vary a great deal. If you'd like to learn more about this weather phenomenon, check out the NOAA website.

More Fun in the Equipment Yard

The North American International Auto Show begins in a couple days in Detroit, so in honor of that, we'll take another trip to the junkyard (oops--equipment yard) to celebrate. Okay, I just heard about the show on the radio today and I went to the equipment yard a couple days ago, but I feel like I need some excuse to show you more junk (or equipment). I find the equipment yard really fascinating. After all it has over a hundred years of hubris resting in it. Someday, maybe some archeologist will find great value in it. Or if the recession gets bad enough, maybe the ranch will start selling parts and scrap metal. I guess I better just enjoy it while I can.

Here's a 1948 Ford F-1. It's the first Ford F series pickup truck. Ford has sold more F-series trucks than any automaker has sold any other model of car or pickup in the history of the automobile. This one was blue at one point, but the paint has sort of faded. Take a good look at the grill, because that was one of the first things to change. Something else to note is that it only has windshield wipers on the driver's side--one mounted on the bottom and one on the top.

This truck looks fairly similar, but you've probably noticed the grille looks a lot different. This is a Ford F-2. Most of the rest of the truck looks pretty similar, with a running board, raised hood, and big fenders (supposedly the fenders are bigger on a F-2 than an F-1, but I couldn't tell). 

This is another Ford pickup--would you like to wager a guess what model? I guessed F-2, and if you did, you can be wrong with me. Despite the funny front, it's an F-1. I really like the bumper--not only does it have the thick metal horizontal piece, it looks like someone added a couple vertical sections. This truck is going to move whatever is in its way. It's also impressive how vibrant that yellow paint has stayed--much better than the paint on my husband's F-150, which is flaking away in big chunks and wouldn't make Henry Ford proud at all.

This truck is also kind of cool despite all the rust. It has a neat windshield that curves around the sides and has the roof protecting it, nice curves, and---

---the coolest speedometer panel I've seen so far. Most are plain old circles or rectangles, but this is a triangle. I guess it doesn't take much to impress me. But trust me, it's cool looking, and I think I'm going to have to go back and look at it again. I've never been into vehicles, but looking at some of the details on these gets me excited. Maybe Desert Boy's interest in anything that moves is rubbing off on me. Oh, by the way, this is a Chevrolet Apache 32 Fleetside.

Sometimes cars don't look like much at first glance, like this Ford Galaxie 500. But take a closer look at the taillights. They really are out of this world.

I liked the lighting power of this car--not two headlights, but eight. No need for a big bumper if you can see what you're going to hit.

Ooh, these taillights are sexy. These are on a 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air. This model was produced from 1953-1975, but the 1950s versions were definitely the coolest. Old age (and lack of imagination by the automaker) made this a more utilitarian car in the latter years.

The lines on this car just make me want to go cruising. I'm ready to put on my cotton check dress and with my carefully coiffed hair pulled back with a hair band and go out with my beau.

It's not all vehicles in the equipment yard. Here are some strange metal things that caught my eye due to their symmetry. I've come to learn that they are called bowls, and are the bottom part of a well pump. The water entered the metal grate, and the motor at the top of the well pulled the water up. I don't know how this knowledge will enrich my life, but perhaps someday it will. And maybe yours too.

Tracking a Bobcat

A coworker told me about a bobcat she saw. It ran across the road in front of her and into a sagebrush and grass meadow. I've only seen a couple bobcats in my life, so I went over to investigate. It didn't take long to find the tracks. Bobcat tracks are like most cat tracks, with four toes that are curved around the paw. The paw itself has two lobes at the top of it (instead of a single lobe like a dog), but because the rear foot of a bobcat often steps on top of the front foot track, the two lobes can be obscured.

By the stride of the tracks, I can see the bobcat was walking. It also appeared to have been dragging its feet even though the snow was no more than three inches deep. Bobcats are generally solitary and nocturnal, and although they might wander more than 25 miles, they frequently stay in the same two-mile radius.

Here's a closeup of the paw print. It's not very large, only about 2 inches long and 2 inches wide. (It's very common for tracks to appear a little larger when the snow melts.) An adult bobcat weighs between 11 and 20 pounds. They are expert tree climbers.

One of the reasons I wanted to follow the bobcat is to see how it moves. It curved around bushes, and I could just imagine it sniffing around, trying to locate small mammals or birds, its favorite food. Before long, in February, bobcats start mating season. The kittens are born two months later and stay with their mom until autumn.

I followed the tracks until they started getting too far away. It's really fun tracking, and I have to admit there's always a little surge of adrenalin as I follow tracks around a tree, wondering if I've somehow caught up to the animal. So far I never have. But maybe someday.

Desert Boy and Santa

Yesterday was the Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas when the three wise men reached baby Jesus with their gifts. So the Christmas season is now officially over, despite the many Christmas decorations I still need to take down and put away. But I couldn't resist posting one more Christmas photo, this one taken by friends who witnessed Desert Boy's first encounter with Santa Claus. Do you think he got what he wanted for Christmas?