Holy Mackerel!! It’s Almost Christmas! What the heck . . . .

Here’s what we’ve been doing while the time as been flying by ……

Once again, I went with my friend Marcia and some of her fans to Madera Canyon to bird watch. It’s located on the northwest face of the Santa Rita Mountains in the Coronado National Forest. It’s known for it’s mesquite, juper-oak and pine tree woodlands that offer some of the world’s best bird watching and hiking areas.

What the heck, t’s fun coming here as there are more than 250 species of birds that can be found in Madera Canyon. Among them are the highly sought-after Elegant Trogon, Elf Owl, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Red-faced Warbler, Painted Redstart and more than 15 species of hummingbirds.

Below is the list of birds we saw

Subject: eBird — Madera Canyon–Santa Rita Lodge — Oct 25, 2024

Stationary 90 Minutes

10 Mourning Dove
3 Rivoli’s Hummingbird
1 Anna’s Hummingbird
1 Broad-tailed Hummingbird — Buffy flanks and slight spotting on gorget. Pale eye ring and green back. Bill dark
3 Broad-billed Hummingbird
1 Berylline Hummingbird — Visiting feeders infrequently. Slightly decurved dark bill. Rufous wings and with a green dark head and throat. Buzzy rattle noted prior to feeder visits
11 Acorn Woodpecker
2 Arizona Woodpecker
1 Hutton’s Vireo
13 Mexican Jay (Arizona)
1 Common Raven
6 Bridled Titmouse
2 Violet-green Swallow
4 White-breasted Nuthatch (Interior West)
1 Bewick’s Wren
14 House Finch
1 White-crowned Sparrow
1 Painted Redstart

Number of Taxa: 18

I don’t know if I saw the complete list, if I did I couldn’t tell you what the names of the birds or what colors they are. I know I did see the Arizona Woodpecker, Morning Doves, House Finches and the Raven. Most of the birds I know are common birds that you see everywhere. It’s fun watching birds and bird watchers.

It’s Halloween Eve, it used to be called it Begger’s Night. Dave, me and Sharon went to see Haunted Honeymoon at the movie room in Voyager. Sharon made great popcorn for the show.

It was the first time we saw the movie, we thought it was pretty good. It opened nationwide on July 26, 1986. The movie was the last feature film appearance by Gilda Radner (prior to her diagnosis and death from ovarin cancer. She died in May 20, 1989.

On Halloween Voyager had a lot of hootin and hollarin goin on.

Trick or treating was fun! The people who were handing out the candy wore great costumes.

Cooper got on his bowtie and cuffs and joined in on the parade excitement.

There was a lot of decorated golf carts and dogs and people in costumes. I didn’t get to take half the pictures of the people in golf carts or the dogs that participated. It was a lot of fun, especially for the dogs they got treats from kind people who were watching the the parade.

Halloween night it was time to party!

Even the band got dresses up for Halloween.

There were so many good costumes this year and I only got a chance to take a few pictures, because you can’t take pictures and dance. So I choose to dance. It was a great dance and a great day.

A few of our family members choose to celebrate Halloween too.

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It’s

In the desert

By the end of September, rain has dissipated, leaving behind an autumn desert surprisingly vibrant. Fresh green growth bursts forth, cacti are laden with fruit, and a flurry of wildflowers adds splashes of color. A sense of harmony is restored after the rains. Hope is renewed. Anything seems possible because it has rained in the desert. The low slant of sunlight adds new golden hues to the landscape. Skies are sharp and clear, with views stretching for miles.

~castle hot springs~

A walk in the desert across from Voyager.

Dave and Cooper are

On

Taking walks around the park you always get a nice showing of the sunsets.

“Don’t forget: Beautiful sunsets need cloudy skies…”

The weather here has been incredible almost everyday since we been here in October and so far December as been great too, so we’ve been at the pool in Voyager for a many a day. Especially Dave who does laps. I do laps too, but with a noodle, Not quite the same.

Novemember 21, me and some friends went to Karaoke Night at Voyager. Sharon had the courage to sing “Funky Cold Medina”

Jodi sang “These Boots are Made of Walking” by you know . . .

This guy sounded good singing “Beyond the Sea” by Bobby Darin. I remember the song, but didn’t remember the singer.

I didn’t get a picture of this guy but he sounded really good singing “The Auctioner Song.”

I also didn’t get a picture of the lady who sang “Black Velvet” a song sung by Alannah Myles in 1989. I also didn’t know the song was about the King Elvis Presley.

A good time was had by all. The songs people sang were really diversified. Everything from Frank Sinatara’s song – Fly me to the Moon- to Radio Head’s song – Creep – and everything in between.

A bunch of us in the park get together for Happy Hour at Fat Willy’s on friday, the restuarant inside Voyager. Sometimes we want to try a new place, so we tried BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse on Broadway Blvd. in Tucson.

BJ’s was founded in 1978 by Jim Kozen and Leonard Allenstein. It first opened in Santa Ana, California, as BJ’s Chicago Pizzeria. The original name was BJ Grunts, but due to a federal trademark conflict with RJ Grunts, a Chicago-based hamburger restaurant, the name was changed to just BJ’s.

I took a picture of Elisha and Kathy when when the food came, but once I started eating I forgot all about getting a picture with Bert and myself. The food was very good.

I was to full to try one of these but next time I’m going to leave some room for sure.

The real, original, classic ice cream cookie dessert that brought about a hundred imitations was created at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse. They call it the Pizookie. They havenearly a dozen different Pizookie flavors with inspiration from other beloved desserts, but the Chocolate Chunk Pizookie remains one of their earliest and favorite BJ’s innovations. The combination of a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie with cold, fresh vanilla bean ice cream is one of those desserts that you must experience to believe. Each Pizookie is baked thick in a deep dish pizza pan so it’s crisp on the bottom, chewy on the edges and soft in the middle. It looked as good as they describe it.

I can’t believe that it’s this time of the year already! I hope ya’ll had a great day.

We went to see Alisa Dupuy as Mary Jemison “The White Woman of the Genesee.” Also known as: Deh-he-wä-mis. We saw her twice before when she was at Voyager. Once she portrayed “Mathra Washington” and last Christmas she did the “Christmas Carole” she acted out all the roles of the different characters in the movie. She did a great job doing those so we went to see her again as Mary Jemison.

She talked about the life of Mary Jemison who when she was 15 was taken from her western Pennsylvania home by a Shawnee and French raiding party. Her family was killed, but Mary was traded to two Seneca sisters who adopted her. She lived to survive two Indian husbands, the births of eight children, the American Revolution, the War of 1812. In 1833 she died at about age ninety. She talked about the Indian ways and what she had learned. Her mother told her never forget how to talk english and always remember her families names, which she did.

The first picture is of Mary when she 15 and adopted by the Seneca Indians. Pictures of Mary old & young, the first statue is at Orrtanna, Adams County in Pennsylvania and the last picture is the statue at Letchworth State Park in Castile, N.Y. 

She alsospoke of how each tribe has its own language, religion, customs, governance structure, judicial system, and history. The different functions that men and women had. The men would spend their time hunting, trading and fighting. Male children would learn hunting and warrior skills from their fathers and uncles thru competive games like lacross. Women would run the planting and harvesting to sustain their villages. Female children would help their mothers with crops and household chores. Other duties of the women were to choose the clan leaders and they could also remove leaders from power. The women also played a big part in day to day tribal operations, tribal governance, and the practice of the tribe’s religious traditions. For certain Indian tribes, a women can obtain status equal to a man. A lot different then what the Western society still feels today. Way back then women were actually an important part of the tribes. When the native people presented their Western ancestors with some of these same societal notions, particularly the valuable contributions of women, Westerners were repulsed and dismissed these ideas immediately as a savage, inferior way of functioning. What the Hell!! For the Indians their power was shared equally among everyone in the Tribal Nation, with decisions made by consensus in this pure democracy, the oldest continuing one in the world.

According to the Iroquois creation myth, a prominent Native American story, the world was formed when a pregnant woman, known as the “Sky Woman,” fell from the sky onto the back of a giant turtle, essentially “stomping” on the earth she brought with her to create the land, with the help of animals like birds and beavers who brought her soil from the bottom of the ocean; this is why some Native American groups refer to the Earth as “Turtle Island.”. 

You have to admire Mary as she overcame tremendous hardships with sheer willpower, and an acceptance of present circumstances. Her story epitomizes the self-determination that defined the lives of early Adams County settlers”. If you want to learn more about her there are lots of books.

In Tucson, Arizona, the fall and winter growing season is from November to February. If there is a frost it’s usually around December 9th. Fall is a great time to plant in Tucson because the soil is still warm and there’s lots of sun. You can plant native perennials and cool season vegetables like beets, lettuce, carrots, radishes, spinach, turnips, onions, and peas. 

From mid-December through mid-June, Throughout this time, several wildflowers and cactus start blooming. With the greatest number of species in bloom in the first week of May. 

Different cacti through out Voyager park. There seems to be colorful flowers and cacti growing all the time which I didn’t expect in a dessert.

Oh…. I forgot to mention the citrus trees.

In December some citrus trees in Arizona are ready to be harvested. Which is wonderful because lots of people at Voyager have grapefruit, lemon and orange trees, which they so kindly pick and put in front of their home for people passing by and they are yummmmy!

It’s that time of year when the saguaro, ocotillo, agave, prickly pear, etc. cacti and tree trunks of the Palo Verde and Mesquite trees are decorated with Christmas ornametns of all kinds just like a Christmas trees. The folks at Voyager love to decorate as you can see.

People put lights on their cacti, Ouch…. Those prickers are mean, and you have to put the lights on and take them off. Their fingers have to be sore..

🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵

We did go see another barbershop quartet show in the park. It was a Christmas event and they all harmonized splendidly. Another fun show.

A barbershop quartet originated in an actual barber shop where each barbershop actually had its own quartet. The first written use of the word barber shop, as in referring to the harmonizing, came about in 1910 along with the publication of the song “Play That Barbershop Chord”. Barbershop harmony can trace its beginnings to the 19th century. The songs were originally sung in unison, but over the years they slowly began adding harmony. There was no sheet music at this time, so the singers sung solely based on listening.

During this era, the local barber was more than just a hair dresser. Barber’s also pulled teeth, and performed minor surgeries. Talk about being well diversified with more than a couple occupations, it sounds like one stop could fix a few things. Barbershops slowly became a place for the town to gather and play instruments and sing while waiting for their turn.

At the turn of the century, amateur male singers would gather in quartets to perform at parties and picnics. Often time’s barbershop quartets would perform at Minstrel shows as a way to pass time, since no equipment was necessary.

A barbershop quartet there is is usually four singers who perform a cappella in the barbershop music style. The four voices in a barbershop quartet are: 

• Lead: The voice that usually carries the melody
• Bass: The voice that provides the bass line
• Tenor: The voice that harmonizes above the lead
• Baritone: The voice that often completes the chord

Some of the songs they sang.

All-female barbershop quartets are sometimes called beauty shop quartets. The ladies on the left “Havin A Blast” won 4th prize in the USA female barber shop quartet contest this year.

Golf carts in the parade. ❄️ 🎵Oh what fun it is to ride in a golf cart or ride a bike 🎶🎄Or just watch like we did.

Instead of using cigarettes lighters, we were cheering folks on with our cell phones.

We spent Christmas day with our dear friend Alicia.

Alicia made a delicious Christmas dinner with a Danish dish called Pork Roullade made with Prunes and Danish and red cabbage which was scrumptious. Along with mashed potatoes with gravy and green bean casserole. yummy.

We also tried Taffel Akvavit, also known as Aalborg Taffel Akvavit, it is a Danish spirit that’s been distilled since 1846: Flavor: A bold caraway flavor with hints of poppy seed, citrus, lemon, aniseed, and black pepper.  In Croatia where my grandmother is from, the popular drink there is Slivovitz (Plum Brandy). Just like Taffel Akavit, Slivovitz knocks your socks off as you can tell my Dave’s expression. We all had a great time. Thank you Alicia!

“Christmas—that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance—a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.” —Augusta E. Rundel

See you in 2025!