Howdy folks,
Today, as I write this, the temperature is 112 degrees (Fahrenheit). The humidity is 4 percent. It's hot and it's dry. The forecast is ten percent chance of rain by end of the week. Not very good odds. The odds go up to twenty percent chance of rain during the weekend. Do I think it will rain? Let me put it this way: I'm not running to Las Vegas to place a bet on it.
The nighttime low temperatures hover around 80 degrees. Life in the Southwest Desert goes on at a slower pace. Cars roll down the street at a measured distance from each other. There is significantly less traffic this time of year because the snowbirds, i.e., folks who leave this climate for homes up north where the summers are cooler, are gone. Year round residents who can afford a vacation may leave for the shores of California, a visit to out of town friends or relatives, and high altitudes or latitudes. Folks with limited budgets and poor cooling systems frequent movie theaters, indoor shopping malls, or eateries where they can linger in the commercial air conditioning. An air conditioned vehicle is welcome relief from the heat.
Ice water is the drink of choice in the heat of the day. I have heard the crabby critique that ice water is not good for digestion, but as a stand alone drink, it hits the spot when you are working in the heat. Drink early; drink often. You will probably be sweating more than usual and need to be well hydrated.
I see folks from Northern countries frequent this blog. I wonder why they are fascinated with the Southwest Desert. I know why I am fascinated by the Southwest Desert. It is a unique environment with unusual flora and hearty fauna. The desert teaches you to use your resources wisely and be grateful for all you have. The desert environment can be harsh in the summer with severe heat and sudden monsoons. But it can be pleasant at different times of day and night and different seasons. The heat of the summer has a dreamlike quality. We are lucky to have water, transportation, and cooling systems. We are lucky to have shade, refrigeration and freezers for foods, and experts to repair and maintain the systems and appliances.
If I had a solar car I could park in the sun, and the sun could charge the car's battery, and the car could run off of that charge, it would be efficient for me . If the roof of my house could store solar energy like a battery, and power my appliances and lights, that would be real progress. We were made for solar out here. Where are the innovators, inventors, and affordable prototypes. Seems only rich folks and government buildings can afford solar panels. The heck with retrofitting, just build all the new structures with state of the art solar collectors. When will the roof of my car be a solar collector? This may not work for folks in Seattle, but it would be of interest to me.
I AM
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
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Monday, June 27, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Hot Days, Cheaper Gas
The temperatures are over 105 every day. It may have hit 110 or 111 degrees (F) yesterday with projected averages for the coming week to hover around highs of 107 degrees. There is zero change of precipitation, i.e., no rain in sight. The prickly pear pads are puckering for lack of water.
For those of you who have never experienced a Southwest Desert summer, let me tell you that you can get used to the heat. If I have an outdoor project that engages me, I tend to keep working into the heat of the day. Yes, one sweats. That is the body's way of cooling itself. We are human; we adapt.
In unrelated news, the price of gas is going down. I saw $3.29 per gallon of regular unleaded, but the station was closed, so I could not fill the tank. This is the lowest price I have seen in quite a while. What is the price of gasoline where you live?
In Bridgeport, Connecticut you can buy gas for $4 per gallon. Drive over to Hartford and you can get gas for $3.85. The $4 per gallon price is also available in Santa Barbara, Chicago, and Anchorage. In New York, San Francisco, and Honolulu you can purchase a gallon for $3.95, more or less. If you New Yorkers drive over to New Jersey, state gas prices average $3.59 per gallon. Texas averages $3.48. Drive down to South Carolina, and gas averages $3.33 per gallon. Want to get more miles per gallon on the highway? Drive at a maximum speed of 55mph (miles per hour) and you will maximize your fuel efficiency. Speeds above 55mph reduce fuel efficiency.
Hope that helps your budget. Stay cool.
I AM enjoying the pleasant 79 degree morning at 4:30AM.
Your Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
For those of you who have never experienced a Southwest Desert summer, let me tell you that you can get used to the heat. If I have an outdoor project that engages me, I tend to keep working into the heat of the day. Yes, one sweats. That is the body's way of cooling itself. We are human; we adapt.
In unrelated news, the price of gas is going down. I saw $3.29 per gallon of regular unleaded, but the station was closed, so I could not fill the tank. This is the lowest price I have seen in quite a while. What is the price of gasoline where you live?
In Bridgeport, Connecticut you can buy gas for $4 per gallon. Drive over to Hartford and you can get gas for $3.85. The $4 per gallon price is also available in Santa Barbara, Chicago, and Anchorage. In New York, San Francisco, and Honolulu you can purchase a gallon for $3.95, more or less. If you New Yorkers drive over to New Jersey, state gas prices average $3.59 per gallon. Texas averages $3.48. Drive down to South Carolina, and gas averages $3.33 per gallon. Want to get more miles per gallon on the highway? Drive at a maximum speed of 55mph (miles per hour) and you will maximize your fuel efficiency. Speeds above 55mph reduce fuel efficiency.
Hope that helps your budget. Stay cool.
I AM enjoying the pleasant 79 degree morning at 4:30AM.
Your Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Weather Report
I just logged in and it is 100 degrees at 7 PM. Around 9 or 10 PM it is about 90 degrees. I don't know what the high of the day was. It doesn't matter. When I have to go outside, I do. I try to stay in the shade. That is not always possible. Air conditioning is a real treat. Ice water is a wonderful luxury. We are lucky to have these things. Many of us use our air conditioning sparingly.
Some of us like to turn the AC (air conditioning) off when we sleep. The nights cool relative to the days but more importantly, the noise of the AC cycling on and off can disturb sleep. Before dawn is the coolest time of day. If you are awake then, you can open your windows or patio doors to get the coolest air of the day. Sometimes there is a breeze, but sometimes not. As the earth warms here, and the days grow longer, culminating on June 21, the Summer Solstice, the nights get warmer and warmer. The tap water also gets warmer and warmer. You cannot get a cool drink of water from the tap because the ground, the building, the foundation, the pipes are all warm. The positive side of this is that you can take a comfortable shower in "cold" tap water. It is not cold but comfortably warm and slightly refreshing. Some folks turn off the hot water heater to save energy during the summer or at least turn the temperature of the hot water heater down to it's lowest selection.
The pool water is warm and getting warmer. It is becoming like bath water. Swimming at night is comfortable because the sun is not baking on you and reflecting in the pool water, yet the air temperature is quite warm, as I said, perhaps 90 degrees. The desert summer nights are very pleasant. The air has a good quality that needs its own word, perhaps a word that is not in the English language, a word that means "wonderful southwest desert night air."
It is nice to go for a drive at night in the wonderful southwest desert night air. The lights of the city twinkle in the distance. When you arrive in the city, the shopping centers are pleasingly illuminated. The stores are air conditioned. While the air conditioned stores are refreshing and sometimes even chilly, it is always most beautiful to return to the wonderful southwest desert night air.
It is also nice to sit outside at night, in a comfortable chair, and listen to the sounds of the night. There may be traffic in the far distance. There may be some wind chimes. There may be a dog barking. There may be the white noise of an air conditioner or cooler. Someone may be having a pool party or Bar-b-q. The guests may be laughing just a bit too loudly if the cocktails are strong and plentiful. If you are lucky you may see a star shoot across the sky or a satellite slowly move in its orbit. You may be sipping your own cocktail. You may just be drifting off to sleep to the white noise of the distant traffic.
Enjoying the sweet southwest desert summer nights,
I AM
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c) 2011
Some of us like to turn the AC (air conditioning) off when we sleep. The nights cool relative to the days but more importantly, the noise of the AC cycling on and off can disturb sleep. Before dawn is the coolest time of day. If you are awake then, you can open your windows or patio doors to get the coolest air of the day. Sometimes there is a breeze, but sometimes not. As the earth warms here, and the days grow longer, culminating on June 21, the Summer Solstice, the nights get warmer and warmer. The tap water also gets warmer and warmer. You cannot get a cool drink of water from the tap because the ground, the building, the foundation, the pipes are all warm. The positive side of this is that you can take a comfortable shower in "cold" tap water. It is not cold but comfortably warm and slightly refreshing. Some folks turn off the hot water heater to save energy during the summer or at least turn the temperature of the hot water heater down to it's lowest selection.
The pool water is warm and getting warmer. It is becoming like bath water. Swimming at night is comfortable because the sun is not baking on you and reflecting in the pool water, yet the air temperature is quite warm, as I said, perhaps 90 degrees. The desert summer nights are very pleasant. The air has a good quality that needs its own word, perhaps a word that is not in the English language, a word that means "wonderful southwest desert night air."
It is nice to go for a drive at night in the wonderful southwest desert night air. The lights of the city twinkle in the distance. When you arrive in the city, the shopping centers are pleasingly illuminated. The stores are air conditioned. While the air conditioned stores are refreshing and sometimes even chilly, it is always most beautiful to return to the wonderful southwest desert night air.
It is also nice to sit outside at night, in a comfortable chair, and listen to the sounds of the night. There may be traffic in the far distance. There may be some wind chimes. There may be a dog barking. There may be the white noise of an air conditioner or cooler. Someone may be having a pool party or Bar-b-q. The guests may be laughing just a bit too loudly if the cocktails are strong and plentiful. If you are lucky you may see a star shoot across the sky or a satellite slowly move in its orbit. You may be sipping your own cocktail. You may just be drifting off to sleep to the white noise of the distant traffic.
Enjoying the sweet southwest desert summer nights,
I AM
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c) 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Wilted Produce
I had a tooth pulled yesterday. It was the first tooth I had ever had, as they call it, extracted. The dentist did a good job and the event was more pleasant than expected. The dental office staff was supportive and answered all my questions. There were post "extraction" instructions which include, "do not smoke or drink alcohol for 1 week" and "avoid all excessive activity for 24-48 hours." I imagine that is tough on smokers, alcoholics, and folks who have a compulsive need to work out every day. I am not having those problems. Another instruction is, "A soft diet is recommended for the first 3 days." My problem is finding fresh, organic celery to juice. I want to add it to my freshly juiced daily vegetable juice as part of my soft, nutritious, post-extraction diet.
Has anyone noticed that often the organic sections of supermarkets and health food stores have old, wilted produce? The celery stalks are flexible, not crunchy. Sometimes the stalks have brown cores which are not evident until one cuts into the stalk. The lettuce, chard, dandelion, and beet greens sit on the shelf limp and wilted. How old is this stuff? The fact that it is labeled "organic" is not excuse for the aged condition of the produce. Beef should be aged, not celery.
I told the produce man that the organic celery has been old and wilted lately. If it were fresh I would buy two bunches. I showed him the sad, wilted lettuce, beet greens, etc. His response was that it was cheaper than the health food store. I said it was old, so should be cheaper, but I wanted fresh produce and would have to go somewhere else to get it.
There was an apparent disconnect between my desire for fresh organic produce and the store offerings at a cheap price. Frankly, much of the produce I was looking at should have been donated to the hog farm or compost heap. Does anyone care? Is anyone buying that old, wilted, depleted produce?
I juiced some cucumber (peeled, non-organic), organic carrots, a bit of ginger root (peeled non-organic at less than half the price of organic), organic apples, peel, core, and all, and some baby spinach (organic from the place with a name that sounds like "Costlo"). It was delightful. Each of the three pints had different proportions of the above ingredients. One had no spinach. One had no cucumber. All were tasty. I added a bit of vitamin C powder and protein powder prior to drinking each pint. Each was kept stored in the refrigerator until consumption. All were consumed in one day, because the instructions said, "Adequate food and fluid intake following dental surgery is very important." It has been hot, over 100 degrees, so I also drink water, sometimes with ice.
The tooth site was sutured. I was told the suture material is not really cat gut, nor is it from cats, although it is often referred to as cat gut. In my state of post-extraction delirium I do not remember whether it is from cow or what? The sutures dissolve in the mouth in 2 to 4 weeks, although they can be removed in 2 weeks or sometimes less if they are bothering the patient. They form a nice little "x" over the extraction site.
That's all for now, as I must follow instructions and "avoid all excessive activity." When I feel up to it I will search for some fresh organic celery to juice.
Happy trails to all,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
Has anyone noticed that often the organic sections of supermarkets and health food stores have old, wilted produce? The celery stalks are flexible, not crunchy. Sometimes the stalks have brown cores which are not evident until one cuts into the stalk. The lettuce, chard, dandelion, and beet greens sit on the shelf limp and wilted. How old is this stuff? The fact that it is labeled "organic" is not excuse for the aged condition of the produce. Beef should be aged, not celery.
I told the produce man that the organic celery has been old and wilted lately. If it were fresh I would buy two bunches. I showed him the sad, wilted lettuce, beet greens, etc. His response was that it was cheaper than the health food store. I said it was old, so should be cheaper, but I wanted fresh produce and would have to go somewhere else to get it.
There was an apparent disconnect between my desire for fresh organic produce and the store offerings at a cheap price. Frankly, much of the produce I was looking at should have been donated to the hog farm or compost heap. Does anyone care? Is anyone buying that old, wilted, depleted produce?
I juiced some cucumber (peeled, non-organic), organic carrots, a bit of ginger root (peeled non-organic at less than half the price of organic), organic apples, peel, core, and all, and some baby spinach (organic from the place with a name that sounds like "Costlo"). It was delightful. Each of the three pints had different proportions of the above ingredients. One had no spinach. One had no cucumber. All were tasty. I added a bit of vitamin C powder and protein powder prior to drinking each pint. Each was kept stored in the refrigerator until consumption. All were consumed in one day, because the instructions said, "Adequate food and fluid intake following dental surgery is very important." It has been hot, over 100 degrees, so I also drink water, sometimes with ice.
The tooth site was sutured. I was told the suture material is not really cat gut, nor is it from cats, although it is often referred to as cat gut. In my state of post-extraction delirium I do not remember whether it is from cow or what? The sutures dissolve in the mouth in 2 to 4 weeks, although they can be removed in 2 weeks or sometimes less if they are bothering the patient. They form a nice little "x" over the extraction site.
That's all for now, as I must follow instructions and "avoid all excessive activity." When I feel up to it I will search for some fresh organic celery to juice.
Happy trails to all,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Getting Hotter
The string of over 100 degree days has begun. This is the real summer. It has just been warming up for the real thing. The prickly pear cactus are puckering for lack of water. The saguaros are thin and tall waiting for the monsoon watering. It has been dry. We can't remember the last time it rained. No fires near us this year.
I remember what it is like to have fires in the nearby mountains. You could see the flames like a corona on the top of the foothills at night. As the days progressed, the flames could be seen coming down the canyons like glowing lava at night. In the morning, when you opened your patio doors to catch the morning's cool air, the smell of smoke filled the air like a bar-b-que* on the patio. But there was no bar-b-que. Just the smoke from the fire blowing down into the valley. The table and counter surfaces in the house got a fine coating of soot-like particles. It was unusual. Life went on as usual. Finally the fire was under control. There was property damage for some and families were left homeless. Summer cabins were destroyed and areas were left without foliage. As the years went buy, the plant life grew, homes were rebuilt, folks returned, and the fire was just a memory for most of us.
One good thing about the summer heat is that the snowbirds, i.e., winter residents, leave town for their northern homes. Traffic is lighter. Things are generally quieter. It is natural to take it easy. Less seems to get done. It is a lazy time. A good time to sit in a comfortable chair and watch the sunsets. A good time to nap in the afternoon. A good time to go somewhere air conditioned and stay as long as you can.
A good time to visit a cooler place if you do not like the heat.
Taking it slow and easy,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
*P.S. Bar-B-Q or barbcue or bar-b-que is thought to be a word of Spanish origin from the 1600s, barbacoa, meaning a raised frame of sticks. Interestingly, the word pyre, a pile or heap of wood, is thought to have originated in the 1600s also, though from the Latin and / or Greek pyra. The Greek root pyro means fire, heat, or high temperature. So, we've come full circle.
Be cool. C.
I remember what it is like to have fires in the nearby mountains. You could see the flames like a corona on the top of the foothills at night. As the days progressed, the flames could be seen coming down the canyons like glowing lava at night. In the morning, when you opened your patio doors to catch the morning's cool air, the smell of smoke filled the air like a bar-b-que* on the patio. But there was no bar-b-que. Just the smoke from the fire blowing down into the valley. The table and counter surfaces in the house got a fine coating of soot-like particles. It was unusual. Life went on as usual. Finally the fire was under control. There was property damage for some and families were left homeless. Summer cabins were destroyed and areas were left without foliage. As the years went buy, the plant life grew, homes were rebuilt, folks returned, and the fire was just a memory for most of us.
One good thing about the summer heat is that the snowbirds, i.e., winter residents, leave town for their northern homes. Traffic is lighter. Things are generally quieter. It is natural to take it easy. Less seems to get done. It is a lazy time. A good time to sit in a comfortable chair and watch the sunsets. A good time to nap in the afternoon. A good time to go somewhere air conditioned and stay as long as you can.
A good time to visit a cooler place if you do not like the heat.
Taking it slow and easy,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
*P.S. Bar-B-Q or barbcue or bar-b-que is thought to be a word of Spanish origin from the 1600s, barbacoa, meaning a raised frame of sticks. Interestingly, the word pyre, a pile or heap of wood, is thought to have originated in the 1600s also, though from the Latin and / or Greek pyra. The Greek root pyro means fire, heat, or high temperature. So, we've come full circle.
Be cool. C.
Friday, June 10, 2011
My Most Popular and Favorite Posts
First, I want to send a big Howdy out to the newest Southwest Desert Blogger blog readers from United Kingdom (we call it England) and India. Welcome. Hope y'all come back and visit often. And of course, much appreciation to the folks from the good old USA, readers from Russia, Germany, Denmark, and Malaysia. Do you think the newly wed Prince is reading this blog? The Queen? A guru on a remote mountain top in India with WiFi? Maybe the guru just reads this psychically.
Now I want to tell you which posts are my most popular. These results are based on you, the reader. The all time most popular post is "Got Sleep?" followed by "Got Cookies?" My crude analysis suggests that we are not sleeping and seeking cookies to eat when we are not sleeping. The weekly and daily analysis of readers reveals that this is an international phenomenon among Southwest Desert Blogger readers to date. Note that we do not have readers from Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico, Canada, the Arctic, or Antarctica. Maybe those folks have got sleep and don't care about cookies.
Personally, "Got Cookies?" is one of my favorite posts. It cuts into the tech world while punning on the "Got Milk?" ads made famous by the dairy industry. Do you remember the advertisements with photos of famous people sporting milk mustaches and the caption, "Got Milk?" If you haven't read "Got Cookies?" go ahead and read it. Then read my favorite post, "Low Tech Again."
"Low Tech Again" slams another irritating ad, "Make your phone your wallet." The ad takes smart phones to new places -- your pocket -- the pocket you keep your wallet in. There the phone will morph into your wallet. My phone is not clever or witty. If I place it in my pocket is does not magically turn into my wallet. However, when I get the cell phone bill, it lightens my wallet. Perhaps I simply did not incantate the proper magic words. Hocus Pocus? Abracadabra? Shazam? Hu?
Working on better magic words,
I AM your Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
Now I want to tell you which posts are my most popular. These results are based on you, the reader. The all time most popular post is "Got Sleep?" followed by "Got Cookies?" My crude analysis suggests that we are not sleeping and seeking cookies to eat when we are not sleeping. The weekly and daily analysis of readers reveals that this is an international phenomenon among Southwest Desert Blogger readers to date. Note that we do not have readers from Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico, Canada, the Arctic, or Antarctica. Maybe those folks have got sleep and don't care about cookies.
Personally, "Got Cookies?" is one of my favorite posts. It cuts into the tech world while punning on the "Got Milk?" ads made famous by the dairy industry. Do you remember the advertisements with photos of famous people sporting milk mustaches and the caption, "Got Milk?" If you haven't read "Got Cookies?" go ahead and read it. Then read my favorite post, "Low Tech Again."
"Low Tech Again" slams another irritating ad, "Make your phone your wallet." The ad takes smart phones to new places -- your pocket -- the pocket you keep your wallet in. There the phone will morph into your wallet. My phone is not clever or witty. If I place it in my pocket is does not magically turn into my wallet. However, when I get the cell phone bill, it lightens my wallet. Perhaps I simply did not incantate the proper magic words. Hocus Pocus? Abracadabra? Shazam? Hu?
Working on better magic words,
I AM your Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Yard Sale Review
The yard sale was fun. Friends were supportive. Some brought items to sell. Others just showed up to socialize and help in any way needed. People met. People talked. Most of the people who showed up were nice folks. Some were shopping for specific items like a dining table or old thimbles. Others were "just looking" to see what they could find.
The day was hot. I drank a lot of iced water. In the afternoon I switched to iced tea. I am glad I hosted the event. So many nice folks from the community came by. There were young folks starting out and needing things for their homes -- sofa, bed, table, chair, lamp. There were collectors looking for that overlooked antique or vintage treasure. Some ladies will always buy another purse, no matter how many they already have. Men look at tools and such. Two sisters selected several items each. One sister said she was employed and was going to pay for the items her unemployed sister had selected. She said she hated her job, but it was an income.
Folks drove their elderly relatives to the sale. Young and old were looking for different items. Sometimes one spouse got out of the vehicle to shop while the other spouse refused to leave the vehicle. I guess some folks love a yard sale and some don't. Some folks payed sticker price; some made a lower offer. One woman said I would be blessed if I sold her an item she wanted at a very low price. That was an offer I could not refuse.
A well mannered little boy named Noah found a teddy bear in perfect condition. I gave him a toy fish, too. Does he have an ark for all the toy animals? A woman who said she did not purchase butter at the store found a butter dish. Now her butter would have a home. A man with a truck took both the old 20 inch deep TV and desk for free. He wanted a deal and got it.
By the end of the day, we were giving things away just to get rid of them. I gave away a toilet and toilet tank with lid. No one wanted to pay $25 for it. No one wanted to pay $20 for it. No one interested made a counteroffer. Finally, I said to a late-day interested party, "It is free if you take it away now." She took it. She was happy.
We got rid of a lot of stuff ... almost everything but the kitchen sink. The left over items were bagged and boxed and donated to the Veterans of America.
Hoping that all the goods we recycled out into the community are a blessing to you all. Enjoy your new treasures.
Sincerely,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
The day was hot. I drank a lot of iced water. In the afternoon I switched to iced tea. I am glad I hosted the event. So many nice folks from the community came by. There were young folks starting out and needing things for their homes -- sofa, bed, table, chair, lamp. There were collectors looking for that overlooked antique or vintage treasure. Some ladies will always buy another purse, no matter how many they already have. Men look at tools and such. Two sisters selected several items each. One sister said she was employed and was going to pay for the items her unemployed sister had selected. She said she hated her job, but it was an income.
Folks drove their elderly relatives to the sale. Young and old were looking for different items. Sometimes one spouse got out of the vehicle to shop while the other spouse refused to leave the vehicle. I guess some folks love a yard sale and some don't. Some folks payed sticker price; some made a lower offer. One woman said I would be blessed if I sold her an item she wanted at a very low price. That was an offer I could not refuse.
A well mannered little boy named Noah found a teddy bear in perfect condition. I gave him a toy fish, too. Does he have an ark for all the toy animals? A woman who said she did not purchase butter at the store found a butter dish. Now her butter would have a home. A man with a truck took both the old 20 inch deep TV and desk for free. He wanted a deal and got it.
By the end of the day, we were giving things away just to get rid of them. I gave away a toilet and toilet tank with lid. No one wanted to pay $25 for it. No one wanted to pay $20 for it. No one interested made a counteroffer. Finally, I said to a late-day interested party, "It is free if you take it away now." She took it. She was happy.
We got rid of a lot of stuff ... almost everything but the kitchen sink. The left over items were bagged and boxed and donated to the Veterans of America.
Hoping that all the goods we recycled out into the community are a blessing to you all. Enjoy your new treasures.
Sincerely,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Yard Sale
Yep. I finally decided to have a yard sale. I'm going to part with the items that I do not want, do not love, do not desire in any way. If I'm not sure, I'm going to keep it a while longer.
I have spoken to friends who have had yard sales. It is hard to part with things. What is the hold these material objects have on us? Why do we have more than we need? Why haven't we passed the unused and unneeded objects on to others who can use them? One answer is, "I may need it some day."
I gingerly brought some bags of subjectively useless things to the local Goodwill collection site hoping someone could use them. The workers accepting the big black plastic bags were cheerful and thankful. They made me feel good about donating. They did not look inside the bags. They did not judge. They offered me a receipt. This good feeling made me want to donate again. Every time I return with more goods for the Goodwill, I get the same good feeling. Apparently it feels good to give.
I asked several of my friends and a neighbor if they want to sell any of their possessions at my yard sale. People are not sure whether they have objects they are ready to part with, even if they can get money in exchange for the object. I noticed that I did not miss the things I donated to Goodwill. The reason for a yard sale is that some objects are too big for my vehicle; i.e., I cannot haul them to the Goodwill, so I hope folks will pay me money and haul the objects for me. I am peppering the offerings with some smaller items to lure folks in -- the bait.
I read that people think their possessions are worth more when they are selling, and the same items are worth less when people are buying. Interesting. With that in mind, I do not want to price things too high. Pricing is a challenge. One could advertise, "Free stuff. Just haul it away." Does selling it make it more valuable to the purchaser?
Some folks expect to barter at a yard sale. If you price a $100 item at $1, they will offer you 50 cents. They cannot help themselves. They have to do it. Other folks just look at the price tags. If the price is too high, they leave. You have to read people. Do they really want that object? Do they want to wheel and deal? Dance the dance. Play the game. Sometimes yard sale goods are not marked with prices at all. This leaves room for maximum gamesmanship or maximum discomfort. Depends upon the person.
I think looking at your possessions and deciding what you want to keep, what you want to part with, and why, is practice for death. When you die, you leave it all behind. You can't take it with you. Would you regret not having given away more? Would you be glad you are the one who died with the most toys? Would you look down at your possessions and think, "What a pile of crap" or "Cool stuff." Or would you think, "Why did this earth life result in a collection of material objects?"
I will report back to you on the results of the sale after the weekend. Do you folks in Russia have yard sales? Do you Germans like to barter or just pay the tag price? I know you read this blog along with the folks in the good old USA. I suppose you city slickers in your Manhattan high rise Trump-like towers can't have yard sales because you do not have yards. Maybe you can have your yard sale at your country home in the Hamptons. When you do, think of me. I will be sitting out there in the 100, 101, or 102 degree heat, having my yard sale.
I AM your
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
I have spoken to friends who have had yard sales. It is hard to part with things. What is the hold these material objects have on us? Why do we have more than we need? Why haven't we passed the unused and unneeded objects on to others who can use them? One answer is, "I may need it some day."
I gingerly brought some bags of subjectively useless things to the local Goodwill collection site hoping someone could use them. The workers accepting the big black plastic bags were cheerful and thankful. They made me feel good about donating. They did not look inside the bags. They did not judge. They offered me a receipt. This good feeling made me want to donate again. Every time I return with more goods for the Goodwill, I get the same good feeling. Apparently it feels good to give.
I asked several of my friends and a neighbor if they want to sell any of their possessions at my yard sale. People are not sure whether they have objects they are ready to part with, even if they can get money in exchange for the object. I noticed that I did not miss the things I donated to Goodwill. The reason for a yard sale is that some objects are too big for my vehicle; i.e., I cannot haul them to the Goodwill, so I hope folks will pay me money and haul the objects for me. I am peppering the offerings with some smaller items to lure folks in -- the bait.
I read that people think their possessions are worth more when they are selling, and the same items are worth less when people are buying. Interesting. With that in mind, I do not want to price things too high. Pricing is a challenge. One could advertise, "Free stuff. Just haul it away." Does selling it make it more valuable to the purchaser?
Some folks expect to barter at a yard sale. If you price a $100 item at $1, they will offer you 50 cents. They cannot help themselves. They have to do it. Other folks just look at the price tags. If the price is too high, they leave. You have to read people. Do they really want that object? Do they want to wheel and deal? Dance the dance. Play the game. Sometimes yard sale goods are not marked with prices at all. This leaves room for maximum gamesmanship or maximum discomfort. Depends upon the person.
I think looking at your possessions and deciding what you want to keep, what you want to part with, and why, is practice for death. When you die, you leave it all behind. You can't take it with you. Would you regret not having given away more? Would you be glad you are the one who died with the most toys? Would you look down at your possessions and think, "What a pile of crap" or "Cool stuff." Or would you think, "Why did this earth life result in a collection of material objects?"
I will report back to you on the results of the sale after the weekend. Do you folks in Russia have yard sales? Do you Germans like to barter or just pay the tag price? I know you read this blog along with the folks in the good old USA. I suppose you city slickers in your Manhattan high rise Trump-like towers can't have yard sales because you do not have yards. Maybe you can have your yard sale at your country home in the Hamptons. When you do, think of me. I will be sitting out there in the 100, 101, or 102 degree heat, having my yard sale.
I AM your
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Got Hot
It finally got hot. It is not just the temperature, but the combination of the length of the days and the strength of the sun. As you know, it is 20 days to the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Of course, it is a 24 hour day as all others are, but the length of daylight hours, and thus the amount of sun exposure, is the longest at Solstice. This length of sun exposure warming the earth, the roofs, the walls, the paved surfaces, and the water bodies warms the temperature of these objects and materials. They radiate stored heat at night when it is cooler. The nights get warmer and warmer until finally they will reach a low of about 90 degrees -- good swimming weather in a pool as warm as a bath.
The sun is noticeably stronger and hotter on any exposed skin. After a short sun exposure, 5 to 10 minutes around noon until 4:00pm, the skin starts to feel a slight burning sensation. That's strong sun. You do not want excessive skin exposure to the sun during the mid day hours and your skin will warn you of the potential danger with the burning sensation. Even though the temperatures are high 90s to over 100 degrees, many people wear long sleeves if they are working outside during the day. Early morning hours, early evening, and nights are generally delightful.
This morning I saw some baby quail. They were the size of little chicks. They were hard to count as they kept moving rapidly in disorganized fashion. I estimate more than 12. There were 3 or 4 adult quail. The adults are more or less 11 inches tall with a distinctive "top knot" that is like a comma protruding from their third eye area. Usually there are not so many adults with the chicks. Chicks will leave the nest with their parents within hours of hatching. The quail chicks are a dull brown-gray which camouflages well with the Southwest Desert ground color. The adults have gray plumage with distinctive black and white markings. The males have brick red-brown skull caps.
I believe we have Gambel's Quail, not California Quail, although many people confuse the two. Gambel's Quail rarely fly. They move about quickly on the ground. Females lay 10 to 15 eggs resulting in many chicks. As the days and weeks go by, the chicks one sees with the parents are fewer and fewer. There appears to be high mortality among quail chicks in the wild.
It was a real treat to see the quail rush about in their cartoonish style. Later, I found a large pack rat nest. I poked around with a stick, moving some of the sticks, rocks, and dried prickly pear pads that the nest was made of, and found some shake skins that had been shed by one very large and one small snake. The shed snakeskin is a glassy, slightly shiny, translucent, papery material. It tears easily. It is an attractive material.
My neighbor was trying to figure out how many rats live on our hill. They multiply like rabbits, but they usually do not come out during the day. If they start damaging your possessions, chewing on them, leaving droppings, building nests, you know you have rats. We imagined that if the rats had little lights on their backs the side of the hill would be dotted with lights at night. I hope we estimated too high.
I cleaned up the dead prickly pear cactus around the land until I got enough cacti spines in my fingers to go on to other activities. I was wearing heavy gloves and using a tool to lift the dead cacti, but yard work around here always results in your hands and arms getting some cactus wounds. You get used to it.
The laundry dried on the line in under 2 hours. The jeans were dry as a bone in the sun. The dog is shedding his winter coat. Yep, we got hot. We got quail. We got rats and prickly pear cactus.
Stayin' cool,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
The sun is noticeably stronger and hotter on any exposed skin. After a short sun exposure, 5 to 10 minutes around noon until 4:00pm, the skin starts to feel a slight burning sensation. That's strong sun. You do not want excessive skin exposure to the sun during the mid day hours and your skin will warn you of the potential danger with the burning sensation. Even though the temperatures are high 90s to over 100 degrees, many people wear long sleeves if they are working outside during the day. Early morning hours, early evening, and nights are generally delightful.
This morning I saw some baby quail. They were the size of little chicks. They were hard to count as they kept moving rapidly in disorganized fashion. I estimate more than 12. There were 3 or 4 adult quail. The adults are more or less 11 inches tall with a distinctive "top knot" that is like a comma protruding from their third eye area. Usually there are not so many adults with the chicks. Chicks will leave the nest with their parents within hours of hatching. The quail chicks are a dull brown-gray which camouflages well with the Southwest Desert ground color. The adults have gray plumage with distinctive black and white markings. The males have brick red-brown skull caps.
I believe we have Gambel's Quail, not California Quail, although many people confuse the two. Gambel's Quail rarely fly. They move about quickly on the ground. Females lay 10 to 15 eggs resulting in many chicks. As the days and weeks go by, the chicks one sees with the parents are fewer and fewer. There appears to be high mortality among quail chicks in the wild.
It was a real treat to see the quail rush about in their cartoonish style. Later, I found a large pack rat nest. I poked around with a stick, moving some of the sticks, rocks, and dried prickly pear pads that the nest was made of, and found some shake skins that had been shed by one very large and one small snake. The shed snakeskin is a glassy, slightly shiny, translucent, papery material. It tears easily. It is an attractive material.
My neighbor was trying to figure out how many rats live on our hill. They multiply like rabbits, but they usually do not come out during the day. If they start damaging your possessions, chewing on them, leaving droppings, building nests, you know you have rats. We imagined that if the rats had little lights on their backs the side of the hill would be dotted with lights at night. I hope we estimated too high.
I cleaned up the dead prickly pear cactus around the land until I got enough cacti spines in my fingers to go on to other activities. I was wearing heavy gloves and using a tool to lift the dead cacti, but yard work around here always results in your hands and arms getting some cactus wounds. You get used to it.
The laundry dried on the line in under 2 hours. The jeans were dry as a bone in the sun. The dog is shedding his winter coat. Yep, we got hot. We got quail. We got rats and prickly pear cactus.
Stayin' cool,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
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