A Scaled Quail–we call them cotton tops.
This morning I sat down to write this blog and had writer’s block! It’s been a slow week in this household and not much to write about.
I did make this amazing chicken dish suggested by our friend Bonnie. The Cowboy thought it was good and that’s saying something for chicken! And I baked bread–
The Cowboy has been working on this and that–a little drywall work that was missed, more fencing work and catching critters. I have been painting doors–two completely finished and rehung, one partially painted and three exterior doors to go. Have I said before–painting doors is a pain! Our Montana house has all wood doors that we stained but all wood pre-hung doors were impossible to find in Arizona or if we did find them the cost was outrageous. So we went with masonite paneled doors that have to be painted. The exterior doors are metal and those doors are even harder to paint as they show every single brush stroke. I keep telling myself–almost finished, almost finished!
We received a surprise in the mail from our dear friend Sarah–a just because present–the best kind!
And surprise–we’ve been eating again! Dan is most definitely on the mend! He and Louanne hosted dinner Friday evening and we dined like kings! Milton (our caretaker and Dan and Louanne’s neighbor/friend) and Lucy joined us. Dan cooked a pot roast with potatoes and carrots in a marvelous sauce. Louanne made her famous rolls and TWO pumpkin pies (my favorite!). I provided the Cesar salad and another jello type salad that is a favorite of Dan’s. We all waddled home!
The weather has warmed–it’s April in Arizona and the temps are rising. We’ve had lots of wind too. Tuesday it rained a bit once again–still not enough to bring out the poppies. The trees are leafing and our one lone apple tree has tiny leaves.
The library in this small community is supported by a Friends of the Library group. Louanne is a member of the board of this group. The library is having a “Spring Fling”–bake sale, vendors, etc. The board is short members and needed some help–the Cowboy and I are going to help with setup next weekend.
Life is good!
Restoration Cowboy Style 
Oh my, the kids are so big! Time is shipping by! Looks like a peaceful time!
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They are growing up Geri, Brooks will be six years old soon!
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Slow weeks are a good thing!! Got all excited about a new chicken dish…and oops, a go to favof mine since 2016. I always make sure I have a Costco jar of sun dried tomatoes on hand so I am ready for that one.i like to put fresh Basil in it too. Enjoy your Arizona time while it lasts.
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It’s good to know Costco sells those sun dried tomatoes as that little jar in the grocery store was expensive!
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That did not sound like a slow week, LOL. Painting all of our interior doors is on my list and I’m not looking forward to it. But I have a good friend who has offered to help! She says she loves to paint and it will certainly make it more fun for me. If you have any tips on the best brushes, etc. let me know. 🙂
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It’s just such a pleasure for us to not be working so incredibly hard every single day that when we don’t work hard I think we are having a slow week!! 😆 I use a really good bristle brush I purchased from our Big Timber, MT lumber store–I’ve had the brush forever, wash it after every use and it has lasted me through this house and that was a LOT of painting. My best tip is to use lots of paint and try not to go back over what you’ve all ready painted too often.
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I also hated the brush strokes when painting my metal doors. I tried rolling, spraying and brushing and didn’t like the results of any of them. I finally tried a cheap foam brush and believe it or not got a fairly smooth finish. If you have one of them laying around you might try it… Keith
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I did start with a good foam brush and gave up. I’ve learned to use a thick coat of paint now that I’m almost finished! 😆
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I’m becoming a huge fan of slow weeks!!
I have never seen a Scaled Quail. He has beautiful markings and the Mrs is so sweet at the birdbath. I think the other bird with the yellow eye is a curve-billed thrasher. We have them visit the yard from from time to time. That’s a great photo of your mom and sister and a keeper for sure! You three could be triplets! Love the munchkins idea of a Sunday drive. It’s the perfect time of the year…might have to take the top off and doors off the jeep! Thank you for the chicken recipe. We eat a lot of chicken at our house and I love sun dried tomatoes! I know your freshly painted door will be beautiful!
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I’m really liking these slow weeks too!! We don’t eat a lot of chicken but I have it on the menu about twice a week–he can’t eat beef every day! 😉
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Painting metal doors is definitely a pain. Thank goodness most of the brush strokes fade as the paint dries. But while you’re painting, you keep repainting areas with marks. Ugh! You bread looks so yummy!! I’ve never heard of the Scaled Quail. Very interesting looking. Slow weeks are good sometimes:) The grands are adorable. Good to see them “off roading” all ready.
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You described painting a metal door exactly. UGH is right! Notice who is driving the “ATV”–Millie is in charge!
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Hi, I have been enjoying your blog for several years! During my college years, I was a seasonal ranger at Chiricahua National Monument and love southeastern Arizona. I don’t get into the area much anymore so I really enjoy your outings in the area. I wanted to comment on your bird photo identified as a cactus wren. I think if you google curved bill thrasher you might find you have mis-identified the bird. I remember watching a curved billed thrasher plucking butterflies off of the bumpers and grills of vehicles in the parking lot of Organ-Pipe Cactus Nat’l Monument and pin them to the spines of a ocotillo. The ocotillo ended up looking like it was decorated for Christmas!
Regards, Mike
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I should have known better–the cactus wren are so vocal I think every bird I see is a cactus wren but in the photo his curved bill is quite noticeable–thanks to you and Gay for setting me straight. And thanks for following along with us and commenting!
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Nothing wrong with a slow week in between the flurry of activity! Enjoy them.
I’ve never seen a scaled quail before, thanks for adding pictures. Your chicken recipe looks very good, I’ll try it before we leave.
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The scaled quail are not as common as the Gambel quail. Let me know what you think about the chicken recipe.
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That Quail is so pretty. I’m sure we’ve never seen one on our side of the mountain! Your wren looks like a curved bill thrasher? Those grands are getting big, and still adorable of course 🙂 I’m dreading doing our interior doors and finishing all the baseboards, but that will “finish” the updating of our little desert house.
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Yep, it’s a curved bill thrasher–Gay and Mike were kind enough to help me! Good luck with the doors!
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