While I was in Arkansas the Cowboy dealt with an entire week of miserable weather–cold, rain, snow, wind. I flew back to Arizona on Tuesday and Wednesday in Arizona was also nasty. The wind was worse than anything we’ve experienced in Arizona. We have a heavy metal two person swing on our front porch–early Wednesday morning we heard this loud clunk–made Emmi bark! Outside we found our swing in the front yard–that was one powerful wind gust!! It rained/sleeted most of the day and Thursday morning, the mountains are snow covered.
I’m glad I can cook (most of the time) and cook well as eating out has become so danged expensive. We ate in our favorite Mexican restaurant in Willcox on Thursday and our tab was $42 without the tip. And tipping has gotten beyond ridiculous. At restaurants which use the auto tip calculators I’ve seen “suggested tip” amounts at 25%!! It’s a good thing we don’t dine out often!
Friday I cooked making chicken noodle soup for a dear friend experiencing a sudden illness and snacks for our Friday evening activity–playing Rummikub at Linda’s. The four of us had a great time, we played several games with each of us winning at least one game.

On Saturday we made a run to Sierra Vista for groceries and to grab the two items we found on Craigslist–a western vest for the Cowboy and a bargain–a Reisenthel collapsible basket. I have one of these baskets which resides in Arizona given to me long ago as a gift by my friend Jeane. I have considered ordering another one to have in Montana but just never hit the “buy” button–the baskets are not inexpensive. The one we purchased from Craigslist is brand new and was half the price of a new one–score!! I use the basket to haul food/drink to gatherings–it’s an awesome carry-all!

Our good friends Angie and Ralph help caretake a shooting range/ranch near Tombstone living there in their fifth wheel RV. They’ve been on the ranch for several years now and have decided to start a new adventure, leaving Tombstone soon. On the way back from Sierra Vista we stopped by to visit them and spent some time catching up. Always good to see them! Angie is one of the most good hearted people you will ever meet. She is kind, always ready to help someone in need, adores animals and would give you the shirt off her back. She rescued a cat recently, one that just happened to appear in the RV area of the shooting range. It was emaciated, not neutered and had a broken leg. Angie found a vet to see this cat on a weekend $$$, found a clinic that specialized in ortho surgery for animals in Scottsdale, traveled to Scottsdale and had the cat’s broken leg repaired.$$$$$$ She named him Cowboy, had him neutered, taught him to walk on a leash, taught him to ride in a vehicle–I call Angie the “cat whisperer!” Cowboy is one lucky cat!! Some of you may remember Angie from this blog post I did when her partner Ralph was in the hospital in Tucson with covid.

On Sunday morning as I type this section of the blog we are in the midst of a rain/snow/wind storm which dropped our temperature from 50 degrees to 36 degrees. Emmi dashed outside and dashed right back inside! This is the same storm which hit southern California so hard.
The Cowboy continues to garden harvesting our first radishes and we will soon have fresh lettuce.
Sunday we were invited to the home of Lucy and Milton (our caretaker) for Sunday lunch. Lucy’s brother Dennis and his wife DonnaMae were visiting from Wisconsin. Louanne and Dan plus Ted and Jeanne were also there. We enjoyed such a good meal and some great conversation. After lunch was finished and everyone departed, Milton and Lucy brought Dennis and DonnaMae out to our house so they could see our handiwork. Milton thinks we did an amazing job remodeling this house.
The rain/snow has stopped but the wind continues and just think–March is right around the corner!
Your photos are beautiful! And thats a great garden! We’ve had rain, wind and cold also, don’t mind it ! Summer will soon be here!
LikeLike
I guess we can say it isn’t as cold as Montana has been lately!
LikeLike
Awww…..Cowboy is such a lucky kitty!! That story made me so happy. Angela is a truly wonderful soul.
That is CRAZY that the wind blew your metal swing off of your porch. You’ve had quite the winter. I’m impressed that you’re already harvesting vegetables. Was that from seed? I guess so, I don’t think anyone plants radishes from starts, LOL. Cute photo of Emmi. 🙂
LikeLike
Angie has a special way with animals and people. We have had quite the winter and yes, I don’t think anyone plants radishes from starts. :):)
LikeLike
That is an excellent photo of Emmi and she is getting to look more
like Mike every day.
LikeLike
You are too funny Al!!
LikeLike
Good morning Janna and Mike. That’s a fine looking harvest Mike. And I love the photo with Emmi. Your friend Angie is an angel. I believe the kitty found her. The view of your mountains is spectacular. And what a nice surprise to have a gorgeous sunset after such a wintery mix start to the day. Gay
LikeLike
Angie is an angel. That kitty will live a very comfortable life going forward!
LikeLike
Wow, you two have a lot going on! Love the picture of Emmi and Cowboy the cat looks like he hit the cat lottery with Angie!
LikeLike
Yes, the cat did hit the lottery! We always have a lot going on–how did we ever find time to work??
LikeLike
Cowboy is one very lucky cat. He definitely hit the jackpot when he found Angie. Cute photo of Emmi! I love seeing the snow on the mountains but it usually means much cooler weather for us. Lots of wind our way as well…looks like some warming at the end of the week. One can dream!
LikeLike
That cat is way lucky! I like to see the snow up on the mountains–not so much in my yard!
LikeLike
oh my goodness, what a winter we are having. No matter where you go, it seems that winter is having its way with everyone. Great story about the kitty Cowboy. I guess I know two lucky Cowboys now, since yours is pretty darn lucky to have you as well. I also know a friend who sent me a photo of her little air bnb in Tucson today. It looked sunny and gorgeous, so hoping you are getting a break and some warmer weather. Jeanne will be backpacking in the Dragoons somewhere in the coming week so praying it doesn’t snow again.
LikeLike
We’ve had about three days now of nicer weather–still too much wind but we will take the warmer temps! Backpacking in the Dragoons–I will look forward to seeing her photos that you might share! 🙂
LikeLike
Problem with that is it is an NOLS trip, wilderness backpacking and no phones or cameras allowed. So I don’t even get to see it. But Jeanne is great with long missives about her travels and great word pictures, so I will share what she says I can share.
LikeLike
Wow! I had to Google NOLS–I had no idea what it was!
LikeLike
Oh, and Jeanne will be going to the Triangle T Guest Ranch in the Dragoon mountains for four days at the end of her backpacking adventure. You might know that place. I did have to look up the wilderness where she is backpacking. She said she hates being cold so I really hope the weather gets a bit warmer.
LikeLike
We drive by the Triangle T on our way out to I-10 every single time we go to Tucson. And our weather has finally changed for the better!
LikeLiked by 1 person