County Fair: the Midway

Fortunately, my neighbors decided to go to the Yavapai County Fair last night. Took me along for the ride, which was great, since I haven't been to a county fair since the 19-aught-80s. Today must have been miserable for the fair participants -- kids with their carefully groomed animals, visitors looking for a good time, entertainers, farmers with their cattle. Our weather blustered, then delivered a series of veritable cloudbursts in front of that hurricane down off Baja. All day. Wet.

But last evening the weather was cool and fair. Perfect for the occasion. First stop, several long looks at the Midway, starting with semis that declared "circus load" on the cabs.

On one end of the fair grounds, the animals; at the other, the arts, crafts and commercial booths. In between, the best part of all -- the rides.

A machine called the Kamikaze...

...the Tornado, which looks sort of like the old Tilt-a-Whirl that I fondly remember...

...a ride whose name I didn't get, though it looks like great fun...

...and, of course, the Ferris Wheel. Didn't take any of the rides. A pity -- I recall motion pictures my LH took from the Ferris Wheel. Very unnerving point of view. Another memory -- the remarkable wheel with closed cars in Vienna that Orson Welles featured in The Third Man.

OK, OK. After dark, I couldn't resist the opportunity to check out the Night setting on my Cannon. Cheap shots, of course, but why not?

The one problem: the Ferris wheel was the only ride visible from my shooting position -- we were waiting to be picked up and couldn't go for a long walk.

But the County Fair is certainly about a lot more than rides and junk foods. More later.

Horney Toads Revisited

So I just received this interesting email re: my recent post on the birth of 12 little horned toads. Aunt Phibia wrote: I wanted to respond to the mention of horny toads shooting blood out of their eyes. It is true of only one species...found in CA. The two species around here...Eastern Horned Toad (east of what I wonder) and the Mountain Horned Toad do not have this ability...and they only do it when they are scared to death...or nearly. Also, of these two species one bears live young and one lays eggs...interesting eh? Finally, my concern was that they live in a den for much of their first year...so I hope that you put them back near to where you found the mom and that they don't think your table is their den.

First, I want to reassure Aunt Phibia about those youngsters. We are now several generations from the little guys whose pictures I showed. Either they found their den or they didn't. Not much I can do about it more than 20 years later! And, second, I wanted to pass along a curious fact I picked up at the archeology society meeting last night. If you see horned toad petroglyphs at sites down in the Verde Valley (and further north), they may well be Hopi clan symbols; this particular clan is responsible for water matters. Why, I would wonder -- for us white men, the horny toad is very much a symbol for the dryness of the desert.

In the Beginning...

These people over at the Courthouse Square are not looking at their feet. No, they are taking a quick tour of local history via one of our timelines carved into and painted on the walkway on the Gurley Street side.

Notable events, beginning in 1501, are cut into the cement, painted -- and periodically updated. A new paint job is also a regular event.

An even more ambitious timeline adorns the sidewalk up the incline along Goodwin Street over at the library. I didn't catch the absolute beginning date, but it starts back in earliest Egypt or maybe Ur and moves on up to present days.

As you can see, the Far East as well as Europe and the Middle East are represented. I know, I know, it isn't fashionable to link history to dates these days; on the other hand, dates do create a timeline...a framework, as it were, to give order to cultural, scientific and political developments. Our local timelines are a cool way to brief folks on where we've been and where we come from! I say hurrah for the people who created and maintain them.

Variations on a Quilting Theme

A new quilt show by the Material Girls Quilters was another feature at last weekend's pie and ice cream social down in Skull Valley. Believe me, it was hard to decide which quilts to include here. However, I think many agreed that the sun motif was a winner.

Other themes included classic pinwheels (surrounding a not so classic petroglyph square), whirligigs...

...and autumn leaves.

An intricately quilted picture was also on display.

Other subjects included butterflies, cats...

...and very colorful chickens.

For a western flavor, each square in one quilt featured a stylized Indian petroglyph.

More western -- a bandana quilt above and (below) a stitched picture of a desert saguaro.

However, the prize for most up-to-date goes to a commercial coverlet at a sales booth just outside the exhibit hall. Harry himself, suitable for keeping any youngster warm and safe at night.

Aglow in the September Sun

About noon. I stepped out the front door and happened to glance up. The mountain mahogany seeds were glowing in the autumn sun. Oh, I couldn't resist taking picture after picture. Here are a few. Enjoy!

Fire Trucks, Then & Now

Skull Valley is a very small ranching community about 20-25 miles from Prescott, the other side of the Prietas. I'm sure that theirs is a volunteer fire department -- but look at their fine up-to-date fire truck.

Plenty of gear & gauges to befit 21st century blazes.

Here's what they might have had back 85-90 years ago, tho I would guess a fine R.E.D. machine like this more likely belonged to a city such as Prescott or Phoenix. Both machines were on display at the pie & ice cream social this weekend. (And, Bro, note that the proper wheels remain on the truck. None of this low rider nonsense.)

In the meantime, I've been tagged again! By she at The One Acre Wood. Actually, twice, but I'm doing this in two parts so I can think about my answers.

#1. Rules-Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have. At the end of your blog post you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged and to read your blog. Hokay, here goes:

A -- Ambitious not. Never was -- all I ever wanted in my working days was a reasonable living doing something interesting. Journalism fit that requirement to a tee until they started pushing me up the ladder, where meetings and paperwork took the place of inquisitiveness.

N -- Nosy. The old shoes, ships & sealing wax thing; I'm curious about almost anything or anybody you can name. Always have been. Mom says that as a little kid, I was always asking "Why for???"

N -- Negligent. Or perhaps just plain lazy. I never did keep a neat house or office & my windows and hard drive need cleaning, tho I'm taking care of the windows very soon by hiring outsiders. Not to say that my negligence is guilt-free; no way. Goes with the territory of being brought up female.

So: who'll I tag? How about:

* Olivia
* pb
* String Bag

Screen Critters

We all know that the reason for window screens is to keep the creepy-crawlies out. In my world, there's another reason: to provide a landing place for various flying creatures, so that I might photograph or examine them (or both.) As a certified night owl, I have my lights on at least until midnight so the catch should be good. But our rains have been sparse this summer and the critters have followed suit. Nonetheless, an interesting handful now reside on the hard drive.

Number one is a hawk moth. This is the fellow who hovers like a humming bird and unrolls an unbelievably long tongue to sip nectar, preferably from night-blooming flowers. However, this week, I've seen this moth at almost all times of day as well as at dusk. Probably means his season is drawing to a close. Too bad I didn't use the flash -- the pretty colors might have shown up (pink and black.)

This was a medium-sized moth whose colors popped quite nicely. No idea what he looks like on top, however; that's one problem with window screen photography -- you see the undersides of a critter.

Once in a great while, one of those huge moths puts in an appearance. About a 4-5 inch wing-spread, I'd say. Quite spectacular.

Usually toward the end of the rainy season, mature praying mantises gather on my screens at night. This year, there's been a grand total of one. However, I did find a first cousin -- a walking stick -- on the screen one evening. On the inside, yet. Must have come in when I called the cat!

Bug Photos Galore: Wow! I've just visited Cindy's Bug Safari. She's got some beautiful photography and interesting posts. Do take a long look!

A Pie & Ice Cream Social Under the Cottonwoods

Perhaps you recall that sometime back I wrote about two old retired Santa Fe stations that sit alongside Iron Springs Road. Here's the third of the trio -- unlike the other pair, it is less than a mile from its original railroad home in Skull Valley. I was fortunate enough to score a ride down the hill for the annual ice cream and PIE social sponsored by the Skull Valley Historical Society Saturday morning.

There were ladies and gents in period costumes, the men as Arizona Roughriders...

...and the ladies in their Sunday-go-to-meeting finery.

There was music -- by the bluegrass gospel & western group, Extra Touch.

This was not an occasion for all those sales booths we see at most summer events. Only a few items were on sale, all local, including honey...

...cute little owls made from what look like Arizona walnuts...

...Skull Valley tee shirts...

...cloth books made by a Skull Valley woman...

...and pie, wonderful pie! Oh, so many kinds of pie there were.

Pumpkin. Apple in various guises. Lemon meringue. Lime cream. Chocolate. Assorted berries. Pecan. You name it...
Well, I did. I asked for good old fashioned rhubarb. It took some looking, which the ladies did willingly. Finally they found two, among all those homemade goodies that were still packed away, waiting to be served from the long table. But I'm sorry to have missed tasting some of those other confections. At $5 a pop (priced to pay for the entertainment and food), a slice of that lime cream looked a hair pricey. But mainly, I was short on cash!

Folks ate at tables in back of the museum in the shade of those immense cottonwood trees for which Skull Valley is famous (all thanks to the best water table in all Yavapai County, BTW.) If you still need convincing, the picture below should help gauge the size of those trees.

I haven't room in this post for the other pictures you'll see soon, of the beautiful quilts and the really, really antique autos that were on display! And, not so incidentally, the reason I made it all the way down to Skull Valley is that a dear friend, Georgene Lockwood, is running for county supervisor for district one. She is attending all manner of local events to meet people and get a feel for what they expect of a candidate.

Speaking of Elections: In case you were looking for a website for the Yavapai Wester (formerly the Yellow Sheet), it is here. There's a good story about the election of our new mayor.