Among the cats

Max (left), Yoda (right). While the guest cat was visiting, the two animals had a curious relationship. Much of the time, Yoda was penned into the living room so that the two did not have to see one another. But even when our various siamese mutts were available to one another, we did not have a major MROW!!! scene. They sorta tippy-toed around each other, touching noses occasionally, hissing once or twice.

Yoda is a pushy, take-over sort of cat and I think that my dear companion was more than a little cowed by all this Attitude. Unfortunately, I seldom had the camera at hand when both critters were together.

When it came time to leave, the guest cat, who is a good traveler, was put into the car. At one point before departure, he jumped out and ran up the stairs, heading for what he had turned into His House for 10 days. Then it was bye-bye, Yoda.

Now this is interloper cat, a battle-scarred vet who shows up periodically, with every intention of Taking Over the Neighborhood. He even sashays indoors, if I chance to leave the door open to cool things off.

A couple of days after the guest cat had gone, I heard a loud MROW!!! Dashing out to protect my wimpy Max (with camera this time), I spotted the scene above. Look at Max' ears, flat against his head. His turf. Go Max, go!

Sure enough, interloper cat slunk off in the face of this territorial defense (or perhaps my appearance). Good Max! Brave Max! Angry Max! Not often I see him with a razor back.

Fire Note: The Crown King fire is 95% contained, plus more rain today.

Postscripts to past posts

All too often, once I have posted on a subject, another picture or data point or event occurs which would have enhanced the original, but, alas, far too late. Herewith a few of these odds and ends.

For instance, an aborted visit to Miss Kitty's Cat House, that wonderful cottage near Granite Creek where some 25 felines make a cozy home. I wanted to show off the place to GD, who has been volunteering at a cat rescue facility in LaFayette LA. However, no humans were present to let us in, so we had to content ourselves by chatting with the any critters who happened out to the porch.

Next -- I discovered that not only did my archives include a couple of unexpected Louisiana gator pictures -- but they were classics, consisting of a head barely above water. Just like in the movies.

And, yes, I claimed to have found all the local Victorians with towers. Hah! I should know better. This pair above and below are on Mt. Vernon near Willis Street. Not only that, but I also discovered that the big white Victorian at my end of town, at Park Avenue and Gurley actually has a tower, tho it is hidden by trees in the summer. Turns out that I had a quite passable picture of the feature in my post about the Brinkmeyer House.

And here's the picture that sparked this post in the first place. This young man is outfitted as a Rough Rider, including a special rucksack; the picture belonged in yesterday's post. I was told that he is the son of an officer of the local group.

Fire Follow-Up: Reports indicate that the Forest Service crews managed to guide the Crown King fire toward desert terrain, where there is not nearly the fuel load found in the forest. At this point, the fire is 50% contained and residents are allowed back home; yesterday's rain certainly helped. A reader was kind enough to post this Crown King fire web site, created to keep forest residents in touch with one another and with current developments. As an added feature, the site includes links to almost every business in the mountain hamlet -- it would appear that the old mining town is very well wired indeed. Following the links, I came across one very disquieting bit of info: seems ADOT is seriously considering relocating I-17 down in the lowland west of its present route between Black Canyon City and the Bloody Basin turn-off. Which would probably be the end of Bumblebee. All I can say is "Fie on you, ADOT!" What is it about highway engineers?

An old fashioned 4th -- of sorts

No fireworks. No picnic. No big crowds. Just a nice, pleasant July 4 scene at the Sharlot Hall grounds with assorted reenactment groups in their old-time costumes.

The event was organized by the Victorian Society, which also ran the lemonade stand...

...and the old-style cake walk. (No, I didn't, as I was 1) alone and 2) busy taking pictures, as well as admiring all the costumes.)

Oh, the hats I saw!

The Arizona Roughriders were present in uniform, with gear from the Spanish-American War army (below).

Next visit -- breakfast buddies who are mainstays of the Arizona Rangers, a turn of the century law enforcement organization.

Among the artifacts the Rangers had on display. Also, a good selection of firearms.

Then I walked through shade -- and hot sun -- over to the blacksmith shop. Take a look at that shirt, drenched in sweat. Phew!

Which reminded me that there was a stand selling root beer floats. While waiting for mine to be dished up, I chatted briefly with the warrior below. His uniform, he told me, predates the Roughriders and the Rangers; as a result, he belongs to the Victorian Society.

The final crowd consisted of the Prescott Regulators and Their Shady Ladies.

This Shady Lady daringly exposed a well turned ankle for the photographer.

The day was hot in the sun; no, I wouldn't have enjoyed gussying up Victorian style. Not one little bit. But the rains came just as I was leaving the museum grounds and we enjoyed two good storms. If the weather maps are accurate, the Crown King fire may have received a good enough share to slow the fire. I hope so.

Critter time with the Sson & family

When Sson and family arrive, we usually have at least one small critter scene. One year it was a spade foot toad. This year, an alligator lizard. All credit goes to the Yoda cat. Twice he hunted down and caught the youngling . It was in the house. He was relieved of his catch almost immediately, of course, and the animal was popped into the handiest container in the kitchen.

Out came the cameras. GD (above) and GS (below). Me, too, of course.

Sson shoots a close-up with a long lens.

Next, he picks up the little fellow for another close in shot.

And kindly gives me a chance at a closeup, too.

Other critters that were collected this visit: a big, muscular pine borer beetle (no, not the kind that kills the trees, but the kind who bores into trees already dead) and (below) a silvery looking grasshopper. I think an Oak Creek tadpole resided in the hallway for a day or so also before heading for a new life in Louisiana on Wednesday.

Linkage: First off, the July Festival of the Trees, where Walking Prescott rates a mention. Then, another Crown King fire picture, this one by Dagny showing a ghostly Thumb Butte nearly hidden by the smoke. Followed by a fascinating bit of agricultural practice -- Maria Langer, a writer of computer books and a chopper pilot from Wickenburg, signed on to fly over Washington state cherry orchards to help dry the ripening fruit following rains. Apparently if the fruit stays wet, it may crack open, thus ruining the crop. Also: please go back a few posts to read the final comment which came in last night from a native son who talks a bit about the old days in Prescott. He also wants to know just when the local Cornet store closed. I know it was after we arrived in the area in aught-81.

The changing of the prices?

Or just tidying up the sign. I couldn't figure out just what was the purpose. I was seated in the parked truck while Sson bought enough gas to get us beyond Crown King and back. There were these two guys, mucking about with the numerals on the price listing at highway side.

Here's the device used to remove and/or replace individual numerals. Look ma, no ladder!

While I watched, there was an awful lot of removing and replacing "4s".

This "4" just came down from on high.

Seems to be getting a spray job. I suppose it picks up a lot of highway dust during a day. Shortly after the cleaning, the "4" went right back up on the price sign.

Time to deal with "9s".

Tried very hard to see if prices on the front and back were the same, but the early morning light and highway conditions made it impossible. So I still am not sure whether any prices were changed as part of the process. Sorry.

Fire Note: The Arizona 2-1-1 site had this to report: "Firefighters had a successful day Wednesday. Strong winds pushed the fire to the southeast, testing the lines established during the night of July 1 around the summer homes. The lines held. The lines south and east of Crown King were also tested with the same results. Firefighters in both areas continue to patrol and reinforce the lines and mop-up hotspots close to the line." I presume that the phrase "summer homes" refers to the historic summer cabins at Horsethief Basin. It's been difficult to get much information about what's happening at the south end of the forest, BTW.