ArizonaRanch

  Critters and such… by rdpecken on Oct.17, 2010, under Seasons We went for a hike on Friday.  We went down to the old Well #5 to see if it still had water in the tank, then we hiked around the road and up to Gunners Mate Road (about 3 miles altogether).  On the way, we found some interesting critters. Here is one of a pair of baby Horned Toad Lizards that were only about six feet from each other on the road. He had just caught a bug of some kind to eat. Baby Horned Toad Then, while we were resting, I knocked over a rock off the side of the road, and out crawled a centipede.  Pretty creepy… About 3 inches long. Centipede And when we got back, we found a little (maybe 2″) baby tarantula crawling near the cabin. Baby Tarantula I tried snapping a short video of him walking around…     Finally, the boys found bones from a deer out in the meadow.  Here they are trying to piece them together… Deer Bones 1 Deer Bones 2

  Fall Campfire by rdpecken on Oct.17, 2010, under Seasons We brought the two grandsons up for October Break.  One of the highlights of the trip was that it was calm enough and not too dry to have a campfire.  We dug out the old “Dave Coester” built fire ring, and taught the two boys how to build a proper fire.  Then we roasted marshmellows over the coals.  It was cool. Campfire The juniper really makes a nice fire.  The Pinyon Pines, not so much.  Too much pitch and smoke. Campfire 2 The next day, Papa got into some of the pictures. We roasted hotdogs for dinner that night. Campfire 3

  Toilet Install by rdpecken on Oct.17, 2010, under Plumbing Welcome to civilization… We managed to install out toilet in the bathroom at the Littlehouse last week.  I didn’t make any step-by-step photos, but they are all pretty much the same. Sterling Stinson model The choices were a little limited, as most at the big box stores were the low-water-use 1.28 gal per flush models.  Home depot had a dual rate one that used 1.28 gals for one type of flush, or 1.6 gals for a full flush.  I thought about getting that one, as it was only $99.00, but then thought about possible repairs in the future.  I think that maybe the parts for that special mechanism might not be readily available ten years down the road.  But most “standard” toilets all have interchangeable parts, so I went with one of the standard models. The Stirling Stinson had a nice floor saving design.  After installation, I notice that if you just press and release the lever, you can get a low volume f

  Fall Maintenance 2010 by rdpecken on Oct.06, 2010, under Ranch Maintenance While I was up laying floor tile, I had some drying time to make use of.  I re-insulated the water inlet pipes.  I don’t know what happened to the first application, but it was gone.  This time, I used plastic ties, as well as electrical tape to hold it in place.   Water Inlet re-insulated The big storm that passed through this week blew open the shed door.  So all of the door frame got soaked with rain during that night.  The frame swelled so much, I could no longer close the door all the way.  So when I left, I tied it closed as much as possible, and hope that when it dries out, I will be able to close it again.   Shed door temporary fix

  Early October 2010 by rdpecken on Oct.06, 2010, under Seasons I went up last Friday to finish the bathroom floor tiles.  On Monday, a storm rolled in.  It was one of the biggest storms I have witnessed there.  Wave after wave of thunderstorms started around noon and continued until the next day at 7:00 pm.  Our neighbor Wayne said we got about 1.7 inches at his place, with winds of 50 mph.  I believe it, as the Littlehouse was really shaking. Anyway, since the camera batteries were dead, I couldn’t catch any good pictures during the storm, as the cellphone (with camera) was up at the phone booth. So on Wednesday morning, I took some post-storm photos.  They aren’t very good quality (from the cellphone) but better than nothing. The road had dried enough by Wednesday morning at 10:00am to take off toward the Valley. Markham Pass drying Here are some from the Littlehouse from porch on Wednesday morning.   Looking west    Looking East