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| Photos just don't do justice to sunsets. |
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| Mee WeeFee fleur surrounded by roses. |
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| New coronaMask thanks to Fyn. |
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| Cacti can be beautiful too!! |
29 Apr: And no fooling, we arose early. It’s a good thing, too, because the heat advisories warn old folks to stay inside. We did take this seriously and hiked early, out the door shortly after 9 AM, and onto the nearly-deserted trails where we discovered an unexpected cool breeze in most shady spots. Our newest friend, a soaring hawk was prospecting for breakfast as we skirted through the grass while bypassing the closed Bell Rock Trail Head. We were back home just before noon. My friend Walter sent me a very informative article written by doctors that question the motives of the coronavirus panic. I quote from Walter's e-mail, "Further along in the article may the best comment from the author…..
"The general public is lazy. They read headlines. Grossly misleading headlines. So when you pass this on, you will have to insist people actually read the whole thing".
28 Apr: Ron stepped onto the porch at 5 AM and saw five little javelinas browsing on the grass in the yard. A little later he went out again and discovered that ALL of the banana peels he had left out for "composting" were gone. Wonderful. Then he went back to bed, and we slept in by accident. Consequently we started our usual eight-mile hike a little later, i.e. a little hotter. But there was a nice warm breeze, so we didn't suffer much. Cynthia forgot her cell phone w/ camera, so we were unable to take pictures of the several blooming cacti, some are huge white flowers, others have bright red, and one was orange. As we walked through the grass to the trail a lovely hawk was soaring close overhead, no doubt watching for movements of littler breakfast-sized critters. And we are done hiking and back home by 2 PM. So now it is time for Ron to make good his promise to spend an hour cleaning the kitchen. Tonight we sat together on the porch and watched the skies and rocks as the sunset painted miracles for us.
27 Apr: And today Cynthia's bursitis is inflamed. Drat !! But we managed our usual eight-mile hike. We marvel at the fleurs, from blooming cactus, cliff roses, Indian paintbrush, to the super blooming mountain flowers; lots of wonderfully beautiful flowers at this time of year here.
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| Cliff Rose in bloom and very fragrant |
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| Blooming cactus across street from us |
25 Apr: So that it won't sneak by unnoticed. Wow. Were we tired before we hiked eight miles? Yes, and now we are goofy tired, but we are amazingly clean. Cynthia’s favorite color is clean. Our salmon and baked sweet potato dinner was yummy.
24 Apr: How did two days go by so quickly? We arose early, exercised, breakfasted, and were out the door hiking by 9:30. It still got hot, but we were back home by 12:30 after an eight-mile hike. Then Ron walked to the grocery and back and forgot to mail postcards. Fooey, but if that is the worst of our problems, we are indeed a lucky couple of innocents. He was able to carry frozen mango, frozen raspberries, pretzel chips, spinach, blueberries, and more without undue strain. We sat on the porch during the cool evening air, but sunset passed by without much of a display.
23 Apr: Our eight-mile hike started at high noon, but we had a lovely breeze to make it a delightful day. Sunset was gorgeous pinks all over the eastern sky.
22 Apr: Cynthia is happy: "The kitchen looks magnificent. 😍" And a happy wife is a happy life. Earth Day was celebrated with Ron spending eight-plus hours washing and organizing recycling. That and a trip to the grocery for frozen mango and fresh lettuce. Now we are back at the computers.
21 Apr: Another tomorrow, and we got out the door hiking early, i.e. just after noon, and hiked the Courthouse Butte Loop Trail without difficulty. We even survived the 37 raindrops that fell. We were back by 3 PM to eat lunch, do sudokus, and prepare for yet another hour cleaning the kitchen. That finished, it is time to resume wrapping up the DNA documentation. Ron is STILL listening to the Grateful Dead concert at MIT in 1970, and he isn't growing tired of it yet. Talk about simple minds easily amused !!
20 Apr: Another day vanished !! And this despite the vast numbers of people going stir-crazy with Stay At Home, Save Lives publicity. Ron did a little with DNA until noon, then we went for another nice hike on the Big Park Loop. (It turns out that one of the local communities is known as Big Park.) Then an hour cleaning in the kitchen, and here it is 5:30 PM heading towards dark. Ron did talk to Ed and walk through much darkness to the Post Office in order to mail postcards to Richard this evening. Now it is bedtime, G'night.
19 Apr, Sunday: And so yet another month is vanishing right in front of our eyes, not to mention how quickly the day evaporates when we get out of bed at 10 AM !! But we do feel quite well-rested. Being Sunday, we assumed that the Forest Service would have a guard at the gates of the Bell Rock Trailhead, so instead of being informed that we were not allowed to bypass the trailhead in the fields, we walked the Slim Shady Trail again, but this time Cynthia wanted to take the scary Made in the Shade Trail return. Her PTSD was raging as she worked her way through one scary exposure to the next ... But we survived and the views way up there are awesome.
18 Apr: Cynthia is up and MOTIVATED for housecleaning. Ron is hiding behind the computer answering genealogy e-mails. He finally finished e-mails and put in his mandatory hour of kitchen cleaning so that we could go hiking by 2 PM. And hike we did, up the Slim Shady Trail to the Coconino Trail and back by 5:15 and in time for dinner. So the kitchen is again (still) a mess, and Ron is hiding behind his computer again. But he did put in another 3/2 hours after 9 PM, and he is now ready for bed.
17 Apr: Ron walked to Clark's Market for groceries and home again while talking to his doctor friend Walt about coronavirus and then his friend Ed. After a noontime snack, he rode the motorcycle to Safeway and discovered that they have established a limited quota system and one-way isles. Strangely, in this Arizona sun, they make the people await their opportunity to enter the store in an area with NO SHADE. What kind of customer consideration is that? Instead the unwashed shopping carts are in the ample, accessible shade. Somebody at Safeway is guilt of stupidity. No forest service vehicle at the Bell Rock Trailhead today, but Ron returned home after Cynthia already had her sights on dinner. Forecast is for 70-degree highs for the next four days, then highs approaching 80 for the rest of April - no rain anywhere in sight. The flowers are delighting in the recent rains, but the cactus isn't blooming yet.
16 Apr: More DNA for Myra, then we decided to go for our hike early (at 11 AM), and detoured to the Slim Shady Trail upon seeing a Forest Service truck parked in the closed trailhead parking lot. Ron continues on Myra's DNA, but it is time to take a break and return to SCS packages tomorrow. Oh, yeah, and time to do sudokus.
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Wonderful to reminisce about those days when we were young and in love.
Even better to be older in the same condition. by Smooch
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| What is this anyway?? looked like African violet |
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| White flowers galore |
14 Apr: Whoops, what used to be tomorrow is already gone. Ron enjoyed DNA genealogy, answering a raft and a half of e-mails. Then we went for our usual hike around the Big Park Loop. Sedona (or actually the Village of Oak Creek) is a very nice place to be cooped up. By the time we returned from our hike, there were more DNA e-mails. Oh joy, oh joy. And by now Ron can boast two new cousins for Pat and a couple of additional kits to consider in his triangulation.
13 Apr: We watched the Barnwood Builders episode of Two Businesses on DIY Channel as a free download this AM showing our daughter-in-law Cheryl creating a fanny pack for the star of the show. Cheryl’s business is called Stash Bags (click here.) She has been on Good Morning America, other Houston TV shows, plus Southern Living, etc. She was really the star of the show. Cynthia decided to take a day of rest after her inattentive slip and fall yesterday. Besides, it rained all morning into the early afternoon. Around 5 o'clock Ron finished up his replies to DNA e-mails and abruptly decided to go for a hike, an 8 mile hike that ended with him arriving home as the first stars were appearing overhead. Strangely, despite all the recent rain, the streams were not flowing and the trails were only damp in most places. How did all that rain disappear? In the evening, Ron was disappointed that he could not continue to pursue Myra's ancestors because GEDmatch web site was unresponsive (i.e. down.)
12 Apr, Sunday: Happy Easter: Christ the Lord has risen today, Alleluia!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIH3xqAHQc4 We left for a hike early this afternoon in hopes of a good hike before the rain returned, and that we did, on the Slim Shady Trail for a mile to the second junction with the Made in the Shade Trail. There we felt the first few raindrops and decided to return home ASAP. Unfortunately on the return Cynthia was hurrying too fast and not focused on footing, slipped and fell. Fortunately all of her injuries were bruises and strains, no breaks or blood, and she was able to walk easily home. And we stayed dry. Then rains came immediately after our return then stopped. In the middle of the night it rained and rained.
11 Apr: Saturday is our house cleaning day in the Village of Oak Creek; mid-afternoon we decided to hike just as angry-looking black clouds and lighting hovered over the mountains. Cynthia's AccuWeather forecast called for rain in 21 minutes. Ron's weather radar forecast said, Nah! Not until 4-5 PM. Cynthia decided to wait twenty minutes while Ron checked out the accuracy of his app. It was nice and dry when he returned. He is always right. Until he is wrong. We started our hike; about 30 minutes into our hike, we felt raindrops. And Ron suggested we return. Just as we reached our street, at 3:30, big raindrops fell. Ron was right to turn around. He wins again. What a good little SmoochSmooch he married; he wins again and again.
10 Apr: Another morning in the Village of Oak Creek. Ron went grocery shopping at Clark's, dropped off recycling and mailed postcards. We hiked the Slim Shady Trail, connecting to the Coconino Trail, down to the Yavapai trailhead, back by the Kaibab to the Slim Shady Trail once again. Ron is kneedeep in Pat B's Gedmatch DNA.
9 Apr: In the Village of Oak Creek, we awakened, as usual, exercised as always, oatmealed as always, and attended a genealogy DNA webinar about 23 and Me. It was exciting to learn that 23 and Me shows a genealogy tree of sorts linking together people whose DNA matches me. I've had fun but no significant results in sending e-mails to Pat's "cousins." I have to brag on 6 replies for 18 messages, a terrific percentage. But now it is time to go for a hike, and then it will be time to clean the kitchen some more. The hike was very pleasant, the 4 mile Big Park Loop. Cleaning, Ugh, but the kitchen is another halfway clean; three or four more halfways and it will be almost clean. 'Nuf for tonight.
8 Apr: Up early (HA :) and out to the PostOffice and Clark's Grocery. Ron managed to find yogurt and blueberries for his weefee and frozen mango, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts for himself. His sistah has looked at Pat's DNA and pronounced it a mess; Pat's mother and father were cousins in a couple of ways, and the DNA is very much intertwined, interlaced, and incomprehensible. Oh well, time to go hiking. Another 7+ mile day, the third in a row. Our bodies are complaining rather than adjusting. Ron finished mending his pants but still needs to attach the button.
7 Apr: Between mending pants and hiking, Ron accomplished only massive confusions in looking at Pat's DNA results. It appears that all of Pat's interesting ancestors gave her pileup segments exclusively. Cynthia's FaceBook meditation explains our day:
Holy Wednesday – Are you troubled in spirit?
Yes, who isn’t troubled during these days of increasing death? Peace of mind comes when Ron and I are hiking and not sitting. When I am focused on the trail and watching my steps, I don’t do much thinking. Because the forest service closed the trailheads, the hiking trails are empty and eerily silent. We were almost at the end of an eight-mile hike when a bicycle approached, and the rider looked official and mighty important. Were we going to be chastised for hiking when the trailhead was closed? The fine is $5000 for violators, so, yes, I was troubled in spirit. He said his name was Marty, and he is the president of the Mountain Bicycle Patrol. I said I liked the white cross on his shirt. He laughed and said he tells his wife it attracts chicks. My mood lightened. He noticed Ron’s MIT cap and said his son-in-law got his MBA from MIT. Marty got his Ph.D. from Cornell. Good. We are talking like friends and exchanging niceties. Suddenly he remembered the time and said he had to get home for an online Seder with family. Aha! He is Jewish. I told him of my experience as a Lutheran Pastor holding a Seder meal on Maundy Thursday and feeling tipsy after the mandatory four cups of wine. We laughed. I raised my hands in blessing on his Seder, and he responded with a beautiful, warm smile. After this encounter, my spirit was no longer troubled, and God had given me peace despite the hardships that had previously troubled me so greatly. God comes to us in surprising ways and often at unexpected times. Thanks be to God.
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| A gorgeous moon, Ron, and no javelinas. |
The moon was gorgeous. Ron can be seen (left edge) leaving banana peels for wild javelinas that travel through the wash behind the house. Ron is delighted to have finished GEDCOM + DNA for all of Pat's matches. Tomorrow he intends to try to figure out how to analyze this data.
5 Apr, Holy Week, Passion Sunday: Cynthia attended virtual church and very much enjoyed the service at Christ Lutheran in Sedona (click here.) Ron continues working on cousin Pat's GEDCOM + DNA matches and was surprised to see his sister's e-address among Pat's matches. Pat also matches another Rambo descendant who is a very distant cousin on the Rambo line, 11 generations back to the common ancestor, the immigrant Peter Gunnarsson Rambo. Then we went for another hike on the Slim Shady Trail and met a nice couple from Wisconsin. Mule deer were in our yard. Life is good.
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| A new view of Bell Rock. |
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| Me beloved weefee is not so very tall |
3 Apr: Tomorrow again. Covid-19 is horrible; 1019 people died today. Unreal. We hiked 8 miles roundtrip and discovered that the trailheads, and likely the trails, will be closed over the weekend. Our mountain legs are returning, but Cynthia's feet are still sore. We enjoyed a great 8-mile hike, our usual Courthouse Butte Loop.
2 Apr: Wow !! The influenza pandemic of 1918 (click here) is estimated to have infected 1/3 of the world population and is estimated to have killed one in ten people infected. Sobering in light of today's growing problem child. The basic advice is exactly what the politicians and the press have been telling us. Still, the key is maintaining the distancing and sheltering until the pandemic passes in perhaps a month. And then watch out for a second visitation requiring the same vigilance. My O My, what a mess we are in. Also, sobering to think that perhaps one of every hundred people you know will die of this coronavirus. Be Safe is indeed good advice.
We enjoyed our longer Courthouse Butte Loop again today, but Cynthia neglected to wear her watch, so we don't know if we walked fifty feet or fifty miles, but we suspect something in between. Ron is back to work finishing the Hanson package for the SCS. Done, and time for bed. Goodnight.
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| Thank you, God! Ron is on his best behavior with hands at his sides (keeping fingers away from eyes, ears, nose and mouth.) The green pouch contains a days supply of jelly beans. |
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| Thank you, God. Ron made her laugh again, just when he snapped the photo. |
Happy Birthday to granddaughter Samantha. Thanks to God for Samantha! And thank you, God, for granddaughters 19-year-old Zoe, and five-year-old Fyn for sewing masks! Thank you, God.
And always, Thank God for Cynthia, me beloved SmoochSmooch, a fun girlie !!
