Snagged!

It's been a strange week: like going to work, and not. I was called to jury duty. Again. I don't know what it is about this state, I have lived here 6 years and have been called to appear 3 times. Twice in county court, and this time to the US District Court. The Cochise County courthouse is in Bisbee, about 90 minutes drive one way, and the federal court is downtown Tucson, about the same distance.

While in the holding pool we were assigned numbers and because there were more than 70 of us, I thought I would have a good chance at being dismissed. For one thing, I had been called fairly recently and once delivered a "guilty" verdict. It has saved me in Bisbee before. Jury selection here took a long time. It seems that over half the state works for some type of government, law-enforcement or otherwise. I thought I almost was free when I was the 11th juror chosen in a 13 person jury. D***N!

I must admit that the court is bending over backwards to make life as easy as possible for us. Because I live more than 60 miles away, they will pay for a hotel room and give me a per diem, but I don't WANT to stay in a hotel downtown and eat restaurant food! I want to be HOME! So, I am driving to Tucson every day. Thankfully court does not start for us until 9:30, and we adjourn at 5 or earlier. I guess I am in a routine already, and am very thankful that Dan is here to take care of the animals' needs. We certainly could not work and have the WD: too much work and certainly no play. I will be back in my old work routine tomorrow of cooking on Sunday for the rest of the week, but after we go for a ride.

We are not to discuss the case, but I must say that the other jurors are very nice and we have some fun during our breaks. The process is interesting, I admit, and I enjoy watching the interaction between all the players. The whole thing should be over some time next week. Then I will be able to get back to "life".

This is a photo of the courtyard behind the beautiful courthouse (not pictured), where I eat my lunch (lovingly prepared by Dan).

Those cants!

What a great cantaloupe year! Last year, because June was rather cool, we got skunked, but this year more than made up for it. There were so many cantaloupes in July that Linda, when she ranch-sat, gave them away as well as fed them to the horses. A total favorite with Buggsy, who has a sugar addiction, and who had to be brought down from the stall ceiling when we returned. There is nothing like having a horse with an addictive personality ... (he also cribs). Good thing he is such a sweet horse.

Back to the cants. We have been eating them almost daily all summer and ate our last one this week, so today I pulled up the plants in the garden. Fruit was not ripening any more, and Bermuda grass had invaded the beds and was driving me crazy. But, there were still some overripe/rotten ones on the vine and the chickens had a hay day, or rather a cant day.

Next year I will mulch the plants that spend the entire season in the garden, tomatoes, cantaloupes, peppers, zucchini and cucumbers, with alfalfa hay to keep the weeds down. It contains no seeds and will add nitrogen to the soil once the plants are pulled up. It's what I love about gardening: there is always something to learn, and there is always next year.

Cloudy day

Here are some photos of our weekly trek up the Stronghold Divide trail. Yesterday was a perfect day for a hike: a bit cloudy and cool. And it was a relief for Dan who had been sitting in Texas, either visiting or driving.

The young Cous buck on our way to the campground.

We walked up the creek a little ways to discover the origin of that tiny waterfall we heard.

At the top, with rain threatening. It was cold up there. Need to bring a shirt next week.

And on our way back we saw this beautiful Sonoran Mountain King snake.