Now we celebrate:

And there was random dancing to the Pointer Sisters and Animal, as we use Autostitch for the first time posting:







Friends Mike, Dan and I headed into a canyon up near the Mogollon Rim in Arizona. 'Twas my first time into a canyon since before the wedding. But I figured enough scruffiness had returned to the face and enought days since the last shower to warrant a return to the slots...



Short and sweet, in the rain. One great rap at the end. If you're going to get wet anyway...

The end. It's here.

Oh, the horror. It can't be taped. If it can't be taped, it can't be worn. If it can't be worn, my alias can no longer be Zoe Ray. Damn.

For now:

Pending the results of the written test, I can again be classified as certifiable. More pictures of the course will come in time, but...

True to form

So Sedona... Despite the bongo-playing, crystal-wearing, vortex-hugging inhabitants, we have thus far managed to entertain ourselves on ropes without too bad of scenery.



More importantly, we spend our time in the shade. Sure it's September, but this is still monsoon country.

























Look. Even Canucks can do rebelays. They carry special pouches with mayonnaise to dip their chips in. How clever.








Time to clean up. Testing is tomorrow. Hopefully another merit badge for the sash.












The rag tag crew:

My how you've grown

so we work w/ rebelays, deviations, rescues from ascending/descending, passing knots, traverses, rigging and, finally, above all, not looking like this.

AZ & SPRAT

Back to AZ safely.



















So I drove through the beauty to see this:















Now I spend my life w/ pedantic ropes:



Soon there will be height.

And then the Panhandle!

I truly thought that the panhandle area of Texas had nothing to offer me.
Boy, (pause... clear throat), was I wrong!!!

Well first there is the Palo Duro Canyon - the Grand Canyon of Texas.






















But that's boring.
More importantly, this is the location of the LARGEST CROSS
in the Western Hemisphere!








Isn't that awesome!?! I mean, you could feel it.














That'd fit one big Jebus. The TRUTH was in the air. Like on the radio, where they talked about the homosexual agenda. God truly is love.



Oh, I did it:

OKC

We come here to remember
Those who were killed, Those who survived and Those changed forever.
May all who leave here know the impact of violence,
May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.

Havin' us a time...

"...My cousin Roscoe Slayton's oldest boy
from his second marriage up in Illinois
He was raised in East St. Louis by his momma's people
Where they do things different
Thought he'd just come on down
He was going to Dallas Texas in a semi truck called from that big McDonald's

"You know the one they built up on that great big ol' bridge
Across the Will Rogers Turnpike










"Took the Big Cabin exit stopped and bought a couple of cartons of cigarettes
At that Indian Smoke Shop with the big neon smoke rings..."





James McMurtry - 'Chocktaw Bingo'

St. Louis

First leg and the driving habits are improving. Now using turn signals correctly, fastening the safety buckle and closing windows and locking doors with reasonable consistency.


Small town makes you nervous when it finally lets you go. New noises, people, sentence fragments.

The perspective of seeing things change quickly (as different from the norm) is being embraced. Working out that balance, your tao, middle road, ideal gray scale, w/r/t itchy feet and the total loss of wanderlust could be worthwhile.



No crappy pizza was consumed during the making of this blog.

Westward.

Soon come the long-delayed return to the SW. Time to get away from all of this water. At least clean, fresh water. I'm talking about getting in some stank canyon water. Who's up for swimming with carcasses and general scum and filth? Any takers?







BTW it's "I love boobies"

Farming can cause...

Serious Injury. Even Death!

It's true... and stats!

So the farming is over. Adios hermanos. Adios Felipe.

On the work:
















-Number of Total Days: 33
-Number of Days off: 1
-Longest Day: 13 Hrs (not including break)
-Average Hours per Day: 8.78
-Average Work Week: 61.5

Routine

But soon coming are the 45th parallels.
And the mediation, the meditation, the accreditation.
And statistics.

Far from over, it's beginning...

Some moths look like camels:

For the Homies

Atrocities not covered in the main stream media

Those of you that enjoy maraschino cherries should discontinue the reading of this post. You are complicit in the problem – you are the demand for a horrible process – a genocide of sorts…



We harvest many types of cherries – all delicious. The purpose of this post is to discuss the processing of the gold and emperor francis varieties.



After they are taken off of the tree they commiserate about their fate in large tanks We transport loads to a local drop-off – huge vats in the ground after which they are shipped, soaked in a brine and completely bleached of all color and flavor. They are then macerated to be set upon the top of your sundae.




This mug is the last view up through the water at the loving world that they have known:

Homage to Felipe

Or: Peripatetic agriculture and its contents


Some people talk about being an itinerant fruit picker, some act on it.

This is my tractor:



See the world from my eyes for most of the day:


I told you it was my tractor. I drive boxes or tanks filled with water to and fro. Sometimes they are empty. Sometimes they are full.



Sometimes it rains.



Fun factoids:

-Weight of filled box: 700lbs.
-Weight of filled tank: 2000lbs.
-Number of breakdowns of shaker (from 1970): 4
-Number of breakdowns of catchframe: 2
-Number of uses of various saws (chain, circular): >8
-Number of bats (BFBs) caught in catch frame, paralyzed but still hissing: 1
-Number of exploding boxes filled with cherries: 1
-Number of apple trees uprooted from runaway catchframe: 1 (ghost ride the whip)