The Natives Are Restless

I had an eventful day yesterday! The night before, the natives were restless…I had visits from some of the resident cows, and heard coyotes howling very close; it sounded like they were right outside my door! I was worried about them attacking the baby bovine but it was fine this morning. It’s either too big for coyotes to mess with, or else Mama protected it. I got up early and took this photo of mom & baby before it was really very light outside.

Here’s a giant Barnes Conglomerate rock I found; it’s a beauty and I want it in the worst way. But it’s at least 2 1/2 ft. long and a foot wide. Pat (Mr. Ax Murderer, who’s really quite a nice guy) and I have been excavating around it to try and see how deep it goes into the ground.

This afternoon Pat led me to the old Pinal City Cemetary near here. I never could have found it on my own.

Its claim to fame is that Wyatt Earp’s ex-prostitute second wife  is buried here. (There is no record of an official marriage, however) She died of a laudanum/alcohol overdose at age 38.

Most of the grave markers are gone but a few are still there.

 

There a lots of really nice cacti inside the cemetary….does anyone know what this one is? It reminds me of the “burro’s tail” cactus that’s often a house plant, but on steroids…it’s huge, and has really big thorns.

This was my favorite grave, if there is such a thing. I guess this family lost three children at the same time; Charlie, Nellie and Reuben. How heartbreaking that must have been! They ranged in age from less than a year to 14 years. The letters are punched with a nail into the tin.

As you can see, people have dropped coins, little stones and toys in remembrance. I wished I had something to contribute besides a rock.

On the way back home from the cemetery, I had a flat tire! Out there in the Middle of Nowhere! I haven’t changed a tire in at least 40 years, and I honestly don’t think I could even get the spare tire down from under the car. I didn’t have Pat’s phone number and I couldn’t get Facebook to come up on my phone, so I texted a friend (thanks Tam!) and asked her to find Pat on Facebook and send him a Private Message to come rescue me. And he did; it worked! About 5 minutes later he showed up, changed my tire and brought it back to camp for me, since there’s certainly no room for a tire inside my car right now.  Wow, I don’t know what I’d have done on my own. I hate being helpless, but I think that’s a one of the few perks of being an Old Lady…you’re allowed to admit you can’t do everything you used to do. Thank you Pat!!!!!

Shortly after I got back home, I got a visit from Jimmy the Desert Rat (as he calls himself). He’s a tiny little 74 year old man, brown as a berry and sprightly as all get-out,  who lives in his pickup truck and is camped right around here somewhere. He sleeps in the cab of the truck and has a lawn chair and ice chest and not much else, and doesn’t have heat or a way to cook. He lives on mostly beer and cigarettes, I think! He sure has plenty of stories to tell.

Had a really pretty sunset last night.