Forbidden fruit?

Stan caught Jasmine stealing an orange (left photo) from a secluded grove near the intersection of East Osborn Road and 78th Street today.

Her punishment was having this unfortunate selfie taken with her self-appointed captor, and from the looks of it, the detainee got the better of him. Oranges are plentiful here, it's how Scottsdale got its start. Many are just left to rot on the ground. (enlarge the photo) We brought our Vita-mix with us, but so far haven't gathered up a dozen to blend with a smoothie. (Do oranges get worms???)
:) No worries for Jasmine. She waved good bye and immediately peeled into her juicy booty.
The multi-use path hummed with activity today, some of it shirtless, like this athletic, tattooed roller-blader. Sleeveless ladies took big swings at the adjacent Continental Golf Course.

Gopher? His wife was the horse's ass

Yesterday Stan wrote that he had to explain to a Scottsdale citizen what a Gopher is and why a state would claim it as a mascot. It prompted this response from Wayne, still huddled beside the fire in Rainier, Minnesota.

Wayne writes:

How DID you explain why Minnesota chose a Gopher as a mascot? I am curious. At least it doesn't offend any culture. Or does it? I am now curious how many colleges have mammals as mascots. My wife was the horse's ass in the International Falls Broncos two-person mascot costume.
How about that tidbit -- as I wait for the temp to get up to 10 below so I can go out and start the car and run some errands.

Stan writes back: I told the guy in the New Balance shirt that the name started in the 19th Century when irony and humility were still appreciated. Who knew the name would last for centuries? The guy remembers being in Minneapolis on a business trip years ago and attending a basketball game in something the locals called "The Barn." I told him it was still there.
Kathleen bought me this Minnesota baseball cap with the word "Gophers" on the bill as a conversation starter for when we meet strangers down here. It works pretty well. Almost as good as a dog.
Hope your car starts.
We're inside right now watching the Paris shooting coverage, but Birdie wants, no needs, to go out for a walk on a lovely morning.
It was interesting listening to John Kerry speak French at a news conference. Question: in this digital day and age, why are the press still cameras so noisy? Sometimes you can hardly hear the speaker over the chattering din of the still camera. Is it a macho thing? My camera is noisier than your camera?
The President is coming here tonight. The White House doesn't ever say where he will be staying overnight, but that doesn't stop the local tourism bureau from announcing it and the tv from repeating it.
Hope that's just a decoy.

Or you could walk

The free trolley isn't really necessary. There's plenty
of free parking everywhere anyway.

Here's something to do when in Scottsdale: rent a Segway and have your picture taken in front of the iconic Robert Indiana sculpture, then tour Old Town.
Or you can go see the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mission restoration where there are the 15 original stations of the cross to view (one more than usual, the guide said).
We thought about it, then took the trolley across the canal to the Fashion Mall where Katie discovered the Paradise Bakery, which was her very favorite in Tucson where it was located at Oracle Road and Ina.
Then we trollied back home for a siesta.

Wayne checks in from his back yard in the Beautiful Frozen Northland

Our dear friend Wayne is the resident philosopher, the muse of Ranier, Minnesota. If you don't know where Rainier is, it's Up North. Way North, where it is 19 degrees below zero and plunging tonight. A possibility of minus 50 degrees. You're actually looking at Canada from across frozen Rainy Lake in the photo above. You're also looking at the magic of the storied wintry blasts, as they dance with the snow, twisting and forming mystical shapes for the amusement of the cabin-bound. From time to time Wayne makes observations about the world around him and favors us with a comment or two, as he throws another log on the fire. Tonight is one of those special times.

Wayne writes:

Finally got a good snowfall (about 10 inches). Good cover for the drain fields and and water lines. Not to mention the snowmobilers who have been bitching lately. Sorry you can't get out to golf in Arizona Stan. I kinda know how you feel. 
It's gonna warm up on the weekend here too. Should hit zero.

A brief conversation at First and Main

A couple of blondes walked in to an art gallery. One said to the other.. .

Stan's artist cousin Larry Veeder has produced many gorgeous paintings inspired by the colorful geography in the Arizona high country. Strolling through the Legacy Gallery at the corner of First and Main in Scottsdale's Old Town today, we were reminded of his talent and remarked about it to the cordial gallery docent.

Lindie was all bundled up in a fur coat, greeting guests and taking care of business, but when she learned that Larry winters in Arizona, but lives in Red Wing, Minnesota, we talked about a lot more than the weather. For one thing, she's got a beloved collection of Red Wing pottery in her Arizona yard, loves meeting Minnesotans, and says they're the most conversant of all the people from all over the world that she meets in her life as an art lover.
Flattered, we had to oblige.
To get started, she knew Paul Harvey well. He was a good customer. Knew his wife, too, she always had pink roses in her bedroom. She met Billy Joel, he seemed aloof. And so on.
Then there was the time a well-dressed woman from Arkansas came by, glittering in an array of diamonds. Lindie had heard there are diamond mines in Arkansas where tourists are invited to come and dig.
"You must have one of those diamond mines in your back yard," Lindie commented.
"No, honey," the woman responded in a sweet drawl, "just some chickens."
As it turned out, the gentle lady was telling her the truth.
Lindie had been speaking to Mrs. Tyson.

With Larry and Carolyn in Minnesota last summer. We'll catch them in Arizona soon.

Jennifer, are you reading this?

Our Salty Senorita promised that the soup wouldn't
be too spicy.

The sun felt good beating on our backs this afternoon at the Salty Señorita on the corner of Second and Scottsdale in Old Town. It isn't that warm out yet, but it was warmer on the sidewalk than it was indoors.
They don't have furnaces here, they have heaters. Which is all you really need, except when the Rolfsruds come to town and bring record lows with them, just like they did last year in New Orleans.
We ordered tortilla soup and chopped salad with lots of avocados and, of course, the bottomless chips and salsa.
It must have been the tortilla soup that did it, because later as we walked past a soft-serve stand, it seemed just the right thing to chill a spiced-out tongue. Nobody else was buying ice cream today, but when we saw it was "Non GMO and Certified Organic" we thought of our daughter at the grocery in Minnesota and ordered up a cone. It was especially refreshing, smooth, not granular like some soft serves.
We are now officially registered at the "Shakes & Cones Organic Soft Serve" on First Street, so if we eat $30 worth of softies, we win a $3 cone. Given all the spicy food in these parts and the promise of a drastic warmup, that's probably a sure bet.

First in line for 2015 Spring Training tickets. . .

Ho hum. Another year, another championship.

The World Champion San Francisco Giants haven't bothered to hang their 2014 crest yet at the nearby Spring Training ball park, but we got a shot of their 2010 version when we walked past on our way to find the Post Office that google said was here.
We didn't find that post office (it has been shut down for eight years and has been demoted to the back of the Chevron gas station) but we found a friendly USPS driver who promised to tell our postman how to deliver our forwarded materials. We were concerned because we just have a little mailbox at the corner and the weekly boxed shipment won't fit.
On the way home, past the hospital and the dialysis center, (health is big here) we got a free card at the Scottsdale Library, where you can get free parking in the ramp next to the Police Station. That's near where the free trolley stops to take you to the Fashion Mall and Old Town.
We like free.
Meanwhile, Kathleen took Birdie for a stroll down by the Indian School wash and was greeted by a gentleman walker: "Happy New Year Young Lady!"
It's warmer here than you think.

Wrong again, sir. That would be a Double-crested Cormorant

The wintry weather in Scottsdale hasn't take out the bougainvillea. A brisk walk through the Indian School Road neighborhood in Old Town Scottsdale this morning found standing water on the venerable Continental Golf Course and these bright blooms against the overcast. Temps are in the forties, quite unseasonal, but fresh. The golf pro said there would be sunshine over the weekend, be patient.
The city pond had a flock of what we believe to be coots bunched up in the trees, grumbling in hoarse, throaty tones, sort of like some of them had caught colds and they resented it. That's unlikely, of course, and we aren't even sure these are the ubiquitous, unappreciated coot, so we ask Birdmaster Greg Johnson to make the final call. Greg?

Greg writes from Minnesota: Sorry to disappoint. They are Double-crested Cormorants.  See you on the golf course. When it's warmer.

College Football Fans in Sunol!

As selfies go, they may have better ones, but this is unique. Two newly-minted Gopher backers, sorta.

Sosie and Bill are wearing her birthday t-shirts supporting the Golden Gophers in today's bid against the hated Missouri Tigers. We gave the shirts in hopes of inspiring them to watch a football game on New Year's Day, since it is the first time Minnesota has done that since the Kennedy administration.
Be that as it may, Bill is still rooting for Missouri.
The free t-shirt apparently failed to turn the brother-in-law.