Gotcha!!

Three years ago today, I did something I swore I would never do again -- I rescued another cat! At that time, I was "catless" for the first time in about 40 years and decided it was best at this stage in life that I did not have a pet that relied on me. Afterall, I had recently retired after 45 years of working and was looking forward to galavanting across this great country of ours in search of places I have yet to experience. 

However, someone else had other plans. Sometime in November of 2017, I received a text message with the following image attached:

A small black cat was living under the solar panels on my neighbor's roof! I decided if possible, I would catch him or her, have them spayed/neutered and release them back into the neighborhood. I started talking to the kitty, who turned out to be very skittish, but would vocalize to me as if to say "help me". I started putting out food and water, and after about 3 weeks, she would get within a few feet of me. Then, to my surprise, on December 8, I put the food and water down at my feet, but did not move. She ran over and started chowing down and without even thinking, I scooped her up and brought her into the house. 

OH, MY GOODNESS!! WHAT DID I JUST DO!! I swore I wasn't going to bring another cat into the house and I did just that. Well, long story short, I did have her spayed, but classically rescue failed in the process. She was just so cute and adorable, and tiny! She bonded to me so quickly, and of course, I fell in love with her. Needless to say, I now have a cat to take care of for the next 15 or so years. Even though she is a girl, I named her Thackery Binx (Binx for short) after the black cat in the movie Hocus Pocus.

Binx's first meal indoors

Binx bonding with me on her first night as an indoor cat

After a few vet visits to get her tested for diseases, dewormed, vaccinated, and spayed, she came through with flying colors and has enjoyed a very healthy life so far. 

She has made good friends with my daughter's big boy cat Salem, but after 3 years, she is still vary of Boo, my daughter's little female cat. I've given up trying to get them to become friends. Sometimes, cats just don't get along. We've all learned how to co-exist with as little stress as possible, and Binx is doing fine.

Binx has an amazing personality and is truly my "furry child". I can't imagine life without her, and even though I thought I didn't need another pet, I'm glad she is with me. Here are some random pictures of her from the past 3 years.

Those eyes!

Watching the outside world from a new perspective

Binx and Salem enjoying some fresh air

Loving the Indoor Life!!

I love you, Meowma!

Picacho for Thanksgiving

For the first time in my life, I spent Thanksgiving camping!! I can check that off my bucket list now. I was joined by my oldest daughter, Cheryl and her BF, Orion. What a great way to celebrate the holiday with family.

Dining in the desert

T-shirt weather for Thanksgiving

As you can see in the photos, we enjoyed all of the usual trappings of a Thanksgiving dinner: Turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, zucchini, and cranberry sauce! With the exception of the turkey that I cooked the day before, we were able to cook up everything else using my trusty Coleman Fold-n-Go stove.

Using my Coleman stove to heat water for my morning coffee.

As a treat, I turned my Roofnest over to my daughter and Orion for Thanksgiving night. They absolutely loved it! They liked it so much, they are seriously considering buying one of their own.

Babies in my "nest"

Of course, this meant I was delegated to the ground floor for one night, but other than the ground being a little cold due to sleeping on top of an inflatable mattress, I was warm and cozy. The secret to cold camping is layers and insulation -- layers of clothing and insulation between you and the surface you're sleeping on. The temperature overnight stayed close to the low 40s, but just before dawn it dipped into the upper 30s. Brrrr. That's downright cold for us here in Arizona.

The crisp air makes for some beautiful blue skies. Here's a shot of Newman Peak looking Northwest from the park.

I'm heading out to Picacho again in a few days to test out another piece of new gear, a 12V heated throw. I'll be able to plug it in to one of my solar generators, which will provide me with hours and hours of use time. I don't plan on using it all night, but it will be nice to warm myself up just in case it gets a bit too chilly. My motto is to hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Having a way to warm myself up without having to run my car engine or use a portable heater is the way to go for me. 

In case, you're wondering, no, I will not be using a portable heater inside my Roofnest (or any other tent) or my cargo trailer. The popular one out there is the Mr. Heater Buddy, but let me tell you, you're asking for trouble using one of those inside a small confined space. When dealing with open flames, all it takes is one small mistake and you have a potential disaster on your hands. There are plenty of YouTube videos and Internet images to confirm that. I won't even use a candle in a tent -- it's just too risky.

Ciao for now!