Snowbirds and Shooter

The trees are becoming quite bare up here in a hurry.  Cool weather and wind have taken their toll on the foliage in a hurry.  We are located about 1600ft above sea level and the trees down around 700ft still have some color and leaves.  Not here.  I took a ride down to an old reservoir where you could actually see the water a few years back.  Now the trees have grown down to the water's edge and the view has been destroyed except for the dam area.  

At one time there was a gun club near the property and I remember going down there to sight our guns in.  The only thing left of the club is an old foundation and a clearing.  The trees are quickly overtaking that area also.  It doesn't take long for the forest to retake the land if left unchecked.  The drive down there was very pretty and the road was somewhat rough, but well worth a look see.

It looks like the snowbird migration is in full swing with a number of bloggers that I follow heading south and west for warmer weather.  There are three major areas in the the U.S. that attract the majority of the snowbirds.  Florida seems to be the choice for those of us on the east coast and the midwest section of the country.  Many snowbirds from the upper midwest migrate to Florida or the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. (RGV).  Westerners tend to head to southern Arizona around Yuma, Phoenix or Tucson.  Each section has it's good and bad points.  Humidity in Florida, wind in the RGV and cool nights in southwest Arizona.  

We traveled to the Florida Keys for 11 years and loved it down there.  Warm, some humidity and very laid back atmosphere made it great.  High prices and changes in the atmosphere made it less attractive to us so we have traveled to Tucson for the last 5 years and this will make our 6th year there if we ever get on the road.

We scoped out the RGV one fall and liked it, but the wind never stopped blowing the whole time we were there.  They also have some large parks down there that seemed a little cramped to us.  The people who go there swear by it so there must be some good in the place.

I don't think it really matters where you spend the winter as long as it is warm, have friendly people around you and lots of activities to keep you amused.  It is like that old saying " a bad fishing day is better than a good day at work".  Same holds true for getting out of the cold weather and enjoying the sun.  It's great that we all don't like the same place, or it sure would be crowded.

Our daughter and son in law have a Maine Coon cat named Shooter that is beautiful, even if it is the meanest, most ornery cat I have ever seen.  She is about 20 lbs and is like a pit bull, she doesn't hiss before she strikes and sure is fast at it.  It is the only cat that I will not pet or try to be friends with and I am responsible for saving it's life when it was abandoned when it was a kitten.  Jack and I were in the woods shooting, heard a crying out on our way leaving the range  and found the kitten.  She fit in the palm of my hand and was scared to death.  Jack fell in love with the kitten and the rest is history.

Our family has a tradition of naming their animals after booze and Shooter has a double naming heritage.  Booze and shooting.  How about that?

14 days and we should be on the road.  Yeah!