Sandstone Carvings

My next article for the SCNewsletter will be on the sandstone carvings on Lower Flat Top Mesa. If you haven't seen them, take a little drive and enjoy

This year, our carver has added an American Flag

The Statue of Liberty Torch

...and Sand Castles. There are now about 40 carvings along the road. 

I'll post my article when it's finished.

Flat Top Mesas

The mesas dominate the scenery.

The sandstone forms table tops

Some look like palisades

Others look like castles.

Bunnies

There are tiny rabbits living near the golf courses. They are about 

5 to 6 inches long, have shortish ears, and white cottontails.

While they might be pesty, they are fun to see bouncing along the greens.

Springtime in the Desert

The desert is in bloom. So much bloom that there is pollen lining the curbs and the allergies are evident. No matter the allergies, the flowers are pretty and ephemeral. They last for about 3 or 4 days and then they are gone as everything has to be done quickly in the hot dry desert.

. \

Yucca

Lavender

Paddle Cactus

We enjoy them while we can.

Flowers for my Birthday

Yesterday was a milestone day! It was my birthday AND it was the first day in a very long time that I felt great! I had energy. I had stamina. I was happy. What a birthday. I heard from a lot of friends and family. I had some wonderful wishes sent to me. And, to top it off someone sent me flowers. WHAT A DAY. I hope it means I'm on the mend.

Jacob's Calf

Back in July, I posted a photo of Jacob using AI on his angus heifer as part of his 4 H project.

Here, Jacob has just finished the second of two rounds of AI. He was both scared and excited. About a month after the process, we knew that the heifer was pregnant and it was his responsibility to make sure she gave birth to a healthy calf. It's a big job.

Yesterday, we got the result

A bull calf was born. 

Jacob is so excited. I don't know all the details, but mama and baby are doing very well.

The Naming of Mesquite

As you drive the streets of Mesquite, the names of the early settlers and pioneers are evident. Who were these people? 

The Pulsiphers came to Mesquite in the 1890s, and the street by the Oasis carries their name. Then it was a dirt track leading to their adobe home. The Pulsiphers grew cotton, sugar cane, and wheat. To supplement their income, they would lure wild horses into a side-canyon (or pocket) in the narrows. One time, they captured 18 horses and a baby mule.

Leavitt Lane, intersecting Pulsipher Street in back of the Casablanca Casino, was named after the large Leavitt family who were dairymen. Hafen Street, an extension of Sandhill, honors a mining family. The Hardys were known for their musical ability. 

Dudley Leavitt

Bunkerville was coined by Brigham Young. Young commissioned  Edward Bunker, Sr. to start a settlement south of Mesquit Flats. 

Edward Bunker, Sr. 

Bertha Howe, the first nurse in the area, was on call 24/7 for 30 years caring and curing the ailments of the people in town. She helped stock the first hospital. She and her husband lived in the back of the old hospital (now the museum).

Bertha Howe, RN

The only source of water, the Virgin River, probably was not named by the Spaniards to honor the Virgin Mary. Instead, Jedediah Smith, the explorer and trader, dubbed it the Adams River after the President in the 1820s. In the 1840s, when John Fremont was mapping the area, he renamed it the Rio Virgenes, after a member of the Smith Party who was injured on the river. Whatever the case, the river and the mountains are now called The Virgins. By the way, the Virgin RIver should have been called the "Muddy River" as all the water had to be filtered in cisterns in order to drink it.

Mesquit Flats, the original moniker of our town, was derived from the tree found here. When the post office came, they decided that Mesquite was better. It was a common practice to rename a town, if "they" considered the name was too long, not euphonious, or was spelled strangely. 

When you see these street and place names, you have an idea of who came before us and how they lived at the turn of the last century.

Ben Franklin on PBS (Yawn)

Tonight a four part series about Benjamin Franklin, compiled by director Ken Burns, aired on PBS. We are both admirers of Ben Franklin and we thought it might be interesting. We are not admirers of Ken Burns. His one great work was "The Civil War," but subsequent programs have been variations of a theme with  slow-paced photographs/movies and a narrative.

Tonight I remember watching the first 20 or so minutes of the program thinking it was most interesting. There were pictures and modern day "cartoonesque" wood cuts along with a narrative, describing the early life of Ben. Then, I fell asleep. I woke up at some point to hear a droning voice in the background and saw the other DrC was asleep too. That's my commentary about the program. There are 4 episodes, which I will not view. Episode 1 was a great sleeping pill. Given the fact that Ken Burns does not change his format, (which I find boring) I'm guessing the next 3 episodes will be great sleep aides too. I rate it "1 star" as it's impossible to rate a program with zero stars.