Ramkitten's Life & Lensography

Our Next Adventure....

....began in September, 1998.

After nearly two years in Connecticut, Steve and I decided to relocate and become actual property caretakers, where, instead of paying rent like we'd been doing on the Howland Hometead, part of our compensation in exchange for the work would be a free home. To that end, we applied for a few positions listed in the "Caretaker Gazette," and that's how we ended up in Pennyslvania on RamCat Farm.

Which is what inspired me to write THIS lens:

Like I've Done In......

But, For Me....

one of the best things about hiking is the creative freedom.

Sometimes it takes a while to hike off whatever might have been irking me lately, or to stop mulling over global issues or how many times Steve and I can afford to go out for sushi during the next month, but, once I do, my thoughts move on to wonderful, weird and sometimes pretty wild places. And that's where many of my stories and novels come from.

Like what? Oh ... well, like these:

Anyhow, Moving Right Along To 2003....

When the owners of RamCat Farm retired and decided to move from the city to the country on a permanent basis, Steve and I decided to end our time as their farm caretakers. We could have stayed on, and we really did (and do) like the owners, but we just felt it was time for something new. We also wanted to return to Arizona.

So we made our next cross-country move in April, 2003, first to another caretaking position in the Bradshaw Mountains. Long story short, we ended that arrangement six months later, when a flash flood literally washed us out of our little casita one stormy night. Luckily, we made it to a hill with our two pets around our shoulders, but much of our belongings were ruined and our feeling of security in that remote location was wiped out, too. So on to Flagstaff, Steve's home town, we went.

In June, 2004, my mustached man and I bought our first home. It was a fixer-upper, for sure. Wanna see the before and after?

Sure! Right here....

I Love Living In Flagstaff

Northern Arizona has really grown on me and now feels like home.

Flagstaff is a great location too, surrounded by National Forest with hiking and wildlife, big and small, literally right out our front door.

Here, let me show you around a bit....

It Does Get Cold Here, Though

Some people who aren't familiar with Arizona have the impression that the whole state is like Phoenix: comfortably cool to hot as heck throughout the year. But Flagstaff is about 5,500 feet higher in elevation (at 7,000 feet), with the San Francisco Peaks rising to 12,633 feet on Mt. Humphreys, so we get a full-blown winter and sometimes a lot of snow.

Which means we gotta have our warm and toasties, like these....

(Steve's a wonderful model, isn't he?)

Flagstaff Winter Temperatures....

....can get downright frigid

But the often sunny, blue skies and the snow-covered peaks really make the season special. And after a nice long snowshoe in the silent Ponderosa pine forest, it's a good time to come in, get warm and catch up on some reading and movie-watching.

Oo, which reminds me; I wrote some lenses about my favorites....

Sometimes, Though, I Have To Go Out Even In A Blizzard

That is, when my SAR pager goes off.

SAR stands for "Search & Rescue," which fits in well with my love of hiking.

In September, 2007, I became a volunteer member of the Coconino County, Arizona, Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team, and I can say without a doubt that it's the most worthwhile thing I've ever done. In fact, I enjoy it so much, I not only yack Steve's ears off about it, but I blog about it and create Squidoo lenses about it.

Wanna see? Here are some of them....

Participating in SAR....

....has really made me focus on outdoor skills and awareness, and writing lenses about those topics is a good way for me to continue to learn and review. And I hope they'll be helpful to other outdoor enthusiasts, too.

These are some of the lenses I'm talking about:

One Of The Things I Love About SAR....

....is the continual learning and new skills I pick up along the way. Using those skills to help others is an amazing feeling, as is the personal growth. Some of those skills don't come easy to me, but as I keep on keeping on, pushing myself and practicing, I'm getting the hang of those challenging things too.

In May, 2009, I began training to become a member of our team's technical rescue unit. The series of courses for newbie techs like me is called the Rock Rescue Academy, held once every two years. I decided to document that experience in a series of lenses:

And Did I Mention I Love Outdoor Gear Too?

Of course, no piece of gear or gadget takes the place of knowledge, skill or common sense. Still, I like to play with backpacking and SAR equipment, not to mention write about it.

See....

And Speaking Of Gear....

....in 2009, I began selling some of it, too. So now I have a house FULL of goodies, like these:

But Before I Move On....

....to the next part of this story

I do have a confession.

I may be in Search & Rescue, often out in the woods and the desert and canyons, looking for the lost, and I may be good at keeping myself found, but I do have a knack for losing things. So from frequent personal experience, I thought I'd share some of my wisdom on....

So What Do I Do When I'm NOT Looking For My Cellphone...

...or lost people, or curled up with a good book or submarine movie?

Jazzercise, for one thing. It's a fun dance-fitness program and a really positive atmosphere. Wanna know more about it?

Oh, good! I just happen to have a few lenses about that too, one about the fitness program, another about a Jazzercise nutrition program, and a third about a Jazzercise special event. They are....

Oh, And Before I Forget....

... I also occasionally mess around on Squidoo!

I even created some lenses about this joint, just for fun, because Squidoo IS fun.

In Fact....

....I make lenses "just for fun" quite often.

Why not? An idea pops into my pea brain, sometimes one that makes me giggle, so I write about it.

Here are some of my random, "just cuz" lenses:

And When I'm Not Glued To The Computer....

Steve and I like to take a weekend road trip now and again.

There's so much to see and do within several hours' drive from Flagstaff, so we'll sometimes leave when Steve gets off work on Friday at 4pm, head to our destination and have at least a good day and a half to explore before heading home on Sunday night. And once in a while, I write a lens about the places we visit. (Or sometimes I go with a friend.) Like....

We Also Love A Good Outdoor Vacation

In fact, I find planning them a lot of fun, too. Such as....

But While We're Away

Enjoying our trips...

....I don't want to worry about anything back at home--not our dog (if she can't go with us), the plants, the mail, the house, the bills or anything else. So that's why I made a lens as a checklist for myself and others about:

So, It's Now June, 2009, And We're Still In Flagstaff....

....but now we have a new home.

Ever heard of Lowell Observatory? It's the place where Pluto was discovered, among other notable celestial bodies and phenomena. Lowell is also now Steve's place of employment as the fourth instrument-maker in the Observatory's more than 100-year history, and our home as well.

In 2007, we sold that first house of ours and, after renting for a while, were fortunate to be offered one of only seven employee houses up here on Mars Hill.

Here, let me tell you a bit about the place. And if you're ever in town, I hope you'll stop by.

So, As We Were Once Again Moving And Unpacking....

....I did what I always do when I've moved: go through stuff and weed out the unwanted and unused. I'm a clutter hater. There are some things, though, that have sentimental value to me that I like to display wherever we live.

Wanna see some of those keepsakes and hear their stories? If so, check out....

And Do You Wanna See What Else Steve Recently Brought Home....

....to our house on the hill?

Unfortunately, it's sitting right outside.

Ah, Well, That's Okay

He can keep his creaky rust-bucket.

Steve is a good egg. And he makes good eggs, too. In fact, he cooks his signature egg dish for me just about once a week.

Wanna try it? Here's my "how to make huevos" lens, along with instructions from making the dish right from the ground (and chicken) up....

Want To Know More About The Talented, Fuzzy-Faced One?

I made another lens about him....

Well, Folks, I Guess That's About It....

....for now.

I'm just about out of lenses for show and tell. I do have one left, though. And it's one I open and read quite often, especially when I'm feeling a little blue. It was a challenge of sorts, made by another Squidoo lensmaster, to come up with 100 things we're thankful for. At first, I didn't think I could do it; one hundred was just too many. But when I got going, it was actually pretty easy and, in fact, I may just have to do a second lens called, "101 to 200 Things I'm Thankful For."

This one, though, was one of the most enjoyable of all my lenses to create:

So, Do You Wanna See All Those Lenses Again?

Just kidding. But if you'd rather browse my lenses simply by category, including some that aren't listed here, I created a more basic lensography as a catalog. After all, I'm anal when it comes to being organized, so this one gives me a place to file them in some kind of order.

I Also Made A Couple Of Niche Lensographies

For my Search & Rescue and hiking lenses

And these are the last lenses I'll show you. I swear!