Outdoor Writer

It's been many years since I've been there, but there was a water catchment near where the Big Saddle hunting camp once stood. I think it was right near the intersection of FS roads 425 and 292, which goes to Crazy Jug Point. About every time I've been there, I've seen a flock of turkey at or within a few hundred yards of the tank.

And the dog's spelling and grammar are quite a bit better than yours.

Man, you're a lot stronger than me. I doubt I could ever do that.

I posted this in 2011 when Sasha died. Note the sentence in bold type. It was written before we met Hershey. ************************************************************** I thought I was pretty tough in situations like this, but Weds. was a really rough day for me. That's why my initial message was short and to the point. When I sat on the couch to watch TV Tues. night, Sasha came running with her Kong toy, as she often did. She'd bring it to me and then back off about 6-8 ft. so I could throw it for her to catch in mid-air. She kept at it until I told her "no more." When I did that, she laid down on the floor next to me, between the couch and the coffee table. Her Kong was nestled between her front paws next to her nose. That was the last time I saw her alive. I eventually fell asleep on the couch where I spent the night. Weds. morning, I woke up about 4:15, turned on the kitchen light and made coffee, etc., etc. Usually as soon as I get up, Sasha would be at my heels. I was awake for about two hours when I finally realized I hadn't seen her. I began looking. She wasn't in any of her usual haunts. First place I checked was the couch in the front living room where she often sleeps; it's the only piece of furniture in the entire house she was allowed access to. The couch was empty. I then started checking all the other empty, dark rooms by calling her name from the doorways. When she didn't come to my calls, I went out back and called for her from the patio. Nothing. By now, it was about time for my wife to get up, so I opened the bedroom door and turned on the light to see if Sasha might have been closed in there when Ellen had gone to bed. Sasha wasn't there either. So I asked my wife if she had maybe opened the front door after I fell asleep. Although I knew Sasha wouldn't go anywhere, I thought perhaps she had been isolated to the front patio. But the few times that has happened, she barked continuously until one of us let her into the house again. But Ellen hadn't been out front at all since she got home from work at 5:30. I decided to check each room again. I turned on the light in the spare front bedroom -- one Sasha rarely went into unless Ellen or I were in there for something. I could see her nose sticking out on the far side of one of the beds in there. I walked over, sat on the other bed and could tell she wasn't breathing even before I reached down to touch her. My wife walked in right behind me, and all I could say was "She's dead." Ellen said, "Oh no." By then, I was already in tears. Ellen joined me. It was really quiet and sad here yesterday as I went about the business of doing what I had to do with Sasha's lifeless body. Few words were exchanged at the dinner table last night. This morning isn't much better as I move about the house and see Sasha's crate, toys, bowls and beds still where they were when she died. The Kong is still laying between the couch and table, where she had left it. Her collar now hangs alongside the one that belonged to my German shorthair, Ginger. At least with Ginger, knowing she was old and had cancer gave me time to realize she would soon be gone. Sure it was hard to take her to the vet and have her in my hands as the injection caused her life to leave her. I still shed some tears, but by then I was ready to handle them. That's been the case with almost all of the pups I've owned over many years. Most have lived to old age. That's not the case with Sasha's sudden and unexplained death at less than five years old. While I certainly wouldn't want her to have suffered, I would have been happier if we both had several more years to enjoy each other's company. And if dogs could talk, I bet she would have said the same thing. As I said after Ginger died, I'll likely never get another pup. If I ever decide to make such a mistake, though, it would be quite difficult to find another with Sasha's temperament and personality. The sadness will last a long time, but after a few days, we'll get over the loss somewhat and move on as we have in past situations such as this. Anyway...I really appreciate the sentiments from everyone. Thank you all.

I was just the opposite. After the deal with Ginger, no way was I going through it again. We simply left Hershey at the Humane Society.

This was Bella's last post on FB: BELLA HERE... So here I am with my sidekick Streak. You know how superheroes have names like Flash or Raven or Hulk? Well, Scout is “Streak” and my name is “Stealth.” Stealth because I’ve always been stealthy - sneaking up on rooster pheasants while hunting with dad, or hanging back real good like when I saw dad trying to photograph a critter. And I used to cougar him — stalking him ever—-so—-slowly as I crept up in play. Now I use my super stealth powers to please myself. Like tonight. We were all out for a walk. Dad saw some bird. While he was busy, I crept away. There was green grass to eat, and fresh deer droppings, and I let my nose lead me wherever. I may be old, but I can still vanish in a hurry! That’s when dad gets worried. He couldn’t find me and got a bit scared, but I was fine. And having a good time. That’s when Streak appeared. See, dad has taught Scout to track me when he says “find Bella” (my name is Stealth!). And so she does. She comes streaking in, and lets me know dad is worried. So I follow her back (in a sort of in-my-own-time fashion). Then dad is happy and he doesn’t even yell at me. He just gives me a big hug and sighs. So this is a photo of Stealth (the good looking dog) and Streak after our adventures. Dad thinks we’re both super!

This is the the subject of Scout's note. Posted by Mike on FB, as well. WITH HER NOSE TO THE WIND, AND HER TAIL HELD HIGH... Bella the Wonderdog set out on her last long retrieve today. A rapidly developing, inoperable tumor in her jaw and throat would have led to a short, painful future. We decided to bear the pain ourselves, and sent her on that last retrieve. We are heartbroken.

Went though that with my German shorthair, Ginger. She had pancreatic cancer and developed a huge tumor. I held her and started bawling when the vet gave her the shots.

Why so??

Sounds like Lam's on this side of town, especially the smell part. Is it LeeLee Chinese owned? I had my SO pick me up a live 2 lb. lobster ($28) and 3 lbs. of squid at Lam's a couple weeks ago. In this week's fliers, Ranch Market has blue crabs for $3.99 lb. They also have octopus on sale. I buy a small one and use it in a salad like ceviche.

This is Sasha, a silver Lab that we adopted at 5 from the AZ Labrador and Giant Breed rescue group. She died suddenly in the middle of the night after going into a room that she rarely entered. It was the last place I checked after 15 mins. of trying find her outside or in the other rooms. She was 10. And this is Hershey. We had him as a foster "child" for two weeks, and even though my wife said no more dogs after Sasha died, she couldn't resist Hershey's great temperament. He was without a doubt, the mildest mannered and smartest dog we've ever owned. He was also 5 when we officially adopted him from the same group. His hearing and eyesight started to deteriorate badly, and then his left hip went bonkers one day. He couldn't even get up. We took him to the Humane Society that day and had him put down. He was 11.

About a 1955 Plymouth

I was there in 1969 & 70. Someone here might even own one of the dozen firearms I had to hock and lose 🤬 in early 1969 before I went to work there.

That was the procedure even in the late 60s-early 70s when I worked at the Jewel Box in downtown Phoenix. It goes for any licensed retailer that buys used firearms.

Ironically, I was going to take some photos of my turf-&-surf Sun. night , but due to non-use, my camera battery was dead. I started the meal off with a dozen raw cherrystone clams (Safeway) with lemon and a dash of Louisiana hot sauce. Next was a rare 6 oz. filet mignon (from one of the Basha's tenderloins), 8 extra large, scampi-style shrimp (8-12 ct. on sale at Safeway for $4.99 lb), french fries & a Caesar salad with a glass of merlot. Tues. night was a shoulder lamb chop (Sprouts), with fries, salad & corn on the cob (6 for $1 at Fry's).

I never buy steaks of any kind unless they're on sale. Around any of the holidays, someone usually puts prime rib roasts on sale for less than $5 lb.. I often buy two and have them cut into steaks, which last until the next sale. Also, I forgot to mention Sprouts earlier, but the only thing we buy there is New Zealand lamb, especially chops. Got a dozen last sale at $4.99 per lb. Safeway will sometimes have a sale on chops, as well.

Well done, young man. 👍

Figured you disremembered is all. It doesn't take a "no" (SIC) it all to know no one sells beef tenderloins for $3.50 a pound. It merely takes common sense.

Bingo, especially rib steaks.

More like wishing. 🤣

Hmmm. I don't think so. That's $3.50 per lb. 😉

And high prices. I think a whole beef loin was something like $22 per lb. the last time I checked. That's 3 times what I paid at Basha's.

Same here mostly because other than the sales, Basha's regular beef prices are high.

Yup. Not sure if that's still the case, but they did at one time. My SO shops in several places for groceries. In many cases, Walmart has the best everyday price on certain items, but we also shop the weekly ads, especially for meat and seafood. When it comes to the quality of beef, for me it goes from best down: Basha's, Safeway/Albertson's, Fry's, Food City, and Ranch Market. The best buy at Basha's is the whole beef loin when they have a sale at $7-8 a lb. I cut them into 11/2" thick filets. I bought five loins since the first of the year. Downside: nearest Basha's is about 10 mile away, but at least we're not "loosing" (sic) it. Two Fry's & Food City within a mile, Ranch Market two blocks away, Safeway three miles.

Fishing Report Buy a license August 2020 Arizona Game and Fish Department News from AZGFD Hello Anglers! Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Arizona Game and Fish Department's new Monthly Fishing Report. The report will be emailed monthly to subscribers (it’s free to sign up) and posted on the AZGFD website. This report is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather a brief collection of regional highlights, tips, AZGFD news, angler reports/photos, selected items taken from the new Fish AZ Facebook Group (see below), and miscellaneous content. Some of the other tools we'll use to communicate with our fishing constituents are: New Fish AZ Facebook Group. The group started in early June and already has more than 7,300 members. It brings together anglers to discuss “all things fishing” in Arizona. Share stories, post photos of the big one that didn’t get away or your kid’s first catch, provide angler reports on fishing conditions, ask questions, and more. So for "reel-time" updates, make sure to join the group - with hundreds of new posts a week, it's got everything you need to know about fishing in Arizona! Here's an added tip: Use keywords in the search bar of the FishAZ Facebook Group to find the most recent posts about a fishing spot you’re planning to visit, or post in the group, and ask other members for advice. Quarterly Fishing Forecasts will resume. We’ll be posting a general description and seasonal quarterly forecast for fishing conditions at major public water bodies in the respective regions. The old Fish AZ site will be phased out. The old Fish AZ site will be discontinued sometime in the coming weeks. If you have photos or fishing reports you'd like to submit, we encourage you to either post them on the new Fish AZ Facebook Group, or send them in to bfishing@azgfd.gov. Proposed amendments to fishing regulations for 2021-22; public can submit comments AZGFD is proposing amendments to Commission Order 40 (sport fishing bag and possession limits, special regulations, and specific closures) for calendar years 2021 and 2022. The public is invited to review and comment on the proposed changes. The department hosted a webcast on Aug. 6. If you didn't get a chance to see it, you can view it here (the presentation starts about 35 seconds into the video) Comments can be submitted by 5 p.m. on Aug. 28 either by email to fishregscomments@azgfd.gov, or by mail to: Arizona Game and Fish Department, Attn: Fisheries Branch, c/o Andy Clark, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086.The changes are also scheduled to be presented to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission at its Sept. 25-26 meeting. View the proposed amendments. Ryan B. had a good day at Kaibab Lake on Aug. 6. Caught eight trout, released four (too small), kept four good-size ones with the biggest being 12-1/2 inches. Also caught some bluegills. Tips It's a good time of year to get out of the heat, and the Flagstaff and Williams areas offer some great possibilities. Kaibab Lake is full and has been stocked with 36,000 rainbow trout since March. The lake has warmed up, so you should fish deep unless you see active fish on the surface. Green garlic PowerBait has been working. Crappie jigs or worms have been working for crappie and bluegill in shallow areas of the lake on the east side. Flies and lures are working well from boats and tubes when trolled slowly. The campground is open. City Reservoir is open and there are multiple reports on Facebook of folks catching catfish on hot dogs, liver or worms. The lake was stocked with catfish right before it was closed due to fire risk. Dogtown Lake has been producing trout. Fish deep with PowerBait or inflated worms. Flies and lures are working well from boats and tubes. Boat anglers at Whitehorse Lake were catching crappie, bass and bluegill on flies and lures fished from boats. The camp ground is open. Some pike are being caught at Upper Lake Mary in the shallows. Walleye are being caught by boat anglers and folks on the dam. The road is open at Ashurst Lake, which has been stocked with 41,000 trout so far this year. According to the campground host, folks fishing off of the points and deeper areas of the lake are catching trout on garlic PowerBait near the bottom of the lake. Lures and flies are producing trout when trolled from boats and tubes. The campground is open. Pro tip for these areas: The bite is subtle this time of year. When trolling flies or lures, it is difficult to go too slow. Try trolling with only one rod and keep it in your hand so that you do not miss the bite. The campgrounds and picnic areas in Oak Creek Canyon are open. Oak Creek was stocked this week. Roads are open to Blue Ridge and Knoll Lake, but no reports of fishing as of yet. Wayne Gustaveson (www.wayneswords.net) provides this report from Lake Powell. Extreme heat, busy boating activities, and finicky fish have made it difficult to catch fish recently. Bass fishing is still good with plastic baits fished at 20-40 feet. Bass are more active in the evening than the morning. Larger bass are holding in cooler water at 25 feet or deeper. We did catch a few bass trolling while looking for stripers. My recommendation for this week is to fish in the evening. When the full moon goes away, morning fishing will improve. Striper boils will return, particularly in the northern lake. Right now, there are a few boil reports from Buoy 114-118 downstream from Good Hope Bay. The rest of the lake is quiet. Stripers at Powell are trapped in deeper water by warm surface temperatures. Use bait to find them. The best striper fishing this week was from the Wahweap fish dock beginning at dusk. Drop one-inch cut bait down to 40 feet to find 3-pound stripers. Use a green light at night to attract stripers and catfish to your location lakewide. Bait fishing may be the best striper technique lakewide. Chum the water and then use cut bait from 20 -60 feet. Some potentially good locations include: Warm Creek Wall (cliff face in main channel just before the entrance to Warm Creek), Labyrinth Wall (in east bay before entering the canyon), Buoy 25 cove, Moki Wall (corner leading to canyon entrance). Cooling temperatures this week should lead to improved fishing conditions. In the southern part of the state, angling for largemouth bass and bluegill at Arivaca and Pena Blanca lakes has been great. Fish the top 10 feet of water at both lakes, early or late in the day this time of year, as that's where the fish will be. An 8-pound largemouth was recently submitted to the Hawg Bass Challenge from Arivaca. Angler reports For each edition of the Fishing Report, we'll select some photos and reports submitted by members of the angling public either through the Fish AZ Facebook Group, or through the bfishing@azgfd.gov email address. If you'd like your photo/report considered for publication here, please indicate the species, place, date, name (we only publish first name and last initial), and any other information you'd like to provide. Brandon R. caught this brown trout at Greer Lakes over the July 4 weekend. Weighed more than 5 lbs. and was about 23 inches.. Greg N's daughters caught these two nice stockers while fishing Woods Canyon Lake at the end of June. They used garlic-flavored PowerBait off the bottom while their boat was anchored. Ellen C's family had a great day at Ashurst Lake, July 17. Five anglers caught 20 trout using garlic PowerBait from shore. Jennifer H. got her "catch of the day" at Silver Creek, on July 22. Bo C. caught this nice bluegill at Canyon Lake on July 22. Nathaniel D's sister caught this white amur while fishing an SRP canal. Atalaya L's son was very excited to catch four bluegill at Clear Creek near Winslow on July 23. Kathy R reports her friend caught this 39-pound flathead on a recent fishing/camping trip in Arizona (location undisclosed). New video shows how AZGFD is working to provide Gila trout sport fishing for Arizona's anglers AZGFD’s Canyon Creek Fish Hatchery biologists and research biologists have been busy this summer growing, stocking and tracking Gila trout for fishing recreation along the East Verde River. The Gilas are hand-stocked from buckets to minimize trauma to the trout and to help them acclimate to their new habitat. Some Gilas have been tagged and have had radio transmitters implanted in them to help AZGFD biologists observe and track their movements. Gila trout are native to Arizona although their numbers have declined in recent years. The goal of the Gila trout broodstock program is to provide continued Gila trout sport fishing for the anglers of Arizona. The Gila trout program is on track to spawn in spring of 2021. See the video. Fish & Boat AZ map tool helps you find the perfect destination With so many great places to go in Arizona, how does an angler, boater or paddler decide where to go? The Arizona Game and Fish Department's Fish & Boat AZ map tool gives you the latest biologist-verified information on individual waters, including species you'll likely encounter, bag limits, watercraft regulations, directions on how to get there, and more. Already have the perfect experience in mind? Use the Filter/Find tool to locate individual waters and filter locations by species or other criteria. Once you've narrowed down your options, zoom in to the map to see the facilities and amenities available. Then it's up to you...where will you go to get hooked? Video: Recreate safely and responsibly Getting outside and going fishing can be good for our mental and physical health. But as we enjoy time on the water in the world of COVID-19, we must follow the CDC's guidelines for social distancing. This video shows AZGFD's recommendations to keep you and others safe while fishing.