SimplyLife

Much of the beauty in Cochise County is linked to its mountains, which are part of the sky island region.  Haven't heard of sky islands before?  These are mountains that are forested and surrounded by  " seas" of desert and grasslands.  This area provides a unique habitat for wildlife of all sorts. There are stories of jaguars in our area, along with sightings of many rare birds. The sky islands represented by the Huachuca Mountains are quite near our home and we take advantage of hiking the trails throughout the region every chance we get.  The Huachucas are where the Sonoran and Chihuahan deserts converge which creates a unique biological environment. Probably our favorite sky island area is Ramsey Canyon, which is part of the Nature Conservancy.  In many ways it reminds me of Letchworth State Park because of its beauty and the peacefulness that is felt the moment you step from your car.  If you need a place away from the hustle and bustle of life and absolute still

Here's another tale of the Old West for this week's post.  I've chosen Cochise County Sheriff John Slaughter. Our county has a long and checkered history of lawmen who danced precariously with law and disorder. For the western history buff, you know many of them by name. The Earps, John Behan, Burt Alvord, Harry Wheeler. John Slaughter was the exception.  Born in Louisiana on October 2, 1841, his family moved to Texas where he grew up in the cattle ranching industry.  He married, had two children and entered law enforcement as a Texas Ranger.  His nickname wasTexas John. When his first wife died of smallpox, he was left to raise two children on his own.  He met his second wife, Viola in 1879 when she was only 16 years old.  After a speedy courtship, Viola's family finally agreed to the marriage.  He was after all a good prospect as a successful rancher in Douglas and a famous lawman. John was 38 years old at the time. They would be married for the next 43 years until

Once upon a time there were three theres.  They were the Homonym family. Their names all sounded alike, but they're very different.  The first was the big Papa There.  He was an adverb and you could find him in sentences about places, moments, and particular matters.  He was all about action. The Papa was busy going here, there , and everywhere.  Then along came the Mama.  She was all about relationships and was a pronoun.  This was confusing for some people who often misspelled her name.  (I can relate to that.)  The Mama Their loved people.  She could be found in gatherings of all kinds.  Their weddings, their parties, their vacations, and much more.  The Mama was very popular. Now the Baby They're was a combination of his parents. He was a contraction.  He was both a pronoun and a verb.  He went everywhere with his parents the Papa There and the Mama Their. They're a very happy family. One day, a little girl named Goldilocks was assigned to write a story about t