Yesterday evening there was knock at the door. I opened it to find that the neighbors had brought over this tarantula for me to photograph. I had yet to see one on my own and they had promised to bring one over if they saw one. This is the Desert Tarantula or Arizona Tarantula and I think this one is a male because he's fairly slim and a dark brown to black coloration. The females, especially of this species are a lighter brown, so much so that they are called Blond Tarantulas. They are also stockier. This guy is about 4" over all just as he sits. His body is around 2" long and he's facing to the right into the corner of the box they brought him over in. I didn't try to disturb him to get a different shot because I didn't want to upset him and they can really move out if they feel threatened. They're not really dangerous as they have only a small amount of venom and their fangs are so short they can't get a purchase on a human. They're also pretty docile and won't even try to bite unless provoked. I let the neighbors take him back over to their place to let him go.
It's been in the low 100's here this week so we've stuck close to home, so by yesterday we wanted to get out. We took off over to Sedona and wandered around for a while, going to an outlet mall and then stopping at an Irish pub for lunch. There were four guys playing darts who were a lot better than I ever got to be. It was entertaining to watch the darts match and then we wanted some dessert. So we drove up Oak Creek Canyon as far as the Dairy Queen for a hot fudge sundae. That's where a group of Navajo display jewelry for sale so we got another look at that but didn't buy this time. Then it was back down the canyon and through town to retrace our route home. I normally like to make a loop when I take a drive but in areas like Sedona, it's good to see it from both directions. The views are spectacular either way and different enough to be entertaining from either direction.
When we got home, we discovered that we'd had .1" of rain, the first this week. We still watch the clouds every day hoping we'll get a cloudburst but it just doesn't happen. Maybe this week!
One of the issues we've faced out here is how to obtain some of the services we would normally get back home. At the top of the list is hair care. After we had been here a little while, Diane wanted to get her hair cut so we asked around our relatives for a place to go. Well, they don't go to get their hair done. The wives just wear theirs long or tied up and they trim their spouses when they need it. We finally were referred to the mother of a friend who leases space in a shop in Prescott. We went in and Diane got her cut and I did as well. She did a good job but it was expensive and I didn't especially like my cut. I've gone to a barber all my life and I don't like the way the beauty shop cuts a man's hair. I don't want it styled, I want it CUT! I want an old man's haircut like I've always gotten.
So now it's time to get hair cut and permed and all that again. Last week we went to Fantastic Sams which is located right next door to the grocery we've been going to, Fry's. So we just took a chance and got Diane's hair colored and it turned out fine. This week we're going back to get her hair permed and hope for the best. They seem to do good work and their prices are not too bad. Back home, Diane got her hair done every Thursday without fail for a very reasonable price. That's not going to happen out here.
Getting her nails done is altogether different. Back in Burlington, we'd go to the nail salon in Wall-mart and get a fill-in for $15. Out here, we've been to two different places and it's cost no lees than $30 each time. And they can't speak English well enough understand what we want. Thanks goodness it's not too often.
That still leaves me wanting to find a barber shop for my next haircut, which needs to be soon. I've spotted a couple of barber poles on our travels around town so I have some starting points.
Friday, Diane wanted to go to the Farmer's Market. I looked it up on the web and there's one near the grocery store so we went. The web site said they open at 3:00 so we got there at a little after 3:00 and there were about four stalls set up. As we got out of the car a gal came over and said that they don't open until 4:00 but we were welcome to look. I told her about the web listing and she said I wasn't the first. You'd think they might change it. It turns out that Diane wanted home grown tomatoes. All they had were onions and squash and potatoes. I had to explain to her that tomatoes don't grow in the desert. She just thought all farmer's markets had the same stuff, regardless. We drowned our sorrows at an Italian restaurant I found on Yelp.
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