BEAVER TAIL CHASE  Adapted and installed at McClintock Station, Blossom area.

Another little drama that took place in Hudson Manor:  (short one)  Mr. Carlson lived up by "The Highway" as we called it.  (I believe he was a realator that was involved with our neighborhood's development, and also Mr. West the construction company neighbor who built our particular house at 1514 Cedar St.)  Mr. Carlson had a hugh, giant prickly pear cactus, much taller than any of us, growing in his yard. It filled the corner. "We" were chasing cousin Bobby for some long forgotten reason, and eventually we ended up hot on Bobby's tail.  To fend us off, he began circling the awesome beaver tails, dust flying, round and round we went.  Mr. Carlson appeared at his back door with a large growl directed at all of us.  In that startling moment, Bobby found him self in the midst of all those prickly beaver tails, a fallen soldier of the chase.  Those spines filled his tail, and we feared for ours!  So we fished him out, and took him home with our tale of woe.  When I left for my house, his mom was still painstakingly plucking cactus spines from arms and legs.

WILD ANIMALS   Adapted and installed at Smith/Martin Station

Yes, as you can see from my previous stories, the neighborhood was still a wild place.  There were vacant fields surrounding us on Cedar Street in the 50's.  Though we never had a snake in our yard that had rattles, we got plenty of warnings.  We were on the southern edge of Tempe, nothing on the other side of the tracks.  We did have scorpions in the house, and horny toads in the yard.  Of course we would capture them in a shoe box, but only for the day, I promise.  We kept an eye out for the Gila Monsters, but never spotted a one in the neighborhood, only sightings were out at our Apache Junction property.  We did have a resident roadrunner, Dusty, perhaps better named a "roofrunner," as he was as often as not spotted running on the roof ridges!  Dusty, or his offspring remained in the neighborhood for years, at least into the 70's.  A covey of quail lived around there too, you see, it was very wild on the other side of the railroad.  Though at that time it wasn't wild enough for the coyotes or the foxes, as there was a whole real desert for them to live in stretching all the way to Tucson or the Superstitions and beyond.

RAILROAD WITH GRAMPA

The first years I lived on the south side of Cedar Street and the train tracks were in our backyard.  My Grandpa was the Station Master in Shamrock, Texas, and once when he was visiting he took me out to the tracks and we listened on the rails to see if any trains were coming through (just like the Lone Ranger and Tonto used to do!)  Then he pulled out a penny from his pocket and had me place it on the tracks. With quite a lecture that I was never to do this by myself, and certainly nothing bigger than penny as it would derail the train!  I trusted my Grandpa and never did!  Later that day, after the train had come though, we went and picked up the squashed copper.