Pupfish Ranch

Category: Uncategorized

  • “The Desk”

    for Abril

    I built you a desk
    not from oak or mahogany
    but from the parts of me
    that still believed in forever.

    The screws held tight,
    like the promises I whispered
    when I thought love meant fixing
    what was already breaking.

    You painted it —
    a color I wouldn’t have chosen —
    and I bit my tongue
    because maybe love is letting go
    of needing to be right.

    Your art scattered across its top,
    chaotic, brilliant,
    like your mind when it’s free.
    And I sat in the doorway,
    watching you spill colors
    the way I wish I could spill feelings.

    But then the drawer stuck,
    and the corner chipped,
    and the silence between us
    started to echo louder
    than any hammer I ever swung.

    Still, it stands.
    Crooked, worn —
    but it stands.

    Like us.
    Not because it’s perfect,
    but because I can’t stop
    hoping you’ll sit there again
    and remember
    why I built it in the first place.

    (Written by CGPT based on information I gave which centered around her desk but AI took some creative license on this one and I still really liked it so here ya go)

  • The Flight of Prince Dustfeather

    As told by the Keeper of the Turkeys

    In the land of sun-scoured stone
    and whispering mesquite,
    where wind speaks secrets
    to cracked clay and cactus bloom,
    there lived a flock of humble turkeys —
    though none were turkeys at all.

    They were quail,
    small and round,
    with eyes like obsidian marbles
    and hearts two sizes too bold.

    Their kingdom was a coop,
    not grand but good —
    with soft straw beds,
    and hands that fed them not just grain,
    but gentleness.

    Among them ruled no queen,
    but watchers and wanderers —
    and one restless soul.

    Prince Dustfeather,
    they called him in jest and awe.
    He was no tyrant, but no diplomat.
    A strutter. A pecker. A feather-ruffler.
    And so, exiled to the Batchelor Pad he was,
    in the quiet realm of solitudia.

    There he stewed,
    not in rage but in longing —
    for dust baths shared, for soft chirps in the dark,
    for something not quite named.

    The Keeper,
    a kind-hearted meatbag of the desert,
    saw his sorrow.
    And so, they walked —
    together, through the cactus-stitched yard,
    beneath sunburnt skies and the shade of palms.
    Prince and Keeper,
    misfits both, bound by silence and dust.

    And then it happened —
    not a storm, not a chase,
    but a stillness.

    He stood atop the old pond,
    broken fountain throne,
    and without flinch or farewell,
    he flew.

    Flapped higher than quail ought,
    past fences, past fear,
    into the yard of nothing.

    The Keeper searched.
    All night. All light.
    But empty yards hide ghosts well,
    and Dustfeather was never seen again.

    Some say he found a rabbit hole
    and rules now underground.
    Others claim he joined a band
    of wild pigeons on the power lines,
    preaching the gospel of grit.

    But the hens lay on,
    each day a gift, a yolk of gold.
    No pecks, no squabbles.
    Peace, at last.

    And the Keeper?
    Still walks the yard,
    still whispers tales to the dust,
    and sometimes —
    just sometimes —
    hears wings in the wind.

    (Written by CGPT based on my information/using my writing style)

  • Rebates and Inventive

    Home Improvement & Appliance Rebates

    1. High-Efficiency Toilet Rebate

    2. High-Efficiency Clothes Washer Rebate

    3. Gray Water Rebate

    4. Rainwater Harvesting Rebate

    💡 Energy Efficiency & Electrification Programs

    5. Tucson Electric Power (TEP) Rebates

    6. Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate

    7. Weatherization Assistance Program

    🚗 Vehicle Incentives

    8. Federal Clean Vehicle Credit

    🏡 Home Repair Assistance

    9. City of Tucson Homeowner Repair Program

    • Assistance: Financial and technical assistance for urgent home repairs
    • Eligibility:
      • Low-income homeowners within Tucson city limits
    • More Info: Tucson, AZKJZZ+1Tucson, AZ+1

    🧾 Immediate Steps for Toilet and Dryer Replacement

    1. Toilet Replacement:
    2. Clothes Dryer Replacement:
    1. Note: Currently, there isn’t a specific rebate for clothes dryers, but you can check the ENERGY STAR Rebate Finder for any available offers in your area.
    2. More Info: ENERGY STARENERGY STAR

    📝 Next Steps

    To tailor this information further to your specific situation, please provide the following:

    • Household Size: Total number of people living in your home.
    • Annual Household Income: Approximate combined income.
    • Interest in Solar: Are you considering installing solar panels?
    • Vehicle Plans: Are you planning to purchase an electric vehicle soon?

    With this information, I can help identify additional programs and guide you through the application processes.

    Natural Gas Rebates in Tucson, Arizona

    1. Southwest Gas Residential Rebates

    Southwest Gas offers rebates for energy-efficient natural gas appliances to help homeowners reduce energy consumption and costs.

    • Appliances & Rebates:
      • Natural Gas Furnace: Rebate amounts vary based on efficiency ratings.
      • Tankless Water Heater: Rebate amounts vary based on efficiency ratings.
      • Storage Water Heater: Rebate amounts vary based on efficiency ratings.
      • Clothes Dryer: Rebate amounts vary based on efficiency ratings.
      • Smart Thermostat: Rebate amounts vary based on efficiency ratings.
    • Eligibility:
    • Application Process:
      • Purchase and install qualifying equipment.
      • Submit rebate application with required documentation within 60 days of installation.Arizona Propane Gas Association
    • Program Duration:
    • Funding Source:
    • More Information:

  • Update 05/14/25

    Pupfish Farms has been very active, and we have also had a lot of technical problems. I have used linux since I was a young teenager, and I love it. I am a huge supporter of free and open source software, but as I have heard it said before than “linux is for tinkerers” and while this is not as necessarily true as it was when I was writing ppp-up and down scrips to get my modem to connect through the phone lines, it is a very different beast than Mac. I only run linux on any servers or computers where the setup is extremely important, but I am a proud owner of a new Apple Air M4, my first new computer since the 486 my mom bought instead of buying a set of encyclopedias. Good decision mom!

    So I have a whole new setup which is very reliable and I have my lab set up as ergonomic as I can. I made my dog a place in the closet right next to me where she can lay down so I can freely move my feet. I bought a split mechanical keyboard, which is the best keyboard you can get in my opinion. It is a 75% for any keyboard nerds out there! My gosh it is beautiful and I can type like a beast on it. It has metal bolts that connect the two pieces if you want! It is made of metal! I can’t believe how excited I am about a keyboard. My wife got one too that is a bit different but also split and mechanical. Mine is a Royal Kludge. It was cheaper than hers, about 100$, and has beautiful RGB lights, tactile keys, and a reduced format for better ergonomics (the 10 key on the right of a keyboard makes it wider which causes you to reach out for the mouse/trackball). I will definitely do a full review of it.

    So the point is, that I am loosing excuses. I have so much to write about, so much to say, there is so much going on here at Pupfish and around the world. But this blog is made for Pupfish Farms only so here is the quick update:

    Quail have been keeping us all healthy. Right now I have two females, with 6 or 8 on the way. We also have one male. We had two males, but let’s just say the other male was not enjoying the quality of life he deserved in his bachelor pad so we found a, ahem, farm outside of town where they gave him a wonderful place to live. Ok well I’ll tell the real story at some point, but yeah the quail are amazing and we love them and are definitely scaling up. We have given eggs out to many people to see who likes them and who doesn’t and I think I am almost ready to try hatching some eggs out. I have the accommodations for many more of the little guys.

    Biggest news: Pickles! No, I didn’t get a cucumber harvest in May. I was standing in my front yard saying bye to my wife when I saw a huge dog by himself and about to walk in front of our house. We live on a pretty busy street so that is a concern of coarse. He had no fear and was so nice, he went right up to my wife and she started petting him. He basically walked in our front gate by himself and so I spent like 3 hours at least sitting out front with him, he had shade, a dog bed, water food etc. and I posted him on every lost dog place I could find… Facebook, Craigslist, something called like Paws search, Nextdoor… and people reposted them elsewhere. As the sun started to come over my house and the west side, front side, began to heat up in the afternoon, I had one interesting reply.

    A man emailed me and said he was interested in helping take care of the dog. He came by later that day and picked him up, only to return him saying his wife said the dog is “too big, too skinny…” and something else she didn’t like about him. Their loss! I had spent the whole day, maybe 6 or so hours with him (later named Pickles). We are getting him healthy and will continue to try to find him a home because of the current dog dynamics but they all just seem like they want to play with each other, so once the vet clears him he will come out of quarantine in the side yard and get to stretch those huge legs out. Anyways I want to make him his own page to help find him a home. I want to do a lot of things, and have a ton of ideas and plans but I’m trying to do this 80/20 thing where you try to identify the 20% of things you spend your time on that make the biggest difference, often like 80%. I’m not explaining it well but I just woke up and usually I write at the end of the night on different substances, first of all coffee which is sitting in the “pot” waiting for me right now. I just saw this wasn’t finished.