Saturday, February 21…Music (Carole King)

    Heard the Dawn Patrol singing at 6:30 this morning, but it was still darkish so I didn’t get up. Later, Joe said there was frost on the motorcycles when he got up this morning.  This I know: we weren’t up early enough to see any frost. 🙃  However, when I looked at my phone at 9 o’clock, it was only 38o.  So, yes, I believe there was frost. On the other hand, it’s supposed to be in the 80’s to 90’s next week.  Might be trying out the air conditioner soon.

----------

   It’s been years since it went kaput, but I still mourn the death of my iPod. I had a Bose docking station in the sewing room…oh, the sound! Added speakers and an iPod holder to Pegasus, so I could listen to music as I rode.  Zeus had an integrated sound system with a radio, but it also had a built-in USB port in one of the glove compartments…made up a playlist, put it on a thumb drive, then I could cruise with commercial free music. While I so enjoyed the Captain on WKHQ back in the day, I typically don’t listen to the radio these days…except for Lunch at the Leetsville Café on KLT with Terri Ray. That show is worth putting up with commercials. 🙂

   The camper came with a TV…even though we bought a Roku and setup our streaming channels, the TV has only been used for playing UNO on the Switch. Camper also has a sound system, with a radio/CD player and speakers both inside and outside the camper. We haven’t paid much attention to it but today I got curious when I noticed a USB port. Hmmm…maybe I can connect my phone with the USB and play music through that sound system. Trying that led to the discovery of a Bluetooth button. Aha!! This opens another door.  It only took a few minutes to figure out how to pair the phone and the sound system and then it was all about enjoying the sound. The possible downside is the choice of music; I have one playlist called The Good Stuff that incorporates music from the 60’s to more recent artists like Mumford & Sons, NEEDTOBREATHE, Adele, etc. No rap, hip hop, or whatever the latest music craze is. Just a good mix of listenable songs that we both enjoy. It works.

----------

   Early afternoon, I mentioned that I needed to get a tablet of paper next time we go to town. Kim suggested we ride the e-bikes the back way into Eloy. Good idea! So, we jumped on the bikes and started pedaling.  Five miles from camp to the Dollar General. Of course, we bought more than just a notebook and made a couple of other stops too. Then we took another route back to camp. Slower than the truck but faster than walking and a wonderful way to fill an hour on a beautiful sunny day.      

----------

      Joe came knocking when we got home…he’d been giving my windshield some thought. Asked if he could tinker with it. By all means, have at it!  He’s spent hours over the years trying to get his windshields right…the only thing I ever did windshield wise was order a new one that Kim installed.  Anyway, Kim went out to help him. They adjusted it, Joe took it for a test ride…needed more adjustment, Joe took it for another ride…after the third adjustment and test run, he came over with his phone in his hand, stepped inside to talk with Kim, and came out to say that a new windshield had been ordered. 🙂 With a new shield and the fork deflectors, hopefully my riding experience will be a bit calmer.

----------

   I went outside this afternoon, with a book and the camera in hand. I know better than that. The camera always takes precedence over the book. But even if I go out with just a book, I find myself getting engrossed in watching the birds, scanning the tree for lizards or watching for movement on the ground. I do this to the point of forgetting what I’ve read. Reading has become an indoor sport for me. Too many distractions outside.

----------

   Last year, we had at least three rabbits running through our yard. I know it wasn’t one rabbit that I was seeing many times because there was a point when they were all in the yard together. Anyway, several rabbits last year…none so far this year. I know that they can run through the diamond-shaped holes in the fence…I have photographic evidence of it from last year. So, what happened to the rabbits? How does one go about keeping the rabbits out of the campground if they can slip through the fence? Inquiring minds want to know….

----------

   I’ve been keeping tabs on two Eagle Cams again this year. Bella and Scout are the pair in the Shenandoah Valley that had three eaglets in a treetop nest last year…they were about two weeks old when we left Arizona. In mid-April last year, a sudden windstorm blew the nest from the tree. Sadly, none of the eaglets survived the 90 ft. fall. However, both adult eagles were okay and, last fall, built a new nest about 15 ft below the previous nest in the same tree. When I tuned into tonight, I learned that they now have two eggs to incubate. Good times in the Shenandoah Valley!

   Jackie and Shadow, the eagle pair in Big Bear Valley, California, had two eggs early in January and lost them to a predator 2 weeks later. It remains to be seen if they will have a second clutch. When I looked at the cam a couple of days ago, the nest was covered with a couple of inches of snow. It still has some snow on it but earlier today I saw both eagles checking out the nest. Maybe doing some clean-up and making a list of needed repairs.