Kim and I were
sitting at the table this morning and suddenly a particular sound
that had been occurring in the background of outside noise broke through and made sense to me. It was the repetitive rapid beat of bird wings. It
continued to the point where I went to investigate. We are backed up to the outside perimeter
fence with a hedge between the fence and us.
A dove had managed to get down in the hedge and couldn’t figure out how
to get itself up and over the fence again. I
could see it through the hedge and it was frantic which in turn made me a
little frantic thinking it was going to beat itself to death against that
fence. There was a small opening in the hedge; by the time Kim went in to try
to see what he could do it was on the ground sticking its head through the
fence. His presence in there cause the
bird to move down the fence line to a spot where the hedge was thinner and it
was able to fly out. Then Kim had to
figure out how to get back on this side of the hedge. The bird and I sure appreciated his efforts.😎
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It was cloudy right
from the start this morning; air was still warm though. Went for a walk...did some ant watching
again...major workers doing their thing to make life better for the herd. Ants
are fascinating to watch, some carrying sand or pebbles out of one hole while
others manage to carry oversized pieces of grass down another right next to
it. I wonder how the jobs get
distributed....like do they know when they head out in the morning if they’ll
be a sand carrier or a grass supplier. I
betcha the guru of nature shows, David Attenborough, would know. 😏
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Sprinkled a few
times on our way back to camp about the time a man riding a bicycle caught up
with us from behind. Think Sam Elliott
on a bicycle without the voice. Anyway,
he circled around to ride beside as we walked.
He mentioned the clouds and the possibility of rain. Well,
we’ve felt some drops already. Oh, it could keep that
up all day long. We call that a 12 inch
rain....’cause you’ll feel a raindrop about every 12 inches.
Then he asked how
long we’d be here. Through the end of March. Then you might not be
here long enough to see the stick lizards. You know why they’re called stick
lizards? No. Well, they carry a stick in their mouth and every so often
they lay it down and stand on it to give their feet a break from the hot
sand. Are you serious? As crazy
as that sounds it also sounds believable.
Be honest...is that true? No, that’s not true...but a lot of people believe it...they
don’t question it.
Seems he was testing
out his comedy routine on us.
--------------------
Kim went to get
front tires put on the truck. The tread
on only the outside right tire was looking pretty worn. Whatever caused the wear, Kim felt the tire
needed to be replaced before we hauled the trailer full of bikes over 2,000
miles back home. Today is as good a time
as any.
--------------------
More than one
hummingbird has found our feeder. Three
of them were vying for position earlier when I was outside. About 1/2 of the nectar is gone also.
--------------------
After the tires we
went into Coolidge to do some serious grocery shopping. More than grapes, bananas, and eggs this
time. We haven’t been wanting for things
to eat by any means but I thought a bit more variety would be nice. Kim also picked up a small charcoal grill
which meant we had to buy a couple of steaks, too. Gonna be some good eating in the days to
come.
Both of us were
hungry by the time we reached Eloy...realized we hadn’t eaten lunch and it was already
3:15. I suggested the hot dog stand and
I didn’t have to say it twice for Kim to agree.
Made the detour to Hot Dogs Alvarado over on Sunshine Blvd. to get us a
hot dog done right. Pinto beans, salsa,
fried onions, mayo, guacamole, and green chili sauce on a grill toasted bun....oh,
and don’t forget the hot dog. All for
the low price of $4. Downright tasty!!
--------------------
Kim came in earlier
and said it was raining...well, closer to sprinkling than raining. I asked if it was “12 inch rain”...No, he said with a smile, more like a 6 inch rain.
--------------------
I didn’t go for a
bike ride today for a couple of reasons.
First, our timing was a bit messed up...there was the bird rescue, then
a longer walk than usual, and then the tires/grocery shopping; and second, it
was difficult to get a good read on the sky.
Could definitely see rain falling in the Superstition Mountains as we
drove to Coolidge, although it looked like it was getting lighter in our
area. It was going on 4:30 when we got
back to camp...I toyed with the idea of taking a short ½ hour ride by myself
(Kim was working on the Freddie/Flossie thing) but looked up at the sky and
figured I’d be taking a chance on getting wet.
I decided a ride just wasn’t happening for me today.
--------------------
Brett and Ann made
it to the campground today. Over in site
#34, next to our old site. They’ll be in
Picacho for 6 nights before moving on.
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Kim’s latest project
is complete; he figured out how to display Freddie and Flossie in front of the
trailer. We could have just put them on the ground out front but there was no
way to set up the solar lights...the ground is hard as a rock until it rains. And besides just sitting on the dirt is
boring. He put on his thinking cap and
took all the variables into account. He used
leftover wood from the ramp lengthening project, cleverly painted it, attached
solar lights and glued on the little cacti used last year. The display is still just sitting out on the
ground but it’s not boring...it has style.
In this campground putting them up higher puts them at risk of blowing
over. The wind is not consistent but
when it comes we’ve learned to batten down the hatches. So they’re on the ground where it’s safe. Oh, and the little Donkey found his way onto
the board as well. Wouldn’t be fair to
leave him off. Each of them has a story
about how they came to be part of our traveling crew so they’ll share the
spotlight. A strange version of the 3 Musketeers.
--------------------
Started raining
pretty consistently about 7:15...not hard but consistent. This should change the look of the landscape a
bit. I look for more green and some cacti
to bloom. If it lingers it might make
the campground a bit soupy also. It’s
predicted to rain on and off the next couple of days; going to have to find
something to do inside a building otherwise I’ll go batty just sitting
around. Take a drive or something.
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No bike miles today.
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