Friday, March 19...Solar Power To The People (Schoolhouse Rock! Earth)

 11 a.m.: I knew that it was predicted to be in the 80s today and still I dawdled around before getting out to walk. Woke up to about 49o which is good walking weather with the sun on the rise.  On days that dawn warm like this it’s best to be out walking before 10 a.m.  Just got back and am sitting here with sweat dripping down my face.  Learn from your mistakes, girl!!  Stop dawdling in the morning and just get to it.

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Evening additions:

   The sun is down and usually that brings a chill to the air but not tonight...or at least not as of 8 o’clock.  We have wood left from earlier in the week so I made a fire and am sitting out next to it while typing up the day’s events.  I also have my phone propped up on my computer watching Chandler Cummings (Marell Staffel’s granddaughter) compete and eventually win on Wheel of Fortune.  Multi-tasking under a starry sky in front of a toasty fire...

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   Kim was out walking when I went to Coolidge; I knew he was going to Harmon Rd so I headed that way first to bring him some water.  When I found him he was toting a stick with a forked end.  I knew what that was for...trapping a snake.  And I know specifically what kind of snake he’d like to catch and I don’t even want to think about that.

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   There is a huge bank of solar panels spanning several acres on the way to Coolidge.  It wasn’t there last year.  Maybe some farmer decided that renting/selling the fields is more lucrative than working the fields.  Anyway, there’s a huge array of solar panels and it’s been interesting to watch them move as the sun moves across the sky.  I thought someone was inside directing them to move but Kim said that they’re programmed to follow the sun.   There’s also a big transformer area behind the panels but no indication of what, why or who.  Well, I can guess the ‘why’ and ‘what’...this is a great area to take advantage of the sun to generate power...but ‘who’ wasn’t so obvious.

   Today I saw trucks bearing the logo NextEra Energy leaving the facility.  I googled ‘solar plant outside of Coolidge, AZ’ and this popped up:

   For decades, NextEra Energy Resources' subsidiaries have been helping fuel America’s economic growth and quality of life and moving our nation toward energy independence. To date, we operate solar projects in 27 states, including Pinal Central Solar in Pinal County and the City of Coolidge in Arizona. The energy storage component of this project uses batteries to store renewable energy and make it available even when the sun isn’t shining, improving the reliability and efficiency of the electric grid and making more renewable energy available more hours of the day.

  Features of the Storey Solar Project:

  • Photovoltaic (PV) solar arrays capable of generating up to 88 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable energy and 88 megawatts (MW) of battery energy storage.
  • The project encompasses approximately 996 acres.
  • Subject to local and state approvals, the project is scheduled to begin operations as early as June 2023.

 I also learned that NextEra Energy is a leader in wind and solar power generation throughout the US and Canada...or so their advertising says. Now I know.

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   Earlier in March a field on the way to Coolidge suddenly sprouted hundreds of sheep.  They weren’t there and then they were.  Every time we passed by they were busy munching down what appeared to be a cultivatef field of grass. 

   Last year we also saw a huge herd of sheep out on Battaglia Road by I-10 that also seemed to vanish overnight.  Had another sighting on Battaglia Road near IR 15.  I wondered then if they were rented out for grazing purposes.  That same thought crossed my mind when they appeared in the field on SR 87 this year.  And transportation....how are they transported and how long does it take to wrangle them up?

   This morning on my way into Coolidge I realized the sheep were gone.  Double checked on my way home and then triple checked when I went on a bike ride this afternoon.  No sheep...last we saw them was on March 16.  

   What I saw instead was a bunch of day workers in the fields...or at least I think it was the same field.  Anyway I came back to camp and told Kim “The sheep are gone.  Just gone.  And there were migrant workers in the field instead.”

   His immediate comeback was, “Were they grazing?”   😏

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   Walking back from the mailbox and Felicia called to me; I walked over to talk to her.  After a discussion about the sorry state of our eyesight, I turned to walk back to camp.  I heard her say, “See you later, Boo” and I thought “Boo...she called me Boo.”  Two things: 1. There’s no way that word would ever trip as easily off my tongue and sound as cool as it did with Felicia...I’m sort of jealous about that, and 2. Does it mean ‘friend’?...I thought it referred to a person’s significant other.  So I googled the meaning and this is what I found:

It is okay to call a friend “boo”. However, you should know that friend you intend calling boo, as he/she probably might be receiving the “boo” differently. ... Some people refer to a close friend or best friend as ”Boo” and it's meant platonically. It's up to your friend whether or not it's okay to call them ”Boo.”

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   Went for a solo ride today.  Kim went to bed about 4:30 this morning after processing the images from the last couple of nights and then he was up at 8:30 for whatever reason. He slept a little over 4 hours and then took about a 5 mile walk in the hot sunlight.  He needed a nap and I needed a bike ride.  We both got our needs met. 

   Did the Tom Mix/Park Link Loop.  Stopped at the Tom Mix area...watched the ground squirrels and birds for a bit.  Stopped along the way to take pictures...crested cactus, hawk atop a cactus, and a paraglider. Cruised on back to camp well before dark.  Enough time to take another walk to get my 10,000 steps in before supper. 

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 Bikes miles today: 96 miles

Total miles: 1152 miles

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