Friday, April 2...Busy Doin’ Nothin’ (Beach Boys)

   Walked to the trail cam this morning and decided that was as far as I was going.  It already felt hot...over 70 at 8 a.m. That’s a nice high temp back in Michigan but it’s just a starter temperature out here.  I took a bottle of water with and that certainly helped but I needed to not be walking in the sun today.  Just too much.  Made a plan to take an early evening walk which is much better on these 90o days.  

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   Coyote pictures on the trail cam.  Two in one picture so that’s a new look.  And today the last picture was of me coming down to get the card so we know it works correctly with stills.  Took my evening walk when I took the card back down...the sun was just sinking behind the mountains and although the air was still warm it wasn’t pulsing with heat.  Didn’t take any ‘bait’ to the game trail tonight.  Gonna see what, if anything, comes through of its own accord tonight.  

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   We talked about taking a bike ride...riding to DeMarco’s in Oracle for lunch then looping around through Winkelman to Superior.  Ride at a higher elevation in an effort to beat the heat.  But when it came right down to it the heat beat us before we even started.  Or maybe it was mainly me.  I just didn’t want to put my riding clothes on...couldn’t make myself do it.  So we took a ride in the air conditioned truck instead. 

   Had a couple of errands to do and since it was in the noon range we stopped at Hot Dogs Alvaradoand had a good old fashioned picnic at the community park in Eloy.  All of the picnic tables were in full sun so we opted to sit on the plush green lawn under a tree. After finishing up the hot dogs we laid back in the grass feeling its coolness on our backs.   It was just the perfect thing to do on a hot afternoon.

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   Took a ride out to Toltec Rd. to check on the hawk nest built on top of an electrical pole.  It’s had a nesting pair of hawks in it every year that we’ve been here.  One year we even saw a couple of fluffy heads peeking over the side of the nest.  Early this past March we drove over and the nest looked vacant.  Today it also looked vacant...I walked down the road toward it which usually prompted the sitting hawk to fly off.  But no such activity today.  When I got back in the truck, Kim said he figured as much because the ground squirrels were running around with impunity...they wouldn’t have been so carefree if a pair of hawks were in the neighborhood. 

   Then we drove down to the Field of Glass which isn’t as glittery as I remembered it.  The first time we were over there I saw a shimmer in the distance and wondered what could be making such a wondrous sparkle.  Turns out it was just glass sparkling in the sunlight. There’s still glass in the field for sure but it looks like the wind might have blown a layer or two of dirt over some of it.  Still a useless field as far as crops or cultivation go but I suppose it could be a popular party place.

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   I’ve been putting the back ramp down most mornings.  The camper can be a dark place in the daytime hours; opening the ramp brightens up the back area which has only one window.  Its shade is usually down during the day because the sun streaming in heats up the place...unless of course we want the warmth then the shade is up.  However, for most of our time here the shade has needed to be down.  So the ramp goes down; a screened curtain keeps the birds out but allows us to hear their songs.  When it gets dark we put the ramp up because there’s no sense in encouraging critters to join us.

   The ramp has been becoming difficult to shut...something has been interfering with one side snugging into the frame properly.  It’s been a mounting frustration for Kim because it seems to be getting worse but he hasn’t been able to figure out what the problem is.  Today we took the time to try two obvious remedies: putting leveling blocks under the door side tires and adjusting the back jacks...both of which took time and effort. Had to move the camper to get the leveling blocks in place which meant all jacks go up and everything nearby had to be moved.  Then lower all four jacks and test the ramp.  Wouldn’t close.  Raise the right back jack, lower the left.  Just a bit more.  Now sweep all dirt from the door frame.  Door still wouldn’t close properly.  After much scrutiny Kim thought maybe it was two top frame screws and I thought it was a screw on the side of the frame.  Took out all three screws and voila! the ramp door closed.  Shouldn’t have to slam it 4 or 5 times anymore to get it in place so it can be latched. 

   And today since it was hot outside and inside Kim turned on the air conditioner for the first time.  I’m not really an air conditioning kind of person...a fan is usually sufficient for me because I like moving air not necessarily cold blowing air.  But the fan wasn’t making any kind of impact today so A/C it was.  Took a bit of time for the camper to cool down but it was feeling good in the neighborhood once it did.   

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   No scorpions tonight.  Went looking down on Harmon Road and by the big tire which is usually our lucky spot but not tonight.

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   Checked the raven nest again...still five eggs.  I doubt we’ll be here to see them hatch.  In early March there was no sign of the ravens using the nest and now there are eggs; ravens typically incubate the eggs for 3 weeks so perhaps not enough time has passed.  But I’ll check one more time before we leave because you just never know. 

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Kim is imaging and he’s pleased with the alignment process tonight considering last night it gave him fits.  He has high hopes for this one.  

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