Kim was awake and out of bed early; neither one of us is too sure what time that was but the sky was still dark and the bed was warm so I stayed put. I think our body clocks are still on Michigan time but that will change in a few days.
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Wesley and Sandra from Minnesota are back this year. This morning I was out hanging up the hummingbird feeder when I heard my name called...they were walking their dog and we had a quick catch-up chat. They also just got in yesterday. In 2020 they left a week earlier than planned because COVID-19 was just becoming a thing and last year when they called here to ask about the situation and were told it was terrible, they opted not to come. But they’re back and I look forward to hearing more of the Minnesota accent.
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Zeus is sitting out near the hedge in his usual spot, drawing attention
from familiar and new faces. Last night a
lady walked by and commented “Nice bike. Love the color.” Today Wesley and Sandra wondered if we were
down to one bike and while we were talking with them about it a gentleman
walked by and said, “Nice bike”. Kim
said nothing and I said, “Thank you.” He
stopped, looked perplexed and then asked whose bike it was. Kim said, “Hers” as I said, “Mine”. For a second or two he seemed unsure of what
to say next but Kim quickly said, “Mine’s back home” and he looked relieved for
some reason. His wife had told him the
night before about the pretty blue bike over in the corner of the campground,
etc., etc, etc. and now he can tell her the rest of the story: that it actually
belongs to the woman not the man.
This
year will be different because only one bike made the trip with us. In mid-January Kim had prostate surgery and
his surgeon said driving out here was totally fine but riding the bike would
have to wait a little longer. So I’ll be
doing short solo rides and together we’ll do more walking, hiking and using the
truck to explore. It’s all good.
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Started
out at about 10:15 for a morning walk to Nutt Rd., which is 3 miles round trip.
Not a cloud in the sky but it felt a bit cool at the camper so I grabbed a
light fleece. Didn’t take long to
realize I didn’t need it…I forgot how warm that sun can get out in the open
even if there is a slight breeze. I’ll
know better tomorrow. Next week it’s forecasted to be in the 80’s…definitely have
to start walking earlier to beat that kind of heat.
Kim
intends to do more walking this year since he won’t be riding and my riding won’t
be too far afield as I’ll be going it alone. In the absence of some of the longer rides we
used to do in the area we decided to check out more community events. To that end we’ve signed up to do a 5K walk
on March 12th in Marana/Tucson, which is about 36 miles from us. That’s the only one I found in our time frame
that’s relatively close. We’re
officially in training for a walk. 😎
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Today
seemed as good a time as any so, with some guidance from Kim, I climbed the
tire again. I don’t know whether it was
experience or Clayton’s example but it seemed easier climbing it today than the
first time and I didn’t need as much help either. Getting down did have its
humorous moments but that was easier also, although Kim might be a better judge
as to whether this time was easier or not. But no matter…I feel accomplished!
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On my bike ride this afternoon I headed to Coolidge then continued on
around the Tom Mix loop. Because it’s a
good place on the loop to give my butt a rest, I stopped at the Tom Mix
Memorial. It’s a good place to see
ground squirrels, lizards, birds and the occasional rabbit…plus I like to read
the comments written in the log book that’s lovingly maintained by a fan of Tom
Mix. In 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic the plastic container which held
the log book and the log book itself were removed with a note of explanation about
health safety left in its place. Last
year was the same except there was an updated note. This year it’s all gone…the container, the
log book and the pictures and laminated newspaper article about Tom Mix’ death
that had been taped to the table are gone.
All that’s left is tape residue. I sure hope the gentleman who
maintained this little shrine in memory of Tom Mix is okay.
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Part of riding the Tom Mix loop is scoping out the raven nest on Park Link Dr. I knew I was going to stop today to see what shape the nest was in…seeing a raven or a hawk would be a bonus and, of course, I had my camera ready. As I slowed my bike down I thought I saw something above the edge of it. As I walked to the edge of the field for a fraction of a second I thought it looked like the head of a
The next thing to do was identify the owl. After Googling images of ‘Arizona owls’ (there
are at least 13 different types common to Arizona) and conferring with Kim on
the matter I’ve decided that it’s a Great Horned Owl. As soon as I’m done here I’m going to turn to
Google for some more information on its nesting habits. I’d love to get a picture of the inside of
the nest but am not willing to have my eyes poked out by the talons of an owl
so I might be observing from afar this year.
Good thing my camera has a good zoom. 😎
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Kim just popped into the camper looking for a thumb drive and is happy
to report that the telescope is up and running smoothly. There were issues at
first but he got that figured out and is just about to start imaging the
Horsehead Nebula along with something else.
It’s 10 p.m. as I'm writing this and if he’s just getting started then I’ll be in bed long
before he shuts it down…I’ll have to see his pictures in the morning.
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Bike miles today: 103
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