Friday, March 25…Peanuts (Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons)

    I walked about 8:30 a.m. and Kim processed his picture from last night, then he walked about 10:30 while I did the wash. 

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   I always glance over at the caracara nest when I’m out walking…now that I know it’s there it’s hard not to.  One of them was sitting on a front cactus arm. The nest is too difficult to see from my vantage point so I don’t know if only one parent sits the nest, both sit in there at the same time or if they take turns.  I’ve not witnessed a changing of the guard so maybe they do it like the cactus sparrows…one flies out and in a minute or two the other flies in.

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   Other wildlife news: 

   *I saw a covey of quail scurry across the road…maybe 8 to 10.  It’s hard to tell with quail because they just run nilly willy but it looked like they split up once they reached the safety of the field.

   *I saw a rabbit streak across a field.  Don’t know what kind it was but I know what kind it wasn’t…it wasn’t the hippity-hoppity kind of bunny.  This one appeared to be running.  Maybe jack-a-lopes really do exist. 😏

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   Lizards are frequent visitors to the tree in our yard and there are birds of all sized flitting around constantly.  I’m waiting for a bird to get a lizard but maybe these aren’t lizard eating birds. 

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   When the temperature is in the mid-90’s and even sitting doing nothing makes you sweat, you might as well head over to the local Dairy Queen for a cold and yummy treat. Which is exactly what we did.  In years past we’d go to the Dairy Queen several times while out here but this year we’re trying to be more mindful of healthy eating.  A Peanut Buster Parfait and a Turtle Blizzard are definitely NOT in the healthy category.  But we gave in today and it was worth it.

   I ordered my Peanut Buster Parfait and told the young man behind the counter that I knew it would cost more but I wanted extra peanuts.  No problem and it won’t cost extra, ma’am. As I paid he directed his co-worker, an Ed Sheeran look-a-like who was making the parfait, to put extra peanuts in it and then to me he said, “He always want to make the parfaits, he does a really good job with them...makes ‘em look extra special.” 😊

   Kim set one of the prettiest, peanut-iest parfaits I’ve ever seen on the table and said, “It sure enough has extra peanuts…I watched him put them on and pack ‘em down with a spoon.”  Knowing the importance of praising a job well done, before we left I stopped to tell the young man that I appreciated what a good job he did and I wish I could have gotten a picture of the huge smile that lit up his Ed Sheeran face. 

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   There’s a pink/black Jeep in the camp advertising Cruises for a Cause with signatures all over the pink parts.  I thought it interesting that someone would let people write all over his/her vehicle…it certainly piqued my curiosity.  I put stickers all over my helmet but writing on a vehicle is not the same thing. I looked up Cruises for a Cause on Facebook and found it was A Community coming together to help spread happiness and joy to other people in their Community. Parade style for smiles!  That didn’t really explain what it was or what the pink jeep had to do with it but I didn’t dig any deeper.

   The laundry room was a busy, busy place today and while up there today I learned about Cruises for a Cause, the pink/black jeep and vinyl wrapping. 

   Cruises for a Cause is a non-profit based in Minnesota and from what I heard I would describe the group as ‘gearheads with a heart’.  The group came together in 2020 during the pandemic as a way to help kids celebrate their birthdays during the shutdown.  It was just a different kind of party with the cars cruising past a kid’s house and making a show of some kind.  He wasn’t real specific about that except that burnouts are no longer allowed.  Where they go from here now that things are opening back up hasn’t been decided yet. They raise money but I’m not exactly sure what the money goes toward.

   The pink Jeep with signatures is this man’s vehicle although it wasn’t always pink. It was black and in fact, he named it Black Widow and had the name and a red/black spider decal put on the hood.  He allows people to write on the pink areas…in fact, he’ll provide the markers even.  Which brings me to vinyl wrapping.

   Vinyl wrapping is apparently the latest greatest way to temporarily customize your vehicle…some might even say it provides some protection from minor scratches.  The Jeep is black and the pink is simply a vinyl wrapping which is why Black Widow Man allows people to write on it. However, vinyl wrapping is not cheap…although he was quick to say that the wrapping on his was donated as part of afundraiser. Felicia’s Challenger is sporting a red, white and black camouflage pattern this…I thought she had it painted but, nope, it’s a vinyl wrap. It’s only a partial wrap so it only cost $1,500. Only?!  She’s looking to do a marble wrap next.  Black Widow Man showed us pictures of a $15,000 Batman and Joker wrap that looked incredible but $15,000?!   At one point in the conversation Black Widow Man said, “It’s a great way to go because when you get tired of the look you just peel it off.” Say What?!  Something you just paid thousands of dollars to get put on…you get tired of it and just peel it off?  Some people have a much different idea of how to use their disposable income than I do, that’s for sure.

   When I got back to the camper I did an online search for ‘vinyl wrapping’ and found this on jdpower.com:   Here are the average baseline costs of having a professional apply a wrap to your vehicle. Compact car or coupe: Prices vary depending on design, but start around $2,000. Family sedan: The average family sedan would run you about $3,000. Compact crossover: Most compact crossover vehicles start at around $3,500.  

   Needless to say, I won’t be having anything vinyl wrapped in the foreseeable future.

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  Not much breeze out there today…enough to keep cool on the way to Nutt Rd. this morning but nothing on the way back.  Usually we open windows and the back ramp and breeze flows through the camper keeping it very tolerable. Of course, we also run the risk of dust coming in but nothing that a broom and dust cloth action won’t fix. But not today…today when the temperature hit a stifling 90o, the windows were closed and the air was turned on. And it was naptime…both of stretched out on our respective couches and took a little snooze.  I woke up first, went outside to let Kim continue napping.

   At some point I thought I heard the air turn off…thought it be really cool in there if the thermostat turned it off.  No, it wasn’t really cooled down inside…the air conditioner had just stopped.  Kim checked it out, looked for blown fuse, etc., and couldn’t find anything except a dirty filter.  Then he realized that the microwave clock wasn’t on…went next door to ask Audra if there was a problem.  Sure enough, power is out in this little corner of Picacho…the sun has set and it’s dark. 

  Update on power outage: Since Kim isn’t imaging due to a cloudy sky we went to get the generator from over by the telescope for powering the camper and by the time we got back to the camper at 8:45 the power was back on.  Using a generator typically isn’t allowed in the campground because of the noise but ours is very quiet and we were willing to face the consequences.  But no need for it now.

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   Today’s 40 Days of Lent Challenge was to send a letter of support to a community member or an organization.  I didn’t fulfill this challenge as presented but maybe I did in a roundabout way.  First there was the encouragement I gave to the parfait maker…I really do want him to continue to take pride in his work, whatever that work is.  And then there was a conversation I had with a friend…there is an important but difficult conversation that she feels needs to take place and I offered her verbal support and encouragement in pursuing it.  Both qualify as members of community but it wasn’t an actual letter of support.

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