Monday, March 14…Into the Sunset (Bonnie Tyler and Mike Batt)

    For once the desire to get up early to walk coincided with the will to do it.  On the road by 7:45 a.m., headed in the direction of Nutt Rd.  My pace was moderate but steady…wasn’t even trying to do it under an hour which was a good thing as I stopped to talk for a bit with Wesley and Sandra who were out walking their dog.  Love hearing that Minnesota accent. 

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   Kim was up late again with his imaging.  I was down the road and back sitting in the lawn chair before he even woke up.  His waking/sleeping hours get a little wonked out when we’re out here but that’s the nature of astrophotography…it has to happen at night and it takes time.  With his current equipment the process of taking images is not as hands on as it used to be but he still needs to be awake to wrap things up when the imaging is completed.  In fact quite often he gets the imaging started then comes back to the camper to read or play World of Warcraft…every so often he’ll go out to check to make sure things are still going smoothly. 

   Quite often I’ll head to bed earlier than he does always with the warning to “don’t stay up too late”.  I go about my business in the morning trying not to wake him. Other than the 5K walks we’ve done, there’s nothing happening that we need to be up for at a certain time.  But obviously if a person wants to walk 5 miles on a sunny Arizona day it’s best to do that as early as possible.  Today Kim started out at 11:30 to walk down to Harmon Road…I thought it was warm just sitting in the shade. 

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  Lots of rocks around here with all the gravel Ryan has put down. I didn’t bring any painted rocks with me this year so last week I bought some paint with the thought that I’d pick up a few rocks and have fun. It hasn’t been going so well and today I realized why: the rocks I paint at home have been worn to a fine smooth finish by the action of Lake Michigan and these gravel rocks are rough and unrefined. The power of water makes a BIG difference!!    

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   When I sit outside my camera is usually beside me in case something in nature catches my eye.  Today nature did not disappoint…watched a hummingbird preening itself while sitting on a tree branch and then a lizard ran from one tree trunk to another where it stopped to do some push-ups while its throat and belly puffed up and turned a bright blue.  I was able to get video of both of these little shows.  

   I’ve been making short nature videos to send to the grandkiddos:  a falcon plucking a dove while it was eating it…thousands of cranes taking flight and settling back down…a male owl bringing the female food while she stays on the nest…and now a hummingbird preening and a lizard putting on a male dominance show.  Watching a hummingbird sit on a limb and balance itself on one foot while the other little foot reaches up to scratch its neck is priceless stuff as far as I’m concerned.   

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   Sometime between my walk and Kim’s walk the water pumps down Picacho Hwy were started.  Two trucks bearing the Central Arizona Irrigation and Drainage District logo passed me just as I was passing the big tire.  By the time Kim walked down there the canals were filling.  I didn’t realize that filling the canals was a county thing…I thought the owners of the pecan groves or cotton fields bore that responsibility.

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   We changed out the cell cam card today…I haven’t gone through the pictures/videos yet but am thankful there are only 236 of them instead of 788. 

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   About 6 p.m. we headed over to Picacho Peak State Park to watch the sunset and look for animals.  I’ve always said that Bells Bay has the best view of a Lake Michigan sunset…and I’ll say that Picacho Peak State Park has the best view of a desert sunset.  Nothing to muck up the view between you and the sun disappearing behind a mountain with saguaros silhouetted in the foreground.  However, the view at Bells Bay is free…we had to pay a $7 entrance fee at Picacho Peak SP. 😎 
   And I got another video to send the kiddos: that moment when the sun sinks behind a mountain and the sky lights up with its afterglow.  Took my eyes several minutes to see normal again after that. 

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   Today’s 40 Days of Lent challenge was to fast from TV and read instead.  Taking a break from TV was easy…I haven’t watched TV since we left home on Feb. 21.  Sitting outside in the shade reading a book while eating my lunch was a fine way to spend the time alone while Kim was out walking.  😎

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Bike miles today: 46

Total miles: 679

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