Morning thoughts:
Woke up about 6:30…temperature was 63o…out walking at 6:55 a.m. Kim was still sleeping so I was going solo. I could tell the sun had already popped up over the Picacho Mountains but it was just a blurry spot in the sky because of the clouds. Last night Kim had to shut down his telescope because a cloud bank rolled in and it looks to be holding steady today. Maybe today’s temperature will be in the tolerable range.
Kim was awake by the time I got back about 8:15…he left for a walk shortly after. All windows are open and back ramp is down to let the light and fresh air in the camper. The sky is very overcast but not in a dark, rain threatening way. Just pleasantly cloudy for now.
----------
It’s 9:15 a.m. and I’m getting drowsy sitting here. Must go do something to get over the urge to lay down on the couch. Might be an early bedtime for me tonight.
*The rattle of the rattlesnake is made up of a protein called keratin (the same protein that your hair and fingernails are made of). A new segment is added each time a rattlesnake sheds, but they can shed at different rates. Because of this, and the fact that segments can break off, you really can't tell a snakes age by counting the segments.
*A rattlesnake can move its rattle back and forth 60 or more times per second.
*Rattlesnakes don't lay eggs, they give live birth. This means that they carry and hatch eggs internally, and give live birth to already-squiggling little babies.
*Rattles often break off in the wild, sometimes after attacks by other predators or other times when they are damaged by a life of slithering over harsh, often rocky terrain.
Went down Picacho Hwy to do some bird watching. Hawks were not on the nest when I arrived but were flying nearby. Eventually one flew in to sit on the bush surrounding the saguaro; it kept watch for about 8 minutes before it flew to the nest. Hawks appear to be very patient birds.
Woke up about 6:30…temperature was 63o…out walking at 6:55 a.m. Kim was still sleeping so I was going solo. I could tell the sun had already popped up over the Picacho Mountains but it was just a blurry spot in the sky because of the clouds. Last night Kim had to shut down his telescope because a cloud bank rolled in and it looks to be holding steady today. Maybe today’s temperature will be in the tolerable range.
Kim was awake by the time I got back about 8:15…he left for a walk shortly after. All windows are open and back ramp is down to let the light and fresh air in the camper. The sky is very overcast but not in a dark, rain threatening way. Just pleasantly cloudy for now.
----------
It’s 9:15 a.m. and I’m getting drowsy sitting here. Must go do something to get over the urge to lay down on the couch. Might be an early bedtime for me tonight.
*The rattle of the rattlesnake is made up of a protein called keratin (the same protein that your hair and fingernails are made of). A new segment is added each time a rattlesnake sheds, but they can shed at different rates. Because of this, and the fact that segments can break off, you really can't tell a snakes age by counting the segments.
*A rattlesnake can move its rattle back and forth 60 or more times per second.
*Rattlesnakes don't lay eggs, they give live birth. This means that they carry and hatch eggs internally, and give live birth to already-squiggling little babies.
*Rattles often break off in the wild, sometimes after attacks by other predators or other times when they are damaged by a life of slithering over harsh, often rocky terrain.
---------
Evening thoughts:Went down Picacho Hwy to do some bird watching. Hawks were not on the nest when I arrived but were flying nearby. Eventually one flew in to sit on the bush surrounding the saguaro; it kept watch for about 8 minutes before it flew to the nest. Hawks appear to be very patient birds.
Four buzzards were perched on a tall saguaro in the vicinity of the hawk nest. I instantly thought of Tick who is as big a fan of the Disney version of The Jungle Book as I am. It was the buzzard scene set in the desert…and I could swear I heard them singing in 4-part harmony. 😎
----------
Checked temperature today and saw a Red Flag Warning from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hmmm….Red Flag Warning? Further down the page it explained that it means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or are expected to develop. A combination of strong winds…low relative humidity…and dry vegetation will create the potential for rapid and erratic fire growth.
----------
Walked back to the trail cam: meat and apples gone but the marshmallows and some lettuce are still there. The camera card showed a cat during the night and 4 javelinas sniffing around this morning at 7:30. That means they were out and about at the same time I was…but I was past the trail cam area by that time. The meat was gone but there was no coyote on video so I checked online to see if the javelina eats meat. Split thinking on that one…some say herbivore and some say omnivore. So maybe they ate the meat or maybe an invisible visitor ate it.
----------
Kim wanted to get a general idea of the length of the rattlesnake I saw yesterday so I showed him where I saw it (Mile 7 signpost). The snake was crossing the white line heading for the grass when I took its picture so we did our best to figure out where its head was in relation to the edge of the road and where the tip of the tail was in relation to the white line. Kim’s fairly certain it was about 40” long and from another picture I took we could see that it had 7 rattles. I’d always heard that you could tell the age of a snake by how many rattles it has so I did a search.
----------
I’ve been wanting/needing a new pair of tap shoes for a while now but Traverse City had only one dance studio with limited options when I bought my first pair 7 years ago. Figuring that Tucson may have a wider selection Kim suggested I look for a tap shoes out here. I’m on it!
Today we took a drive
into Tucson to do some shoe shopping. I’m now in possession of a pair of lace up tap
shoes that feel oh, so nice! I still consider myself to be a beginner,
mostly because I stopped at lesson 9 of 12 lessons. I found the whole turning in circles thing to
be a little dizzying, can’t quite get the hang of it. Besides I wanted to do some dancing so I
switched to learning some choreography a couple of years ago. Tap dancing in a
camper isn’t such a great idea; I look forward to
trying these shoes out on my dance floor. Already learning the steps to Respect by
Aretha Franklin. 👍
----------
----------
Checked temperature today and saw a Red Flag Warning from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hmmm….Red Flag Warning? Further down the page it explained that it means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or are expected to develop. A combination of strong winds…low relative humidity…and dry vegetation will create the potential for rapid and erratic fire growth.
----------
Walked back to the trail cam: meat and apples gone but the marshmallows and some lettuce are still there. The camera card showed a cat during the night and 4 javelinas sniffing around this morning at 7:30. That means they were out and about at the same time I was…but I was past the trail cam area by that time. The meat was gone but there was no coyote on video so I checked online to see if the javelina eats meat. Split thinking on that one…some say herbivore and some say omnivore. So maybe they ate the meat or maybe an invisible visitor ate it.
----------
Kim wanted to get a general idea of the length of the rattlesnake I saw yesterday so I showed him where I saw it (Mile 7 signpost). The snake was crossing the white line heading for the grass when I took its picture so we did our best to figure out where its head was in relation to the edge of the road and where the tip of the tail was in relation to the white line. Kim’s fairly certain it was about 40” long and from another picture I took we could see that it had 7 rattles. I’d always heard that you could tell the age of a snake by how many rattles it has so I did a search.
----------
I’ve been wanting/needing a new pair of tap shoes for a while now but Traverse City had only one dance studio with limited options when I bought my first pair 7 years ago. Figuring that Tucson may have a wider selection Kim suggested I look for a tap shoes out here. I’m on it!
Today we took a drive
into Tucson to do some shoe shopping. I’m now in possession of a pair of lace up tap
shoes that feel oh, so nice! I still consider myself to be a beginner,
mostly because I stopped at lesson 9 of 12 lessons. I found the whole turning in circles thing to
be a little dizzying, can’t quite get the hang of it. Besides I wanted to do some dancing so I
switched to learning some choreography a couple of years ago. Tap dancing in a
camper isn’t such a great idea; I look forward to
trying these shoes out on my dance floor. Already learning the steps to Respect by
Aretha Franklin. 👍----------
Our cell camera did
another tip…this time slightly sideways to the left. So we stopped to check out the situation but
were also prepared to peek in the nest if Momma wasn’t around. This time we taped the two walking sticks and
the selfie stick together to get enough length then put the GoPro on the selfie
stick. Ready to take some quick footage.
The momma took off when we stopped so we quickly put our plan into action…video showed one white egg and one newly hatched white baby owl were in the nest. Exciting!
What surprised me was how built up the inside of the nest is…since the nest is pushing 3 feet from bottom to top edge I thought the eggs would be nestled down in a bit. Last year the ravens had a bowl shape to the inside of the nest. But with the owl it looks like there’s mud packed to within a couple inches of the rim making a flat-ish floor. Or maybe it’s bird poop and feathers instead of mud…because really how is an owl going to get that much mud up to the nest. Anyway, it was fun to see that one egg has already hatched. That might explain some of the behavior I’ve seen on video for the last few nights. It looks like she’s moving something around with her beak then settling herself back down in the nest.
----------
A big wind sprung up early evening just as we came back into Eloy looking for supper. We watched as a massive dirt cloud blew across the landscape in front of us, blocking out everything beyond it. The radar map showed that we were in the middle of a rain storm even though there was no rain, just wind and dirt in our vicinity. I thought the temp would drop as the wind came on and the dirt flew but it stayed steady at 79o.
Either all food options in Eloy were closed or very busy so we took a chance that Hot Dogs Alvarado was still open despite the wind. Yes!! So despite our attempt to eat healthy, we ordered hot dogs to go and had a feast when we got back to the camper. I was going to send you a picture, Mom…but I didn't want to make you feel bad. 😋
Coming back to the campground it was obvious there’d be visibility issues out on the highway due to blowing dirt. We were experiencing some of that in the campground. I was so grateful that we had closed the back ramp before we left…learned that lesson the hard way last year when a big wind covered everything in our camper in a thick layer of dust.
----------
Today’s 40 Days of Lent challenge was about gossip…confess where/when I am prone to gossip and pray for those who I’ve gossiped about. That was definitely food for thought and it generated a good discussion during the ride back from Tucson, ranging from defining it to questioning how guilty we are of doing it.
The momma took off when we stopped so we quickly put our plan into action…video showed one white egg and one newly hatched white baby owl were in the nest. Exciting!
What surprised me was how built up the inside of the nest is…since the nest is pushing 3 feet from bottom to top edge I thought the eggs would be nestled down in a bit. Last year the ravens had a bowl shape to the inside of the nest. But with the owl it looks like there’s mud packed to within a couple inches of the rim making a flat-ish floor. Or maybe it’s bird poop and feathers instead of mud…because really how is an owl going to get that much mud up to the nest. Anyway, it was fun to see that one egg has already hatched. That might explain some of the behavior I’ve seen on video for the last few nights. It looks like she’s moving something around with her beak then settling herself back down in the nest.
----------
A big wind sprung up early evening just as we came back into Eloy looking for supper. We watched as a massive dirt cloud blew across the landscape in front of us, blocking out everything beyond it. The radar map showed that we were in the middle of a rain storm even though there was no rain, just wind and dirt in our vicinity. I thought the temp would drop as the wind came on and the dirt flew but it stayed steady at 79o.
Either all food options in Eloy were closed or very busy so we took a chance that Hot Dogs Alvarado was still open despite the wind. Yes!! So despite our attempt to eat healthy, we ordered hot dogs to go and had a feast when we got back to the camper. I was going to send you a picture, Mom…but I didn't want to make you feel bad. 😋
Coming back to the campground it was obvious there’d be visibility issues out on the highway due to blowing dirt. We were experiencing some of that in the campground. I was so grateful that we had closed the back ramp before we left…learned that lesson the hard way last year when a big wind covered everything in our camper in a thick layer of dust.
----------
Today’s 40 Days of Lent challenge was about gossip…confess where/when I am prone to gossip and pray for those who I’ve gossiped about. That was definitely food for thought and it generated a good discussion during the ride back from Tucson, ranging from defining it to questioning how guilty we are of doing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment