Monday, March 27…The Trees (Rush)

 Today was a slow morning. Not that we slept in, we were just moving slow. My ankles/muscles have recovered from being pushed so hard for the Shamrock walk…they didn’t rebel during the walk but certainly let me know later in the day that they were not happy with the pace. I haven’t let the discomfort stop my daily walking; just slowed the pace.  However, a couple of days ago my knee started complaining; don’t know what I did to it but it’s impacting my gait. Last night I iced it and took ibuprofen and woke up with it feeling pretty good. Figured sitting around this morning, letting it rest was a good thing, so I painted rocks instead of walking.

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   The temperature was supposed to be in the moderate range today, so we decided to go to the Sweetwater Wetlands Park to stroll around. Mom hadn’t been there yet, and we didn’t mind a repeat visit.  First, though, we drove down Picacho Hwy to make an adjustment or two to the cell camera. After being silent all night, it was going crazy this morning sending us videos of the three holes…no animals, just holes…probably weeds setting off the motion sensor. Instead of trampling down all the weeds, we just moved the camera to another hole. 

   And while we were out there, I snapped a few pictures of the hawk nest, which has three little ‘eyases’ in it.  Eyas is the name for a baby/young hawk that hasn’t yet learned how to fly. Not sure who’s responsible for that name but I would have gone with hawklet.

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   We had a pleasant walk around the various ponds at Sweetwater.  Saw some birds/ducks that were familiar and some that were new to us. I saw a Verdin concentrating on building a nest, which is probably the only reason I managed to get a picture. They are quick little birds, not prone to staying in one place very long.

   At a viewing station a duck caught Kim’s eye because it was struggling to swallow whatever it was that it caught. He drew my attention to it to get a picture.  Neither of us knew what it was; in fact, I wondered if it was some kind of goose because its neck looked longer than a regular duck. Kim has the

Google Lens app on his phone so he took a picture of my picture and Lens told him it was a Pied-billed Grebe. I had to know more because the name was so strange; I looked online and found some information on willywilderness.org:     

   The word “grebe” is a little funny. It means “feet at the buttocks.” And that is exactly where this bird’s feet are located. They are not centered under the bird’s body but much more toward the back (and butt) of this bird. Because of this, grebes do not walk very well and are awkward on land. When they dive in the water, however, the placement of their legs and feet is perfect. Their feet act like paddles, helping them expertly swim under water and hunt. Their favorite foods are crustaceans and insects.

   Although this little bird may look like a duck, grebes are in their own group of water birds. If you are not convinced, just look at a grebe’s feet. They are not the webbed feet you find on ducks. Instead, each toe has lobes that stick out on both sides. These lobed feet act like three-pronged paddles that help grebes swim both underwater and while floating along the surface.

   Stealthy means sneaky, and grebes are masters of sneakiness. They can control their buoyancy by trapping and releasing water from within their feathers. If they trap water in their feathers, they can slowly sink without a trace, leaving not even the tiniest ripple of water on the surface as evidence of where they were. They may also choose to swim with just their little heads above the surface. By releasing the trapped water, they can rise above the surface, again without a ripple.  So not a duck but not a goose either, as I had thought. And I sure would like to see what it looks like out of water. 

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   Ate lunch at a restaurant called El Quino, for no other reason than it was on the same road as we were. The logo on the building was a pig in a vest and a sombrero, leading me to believe the name had something to do with pork. But the menu featured an octopus wearing a mustache and a sombrero. So, maybe El Quino translated into something about an octopus.  Wrong on both  accounts. Quino means Cinchona, which is a type of tree.  So, El Quino translates to ‘The Tree’ which has nothing to do with either a pig or an octopus. However, there was octopus available on the menu.  I played it safe and got a plate of Gorditas and my mom got Tostadas. Kim got the leaning tower of everything which did have octopus in it. Right down to some suction cups. Ewww! 

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   Sky is clear so the telescope is being used.  His target is Hubble’s Variable Nebula. As the word ‘variable’ suggests, it changes appearance due to how much dust moves between it and the star that illuminates it. I’m looking forward to seeing what it looks like tonight because it may look different in a week or so.

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40 Day’s of Lent opportunity: Take time to contemplate your anger hot buttons and pray for strength. Done and done!