Saturday, March 16…I’ll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle (Pure Prairie League)

   Today was the final step in the burrowing owl relocation project.  Tent frames were built last week, the backhoe came yesterday to fill in the dirt over the burrows and today was putting the covering on the tents and staking them down. Last night I was still debating with myself about going and we were up early enough that I could have done so.  I had reasoned out the frozen mouse thing so that wasn’t an issue. The mice would be kept in a cooler or portable freezer and I simply didn’t have to look in it. But this morning, the first priority was getting a slow leaking truck tire fixed.

   On Thursday, the truck’s tire sensor indicated that one of the tires was low on air.  Kim pulled out the air compressor and aired it up equally to the others.  Then yesterday when we were on our way to Kartchner Caverns, that tire was reading low again.  Nothing too drastic but it definitely needed to be looked at. 

   Kim has used Aztec in Eloy in the past…first thing to do this morning was to find out if they were open.  Website says closed on Saturdays.  Okay, there’s another place off Toltec that was open and they could look at it.  So, off he went.  At this point, I’d have to ride the bike to the owl project and the morning was still very much on the cool side for riding.  I decided not to go.

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   As I was walking to the dumpster, I heard my name called out and looked back.  Maya and Miley were running after me to give me two bird seed cakes they’d made…a star and a dinosaur.  How thoughtful!!  I decided to hang the seed cakes in the bushes behind the camper.  That way I could see them when the ramp was down, and the kids could see them from their living room.  Within thirty minutes sparrows were nearby checking it out but were reluctant to commit. The Lady Cardinal was hanging around too, so that reinforces the idea that birds can smell.  Otherwise, how else would they know that there was something edible hanging on a bush?  Hummers like bright colors; seed eaters like seeds which are not colorful at all.  Therefore, they must be able to smell.  Anyway…however it happened, the birds eventually found the cakes. 

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   A nail was found in the tire, the hole was repaired, and the tire aired up. Kim got on the road and realized that the tire had been aired up to 85 lbs. instead of 65…he went back to let them know. The tire was supposedly adjusted to the correct amount and he left.  On his way through Eloy, he saw that Aztec Tire was indeed open.  Website had it wrong and he was kicking himself for not calling to verify. The first thing he did when he got back to camp, was check the pressure and let more air out of the tire.

   We decided to make an errand run to Coolidge and darned if the tire sensor didn’t go off again.  This time the tire was reading significantly lower.  Stopped at a gas station to air up the tire; the machine wasn’t exactly being user friendly, but it did get the tire up to 56 psi. It had dropped to 50 by the time we got out of Safeway. So back to camp, grab a quick lunch and then Kim was headed back to the tire shop.  They found another nail! No telling if it had been overlooked or if by some weird happenstance, the tire picked up the nail on the way back from the shop.  Anyway, two hours later Kim was back at camp. I had stayed at camp and used the time to organize pictures to mail to the grandkiddos. Sheesh!! It was a very tiring afternoon, and we didn’t even do anything. 😉

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   Glory Be! The Traveling Sheep have appeared!! It’s a big herd of sheep, like several hundred, that just appears overnight in a big field; my assumption is that they’re being used as a type of lawnmower. Plus, maybe there’s the fertilizer factor. Anyway, for the last 5 or 6 years they’ve been in various fields along AZ 87 on the way to Coolidge.  One day they’re not there and the next day they are there; and they disappear just as quickly, too.  I’m mystified by the logistics of moving that large of a herd in a short amount of time.   

   I’ve been looking for them every time we go to Coolidge and so far, nothing.  But today, boom! there they were. Didn’t go to Coolidge on Thursday or Friday, so it’s very possible they’ve been there a couple of days already.

   So, the one-eyed monkey mask is gone, the owl nest is uninhabited, but the traveling sheep are still around.  That's oddly comforting.

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   There was a Star Party at Picacho Peak tonight; since neither of us have ever been to one before, we figured this was the perfect opportunity. Sponsored by the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association, it was held from 7 to 9p.m., and open to the public free of charge, although there was a fee to get into the State Park.  

   It worked this way: TAAA members set up their telescopes of various types and sizes, pointed them at various sky object (planets, nebulae, the moon), and people stood in line to look through the scope. It’s a weather dependent event; it was mostly cloudy during the day, but the night sky was clear, with clouds only on the horizon so it was all systems go.  We waited in line to look at the moon through a 14-inch Newtonian scope.  We waited in another line to look through a smaller scope at the Orion Nebula in real time. Then we looked up at the clear sky and decided to head back to camp so Kim could take advantage of it with his own scope.

   I have to say that it wasn’t as awe-inspiring to me as it was to some people, and I know that’s because of who I live with and the knowledge that’s rubbed off on me…even though it’s only the smallest fraction of what Kim knows. However, a star party is a great outreach event and this one seemed to be a success as there were lots of people there engaging with the astronomy group.

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   I finished my swan last night and am just awaiting a name from Shelby.  My Tribe is slowly taking over a corner of the shelf.  Kim suggested doing a shark next; mulling that one over.