I went to bed earlier than usual last night because I had a dull headache, but we still put a hurt on the AI guys in UNO. 🙂 Woke up early enough to go for a walk before the sun got going too strong. Figured that if I wanted to see a roadrunner, quail or caracara I had to go where I’ve seen them before.
I didn’t see any of the above-mentioned birds, but I did scare up two
desert cottontail rabbits. Mostly what I saw were two fluffy butts moving fast,
bobbing and weaving as they scurried away.
The dogs made themselves known as I was walking past the
neighborhood…the four little yappy dogs who run in a bunch and last year got
out of their fence to terrorize/annoy any passersby with their constant barking
and the old, graying German Shepard farther down the road. Based on his bark, I
would not want to meet him on this side of his fence. But as he was barking, I detected a familiar
sound that made me smile; he’s the Moaning Dog but I told him not to worry, his
secret was safe with me. 🙂
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While Kim played with his drone this morning, I did some troubleshooting
with my camera. While on my walk, I noticed that the digital zoom wasn’t
working. It wasn’t critical because I don’t use it very often…it needs a very
steady hand but it has come in handy sometimes. Mainly I wanted to know WHY it
wasn’t working. So, I read the QR code with my phone, downloaded the manual onto
my computer and proceeded to play detective. I knew all those Nancy Drew books
I read as a child would come in handy someday. 🙃
Seems there’s a setting in the MENU that allows for turning the digital
zoom On or Off. Who knew?? Toggled to
the On position and voila! it was working again. Since the digital zoom has
always been active, I wasn’t aware that On or Off was an option…which makes me
wonder how it happened to get turned off. Oh, well, all is good now.
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Kim decided to wash windows today, both inside and outside…his new step
stool to get into the truck bed came in handy for the outside. I usually have
the shades up during the day to let in natural light; now the light coming in
is brighter, not dulled by a filter of whatever grime was on them.
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Kim, Joe and I took a ride to the Walgreen’s in Coolidge today. Picked
up some pictures to send to the grandkiddos. It was the first ride of any
distance that I’ve taken on the Honda. Definitely some new things to learn. First
of all, it requires an actual key to be put in an ignition…Zeus just needed the
keys in to be nearby. No actual gas gauge,
just a quick check of the gas level before I ride. And it has foot pegs, not
floorboards, nor automatic blinkers…I have to remember to turn them off. None of that affects the ride, though. The
extras that I’m used to are just window dressing, anyway. It’s easy to maneuver,
both standing still and while on the road…shoot, today I put it in neutral and walked
away from the weeds for a better take-off. Zeus was too heavy for me to do
that. And the shifting is smooth…Zeus had the typical Harley ‘clunk’ when
shifting. Don’t get me wrong…I miss
Zeus. He fit me well and we rode many miles together. When the dealership that
bought the bikes came to get them, I couldn’t watch as Flame and Zeus were loaded in the
trailer. But the Honda is a good bike,
too; I just have to learn its ways.
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Before we left today, I was talking to Joe about the difference in having a
small narrow windshield now versus having a faring with a low-profile shield on Zeus. A faring provides a lot of protection from
the wind. He mentioned getting a fork deflector, said it makes all the
difference when riding in wind.
While today’s ride was good because we were riding, it wasn’t
necessarily a comfortable ride. As we’ve learned, the section along 87 where
the fields are open on both sides is usually cool and very windy. Goodness, I
felt it today. I really don’t know the reason why, whether it was the narrow
windshield or strong wind, but my nose took a hit. Air went in one nostril and
out the other; and while it sounds like a great way to clear out the sinuses,
it’s a very uncomfortable experience. The
speed limit along there is 65; I had to keep it between 55 and 60 for the sake
of my nose. Sounds weird, I know, but the faster I rode, the more dried out and
raw my nose felt. I wished I’d brought my neck bandana to pull up over my face.
That’s one of those ‘learn from your mistakes’ scenarios. Next time the bandana
will be on the ride.
When we got back to camp, I was explaining what was happening to my nose
and Joe said, “Fork deflectors will help with that.” Ordered a set as soon as we found ‘em on the
computer. Should be here in a few days. I’m not riding on 87 again until the
deflectors arrive, even with a bandana. And now, my head is stuffy, yet my nose
is runny and I’ve been sneezing. Just a little frustrating.
We
took a ride on the e-bikes also so Kim could experiment with his drone. It has
the capability to follow a designated object and today we were the guinea
pigs. At first, it refused to follow us;
Kim had to go back and reconfigure the settings. Then it followed us, taking
video of our ride down Picacho Hwy. At
one point, Kim programmed it to get in front of us, so it was flying backwards taking
video from that vantage point. I’m impressed with its different functions, its
steadiness, and the incredible clarity of the videos. It’s been keeping Kim
busy while he waits for the night sky to become clear. I made a video of the footage we got tonight…Kim
wants to send it to the grandkiddos.
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There were a number of finches in the tree also, but we left on an
e-bike ride before I could determine if they were going to the thistle seed. Finches
have been around in past years, but I only had seed rings and suet up then. Didn’t
see them frequenting either of those.
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