Sunday, December 4/2011

Our site

Meet my little friend!

I awoke early - hell, it was still dark out!!  I beat the sun!!  It is chilly in the bus and I started the heater then crawled back to bed for half an hour so that the chill would be gone when I finally greeted the day.
It is 38F (+3C) here this morning and although that is above zero, there is still a good amount of frost on the ground so it obviously did get lower than that during the night.  I guess I don't have to worry about rattlesnakes in these kinds of temperatures.
When we were talking to Keith last evening, we talked about the snake that had come into our camp last year and he said he showed the picture to some guy who said that it was NOT a western diamondback rattlesnake but a Mohave rattlesnake!!  I am so glad I did not know that at the time of the incident as they are considered 10 times more venomous and more aggressive than a regular Western.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph!!
The sun has finally risen above the hills and the sky is clear.  Perhaps we are going to have a reasonably warm day today.  It is almost time to start thinking about getting the Christmas decorations out.  I have already picked a nice Palo Verde tree to decorate so will have to put on my armor to get the strings of lights on it!!  Charlotte mentioned last night that she too wanted to hang a few light this year and Keith mentioned that he can't wait for the trash can turkey!! That  man loves to eat and he loves everything that he does eat!!
The sun stayed out all day today and I even took some time to sit out and just enjoy without having two bunny hugs and a jacket on!!  I was in my shirt sleeves and at one point, had to seek refuge inside the bus as it was too hot for me!!  (I was starting to sweat!!)
I did manage to get the regular bird feeder out and filled although no birds came to eat.  Perhaps they just don't know it is here yet.  I had one little hummingbird visit today and he made several trips to his feeder.  He provided my aviary entertainment for today.  Charlotte came over and was surprised that there was even a hummingbird around at this time of year as she was under the impression that they were all further south.  I mentioned to her that I had these little creatures eating from the feeder all last year so we will have to wait and see if this little thing is planning on staying around or heading further south.
Hogan has now chased a coyote three times since we have been here.  I am not sure if it is the same one or if they are different ones.  I saw the rather scraggly looking thing twice yesterday and Hogan has given chase both times.  Hopefully it is only just the one and not some decoy playing "lets lure the city dog out here then kill it".  I must say that I don't think Hogan would stand much of a chance if that were the case so I keep calling him back to camp.
Keith and Charlotte went back into town today to get the copper pipe flared for the connection to the radiant heater so I guess getting that  permanently fixed to the wall is a job for tomorrow.  John checked a few things under the hood of their diesel truck and found something loose in the clutch thing so I guess there are a few repairs that need to be done.  All in all, Charlotte did well with her truck and trailer during her time alone while Keith was back East for three months.
We spent a quiet evening doing what we do best, reading, computing and watching TV all while John prepared supper.