Eventful day

I decided I couldn't sit indoors any longer so went to CMO to make sure no pipes were broken. Lots of people had frozen pipes. But mine were fine. By the time I got my feeders serviced and raked the rocks that had accumulated on the big hill, I could easily have called it a day. But I had been so anxious to visit Lajitas that I pushed onward. Enroute I decided to check out the sewage pond in Study Butte. It mostly just had a couple dozen Northern Shovelers.

From there I decided to swing through the "Nature Area." (The sewage pond is framed between the support posts of the sign in this photo.)

Distracted by a bird, I missed a narrow culvert crossing. After having to get towed out, I lost interest in exploring the area. I would have headed home, but would have been even more disgusted with myself, so more determined than ever, I continued toward Lajitas.

While driving there, with nothing to do but think, I was struck by a weird analogy. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out where Robert Fabian buried Zuzu, and what was the timeline and his frame of mind, etc. When I dropped into the hole I felt panic, like I imagined Fabian did when he realized he'd killed Zuzu. My first instinct was to back out. His first instinct was to get her body out of his apartment. So he put her in the trunk of his car (and likely cleaned his apartment). His second act was driving around town looking for a suitable place. 

When I realized I couldn't back out, my second thought was to call for help... son, husband, sisters, who? Then, upon more sensible reflection, I determined the best option would be to walk to the nearest person with a big pickup and ask for help. Fabian, upon more sensible reflection, decided to borrow a pickup and bury her far from town. That's what I theorize anyway. We know he drove around town (forensic evidence in the trunk of his car) and then borrowed a pickup in the middle of the night. 

And we both succeeded. I found someone to tow me out, and Zuzu's body has remained undiscovered for 3 months of extensive searching. Twice now they've gone through the city landfill with cadaver dogs, and numerous search parties keep looking. Now is that a weird analogy, or what?

At Lajitas I found a Common Merganser in the pond by the golf shop. Ebird flagged it, which surprised me. Didn't realize that was unusual. I took lots of photos of it but it was at a big distance from me, so not very satisfactory. Good enough for identification though.