Welcome relief!

Michael Gray and Cecilia Riley came today to help me out. Sure was great to get accomplished what we did, and me not feeling dead in the process. I had been obsessed with making a low water crossing on the road to my trail-head. It always washes out and has to have dirt put in to it to be passable. With this done, when it rains silt should accumulate behind the concrete and rock berm making it to where it won't need maintenance. This road gets used a lot more often now that there's a trail going up the mountain.

With my road being so bad, that probably shouldn't have been priority, but for me it was. If I put dirt on the road it washes off before anyone ever gets to even drive over it, so it seems hopeless. But this seems a permanent solution. I've made low water crossings at quite a few places on my road and they never require maintenance again. I like permanent fixes.

I appreciated Cecilia documenting the bird activity at the oasis. Michael and I even paused to take a few photos while we were working. It isn't every day an Osprey perches by my [earth-sheltered] house. First time that I know of, in fact. That nest box below the Osprey is one I made from a hollow log that I put up some years back. Elf Owls nest in it.

                                                                                                                              Saw my first Mourning Cloak butterfly for the year. I wasn't able to get a decent photo with its wings open. This is all I got. Bigger and prettier than I had remembered though.

Also we expanded the parking area some more today. With what I did the other day and what we did today it's double the size it was before. It once held four vehicles, now it should hold eight. I still need to coat the new area with gravel, but I can do it a little at a time. It shouldn't be a muddy problem until large groups come during the monsoon season.