Weekend warriors

Lee, Morgan, and I spent the weekend at the oasis. It was pretty brutal to my body. Today I had to fight raging wind all day while I worked patching in the stucco tank and watering trees before coming to town. 

There's an overwhelming amount of broken and dying infrastructure for Lee to tackle. Things that I can't do, so I try to do the oasis work that I can do. Or used to be able to do. He couldn't complete his two main projects because he needs stuff from town. That's one reason things are so dilapidated (besides age). Previous stewards tended to use what's available, even if it's the wrong thing. Lee prefers to wait until he gets the right parts or material. Because the wall that the cabin's door is in was built with 2x4s and not 2X6s, the new door frame is too deep. He has to build up around it before attaching the storm door. Here's the progress so far. The new door is just primed. Not sure what color I want to paint it. Maybe black or brown.

I didn't realize how bad the windows area looked until I saw the door area. Several years ago I put concrete and concrete board beneath the one window to keep it from falling out.

Claret Cup cacti are starting to bloom, as are many things.

Lee Hoy (excellent photographer & bird guide) photographed this female hummingbird at the oasis today. Expert Kelly Bryan speculated that it's a Black-chinned, about 6-10 years old, based on the amount of gorget feathers. Another expert, Sheri Williamson, believes it's a hybrid Black-chinned X Anna's. Interesting hummer!