CMO work day

My friend and helper, Deidre, and I went to the oasis today to get some work done on a couple of my endless projects. We started with burning some pesky road boulders with a pear burner. Then she wielded the sledgehammer to break the rocks down to where they're not such jolts driving into the oasis.

Heating the rock

I took a turn at it

After hammering and picking it out

It was a lot of work. After doing 2 or 3 we cleaned some more silt out of the stucco tank. Pretty exhausted by noon. In the afternoon we watered the trees and came back to town. Hope to get some more projects done soon.

Best seat in the house

 

I'm so thrilled to have the awesome raised bench installed. Can't wait to share it with birders. Lots of photos coming this spring showing groups enjoying it.  Now all we lack are the birds.

Knowing that the step will be a potential hiding place for snakes, I plan to fill below it with flat rocks. I think that'll help, and if one does get in there, it won't be able to get into a striking position. Everything is always a work in progress!

My new word

From time to time I make up new words. Today I came up with the word "Storpor." It signifies my state in the winter time. Kind of a cross between a stupor and torpor. I'm not as dormant as torpor, but I'm not much more functional than a stupor. But now I'm coming out of my winter storpor and it feels so good!

My son primed and painted the new viewing stand today, then the plan is to take it to the oasis tomorrow. So excited! I'll post pics as soon as it gets the seats attached.

That bar attached between the step up and the seat is a footrest for my viewing comfort. I anticipate spending many an hour on my perch. The backrest is more comfortable without a board on it. 

Today I got a better photo of the Northern Shoveler that's been hanging out in our ponds here in Alpine.

Then I went to Musquz Creek/Lake to see if there was any interesting activity there. Not much, but I did get a slightly better photo of a Lesser Scaup than I had previously. Hard to do better when they're always so far away.

So I'm hanging in here. Hard to believe Lucifers will be here in a week or so.

Exciting projects in progress

Ever since the new viewing blind was completed I was aware that people sitting in the back row of the blind couldn't see the birds at the water feature and feeding on the ground under the seed feeder. It bothered me a lot. So I designed a raised bench to install back there. Left over funds from the grant money paid for the material. My son spent all day (over 12 hours) cutting, welding, and such. It's going to be so awesome! We couldn't have afforded to hire the work done. All oasis-loving volunteer labor! (It'll be fastened to the blind supports, so no way will it be able to tip over.)

Right now our biggest challenge is to get it down to the oasis. It's so heavy, one man can't lift one end of it.  After we get it in place, then we'll put a wood seat and wood step on it. I'm super excited to get this added to the viewing space.

Soon now we're going to whittle down the worst boulders in the road. And then we're going to clean out the rest of the silt from the stucco tank and I'll finish sealing it. Hoping for a wonderful spring migration. Lucifer Hummingbirds are two weeks away!

Alpine time

My son's workshop is coming along. I think it looks lovely and has lots of character. (He and I are both artists, of course.) 

Putting up the last panel

Saw a different duck on the pond today. I think it's an immature male Mallard.

Cold to the core

Went to the oasis yesterday afternoon and got so bone chilled that by 6:30 PM I turned my electric blanket on high and went to bed. Even then it took me two hours to feel comfortably warm. I have an electric space heater in my cabin but once these rock walls get cooled down, it takes forever to warm them up.

This morning it was 19,° so I bundled up. Before I could get chilled the sun warmed me up and I was soon out of my down jacket with no problem. I just can't subject myself to the amount of cold I did when I was younger. After watering the trees I came to town. Tired but I'm sure I'll be fine in the morning. 

Had a Green-winged Teal in the big tank this morning but it departed when I got down into the tank to hook up my pump. For me, spring is less than three weeks away and I cannot wait.

While watering, I noticed that the Mexican Pinyons are putting on new candles, but the Papershell Pinyons aren't. I don't know if that's because the former are more suitable for my habitat or it's just a matter of different species do it at different times or under different circumstances. They both seem healthy though.

Mexican Pinyon

Papershell Pinyon 

Alpine duck frustration

From inside the house this morning I checked to see if the Northern Pintail was still present. Didn't get a good look, but I saw a duck with a lot of white on the breast that I knew wasn't one of our resident ducks, so I contacted a birder who wanted to come see the pintail, if it was still here today. By the time I went outside to confirm, the birder was already on his way and the duck I had seen turned out to be a Northern Shoveler, not the Pintail. Oh well.

There were actually two shovelers present. Ducks may be on the move. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Surprise duck today

Always keeping an eye on the ponds and yard out the window from beside a warm fire. I get excited to see an ordinary bird on days like today... one more species for my day list. So was amazed to see what looked like a Northern Pintail. To be sure, I braved the cold and crept closer to the ponds, hoping I wouldn't flush it. Finally got close enough for a diagnostic photo, and sure enough, that's what it was. I think that's the first one I've had in Alpine, although I have that species on my Brewster County list.

I snapped three photos of it before dashing back indoors, but now wish I would have taken more. One is sharper, one is at a better angle, and one shows the eye best, but I should have gotten one that was good in all three areas. Hopefully lesson learned. Above is the sharpest one, but I don't like the angle. The angle is better on the next one but I cropped it so a branch wouldn't be in the photo.

Such is life!

Wintry weather

I'm mostly staying indoors by the fire. Nothing going on here, bird-wise or otherwise. Before an Arctic blast hit, my son "dried in" his new building. That's about it.

 

Yes, that's snow on the ground.