Always more work!

It seems when one project is completed, one, or two, more pops up. Maybe because of the November earthquake centered near Pecos, and felt throughout Brewster Co, the stucco tank has some bad new cracks. When the tank gets empty in a couple of months, I'll have to patch them.

The first photo may look like the worst potential leak, but actually, it's on bedrock and wouldn't be as bad as the second photo. That's where there's no rock behind the wall, just fill dirt, and it's the critical area. But I'm experienced at patching the tank. It won't be a problem at this time. The problem comes when the ground behind the wall fills with water during a monsoon before the tank is yet full. The tank can withstand outward pressure, but not pressure coming from behind.

Meanwhile, except for installation, Lee's part of the new feeder is basically done. Now I'm eager to paint it, but the weather is too cold. Saturday (Feb 4) will probably be the earliest I can do it, since I want to paint a complicated camo pattern on it with spray paint. Another exercise in patience (think Hep C treatment here). Here's a look at the cone/shunt in the back inside to direct the seed toward the ports. (Gonna get a little caulking yet)

You can be sure that I'll post photos of the first birds to use the feeder. And I have a new game cam that I hope will capture any bear that tries to raid it.

Oasis work day

Got to the oasis around 9 AM. Spent the morning spreading the mulch that I got last week. My son had taken a load of it down there but I had told him to just pile it up near the pine trees and I'd spread it to suit me. By the time I got that done, and feeders serviced, I was ready for a nap. 

But I needed to water and get back to town, so didn't take a nap. I feel I should be near cell service on weekdays in case the doctor or insurance company calls me. Don't want to delay progress. But today was Sunday, so I wasn't concerned.

I enjoyed photographing a Hermit Thrush and Townsend's Solitaire at the water drip. Good birds for the oasis, for the middle of winter. That drip really attracts birds.

 

And it got up to 75° today!

Many of you know that I'm an artist, as is my son Lee. I especially treasure the wonderful things he creates for the oasis. (Pics of the finished feeder coming very soon now.)

But none of you know that my late father was a special artist too. Dad created "junk art" before it was a thing, like 50 years ago. Nothing like it had been in existence anywhere, as far as anyone could ascertain. Now the market is replete with junk art, but none of it is in the league with my dad's. He never copyrighted it, nor did he sell it. He just enjoyed making it and giving it to family or friends. I have one somewhere that I'll take a photo of, but here are a couple in my sister's possession. I don't think dad even knew he was talented.

Things are coming together

Regarding my Hep C treatment, here's an email I got today from the specialty pharmacy. It's my understanding approval may take a week or two, but up to this point, everyone has done their part (including me). We have good insurance, so I don't anticipate a long delay, but it's not over till it's over.

The new bear-proof feeder is nearly done.  First photo is the front, with lid handle, and lock. The four ports will all be visible from the viewing blind. No ports or perches are behind the feeder. Inside each port is a hood to keep the seed from trickling out of the feeder on its own. The paint is primer. I'll be painting it a camo green color soon.

Next photo is a side view. The bottom wheel, which is welded to the tank, will sit on the ground atop a big metal post that will be concreted 3' deep. No way will a bear be able to pull it over, or lift it off the post.

Many days of welding and labor went into building this, but almost no expense otherwise. Instead of struggling with the pulley system when there's a bucket full of seed I'm trying to hoist, I'll just lift the lid and fill it up. (There'll be a shunt inside to guide the seed toward the ports.)

And equally wonderful, the birds won't be feeding nine feet up in the air. Instead, they'll be close to the ground for great photos and viewing. Win-win!

This morning I stopped by Kokernot Park to check on the Lewis's Woodpecker that's been overwintering there and got a surprise Pine Warbler. Unfortunately, I didn't know what it was until I downloaded my photos hours later. I had figured it must be a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, even though it didn't really act like one. When birds flit around inside trees, I can't ID them because my eye focus isn't that fast anymore, plus poor lighting. So by the time I knew what it was, I went back looking for it to get a better shot, but didn't see it again. Here's all I got, and lucky to even have that. It's not a life bird for me, but rare enough that I'm thrilled to see one. And would sure love to get a better photo of one.

Progress report

My Hep C treatment plan has been approved by the review board. I'm to take Mavyret for two months. Now I'm just waiting on my doctor to get the prescription to the pharmacy, and the insurance approval. At least I think that's all I'm waiting on. Today, I also had the ultrasound, but no results from that yet.

Meanwhile, my son is working on the new bear-proof feeder.

I like to visualize him enjoying the project, so I said something to make him laugh before snapping the next photo. I said something about how everyone is going to want one of his unique bear-proof creations.

This was a water heater. It's going to be awesome when it's all beautified and operational. My biggest concern is the ports. They have to be bear-proof, but not bird-proof. 

Still needs the perches, lock on lid, and paint. Then the post cemented into the ground, but the hard part is done.

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UPDATE: Doctor called and said the prescription has been called into our pharmacy, but when I called the pharmacy, they said it has to go through a specialized pharmacy because of the cost of the drug. So there's still a bunch of red tape to go through yet, mainly regarding the insurance.

But some good news. My ultrasound was good. No cancer or cirrhosis (scarring), just steatosis.

Delicate balance

I like to keep our Alpine ponds easily accessible to birders, yet keep out the local playground crowds. I hate having to padlock it, since I run in and out many times daily, at times. So I had a sign saying, "Birders only." That didn't do a bit of good. The frolickers just tell me they like birds, if I say anything. (I've never met anyone that didn't like birds.) I doubt they understand the meaning of "birder."

A couple of days ago, I saw a woman trying to show her toddler how to throw rocks into the water, while her older son was happily tossing rocks into a pond. I went out and told her it was private property and they couldn't throw rocks in the water. As she left, she said she didn't know it was private property. I mentioned the sign says "birders only," and they weren't "birders." So I realized, even though her back yard most likely doesn't state "private property" on it; no one's in town does that I have seen, I needed to add yet another sign to the collection on the gate.

Today as I was going in and out, moving the water hose, I found a bunch of fist sized rocks near one pond that hadn't been there before. I hope I got them all picked up. My husband has a fit if he hits one with a mower. I'm not sure where the rocks originate. I know I had some artfully arranged ones at the water's edge of one pond for birds to perch on and drink from. Then contractors put up new utility poles all over town, which unearthed rocks that ended up being piled at the bases of the poles. One of the rocks today was so heavy it took both my hands to pick it up.

Ironically, some birders just bird from the alley outside the gate, not sure whether going inside is allowed. Most birders know it's fine to go in though.

In a few short weeks migration will begin and all this aggravation will be forgotten! Lee unloaded the mulch at the oasis today. Gonna take another pickup load down next week. Mulching is very important for habitat and birds. Well worth the trouble!

Beyond the physical

I'll never be able to understand things like quantum physics, nor do I see a purpose in my life for me to understand. But I do believe, just because man understands hardly anything of the universe and how it works, that doesn't mean unknown universal powers can't affect our lives. Like positive attitudes, gratitude, and stuff like that. It's hard not to believe some "divine" power caused my new young doctor to do a Hep C test that neither of us would dream could be positive. I had no symptoms.

Beyond that, in all my frustration over seemingly hopeless delays and lack of knowledge, I felt compelled to share the situation here on this blog. In the midst of my stress and desperation, a follower connected me to just what I needed.... access to an expert that I could talk to about it any time, and get the advice I need. I'm no longer stressed over it. I feel like I have a guardian angel holding my hand through the whole process. I'm so grateful! Hopefully, treatment will commence soon!

I'm also full of gratitude for the donations and assistance I receive to keep the oasis going. It takes a community! Just this morning I received a pickup load of mulch for the oasis, and the donor even loaded it for me!

My son will unload it tomorrow. I'm thrilled that at nearly 83 years old I can still keep the oasis going. Not planning to slow down any time soon. 

Farther afield

Birding around CMO and the Alpine area has gotten dull, so when there were Long-eared Owls in Midland, I finagled to ride with a birder friend to go see them. Yesterday we ended up birding from daylight until dark. The air was chilly, so I feared I might get sick. But I'm not really any worse for the wear, and saw lots of good birds, including the owls.

Not a lifer, but didn't have Long-eared Owl pics before yesterday. They're impossible to locate without someone helping who knows where they're hanging out, so I arranged for my good friend Russ Rogers to lead us to them. Thanks, Russ! Here's a photo Russ had taken of one of them. I especially love this photo because it makes the bird look real skinny. That's actually a camouflage technique. 

Day before yesterday I serviced feeders and did some watering at CMO. A visiting birder (Pat Dwyer) dug the hole for the new bear-proof feeder. I'm so excited for when the feeder will be functioning! Thanks, Pat!

The chairs on top were just something handy to cover the hole for now. Seemed like the right thing to do. When the pole is ready, I'll cement it in. Lee is just super busy lately, and I told him there's no big rush. The old feeder with the extension is working fine. I plan on using both feeders, if possible. Always a work in progress. 

Hard to believe Lucifers will be back in six weeks!

Watering day

Still have a very sore throat from Covid, but felt I really needed to do some watering at CMO. Arrived around 8 AM. The feeder was still hanging. YAY! I measured the distance from the bottom of the feeder to the ground and it was over 9 feet. Surely, no black bear in the Big Bend can reach that high. I'm also excited about the new bear proof low feeder Lee is building. He's very busy, so has to do a bit here and there, but no big urgency now that this one is bear-proof. For real this time! It's extremely hard for me to refill, so needs to be a temporary solution.

I watered until around 9:30 AM, then took a short nap and watered another 1½ hours. That should be enough for this time of year until I get more well. While watering, I enjoyed watching a huge flock of Lark Buntings in their winter plumage. I'd estimate as many as one hundred. It's been quite a few years since I've seen large flocks of them at the oasis like we've had this winter.

Also there's still a Hermit Thrush hanging around the back water drip. I love it when birds think the oasis is a good place to spend the winter.

Of course, raptors take notice of the bounty, and hang around too. I saw two Cooper's Hawks and two Red-tailed Hawks. Hard for me to get decent shots of them in flight, but I always try. Might get lucky one of these days.

A House Wren got into the potty shed, but flew out as soon as I propped the door open. If I hadn't, after I left it would have found its way out! Wrens are good about that.

Feeder and stuff

Bear Dec 24 at sister's waterhole

My son went down today and rehung the feeder, this time a foot higher. For sure, that should work for now, until he gets the new feeder made. It's hard to tell from this next photo comparison, but the first photo was taken late August, before the bucket was raised to where it was hanging almost from the top of the pole, thus at about an 8 foot above ground level. On the second photo, taken today, the bottom of the bucket is just barely below the top of the 4" pipe. There's an extension above the pipe. So I feel certain the bucket is a minimum of 9 feet above the ground now and out of the reach of bears. But we shall see. There's plan B, so not to worry.

Eventually, I won't be able to hoist this current feeder, if I can even do it now that it's raised, but we're still working out a few details on the new feeder that he's begun building. Mainly, since it's going to be close to the ground within a bear's reach, how to be sure a bear can't poke a claw into a port and laboriously scoop out all the seed. I've seen bees empty a feeder by shoveling the seed out, and some birds can shovel out an unbelievable amount, creating big piles of seed on the ground. Our current ports only work when they're above a bear's reach. So that's the main concern. Covid and cold weather have slowed us down, but I'm relieved to be feeding birds again. I'm reluctant to cut off the pole until we're sure the new feeder ports are bear proof. In all other regards, it will be impenetrable.

I'm dealing with another health issue, unrelated to Covid. My young new doctor wanted to do some routine tests that I went along with about a month ago. Turns out I have chronic Hepatitis C and had to have had for 40 or more years. I was shocked since I've never used a drug, or even smoked a cigarette of any kind in my life. (Never did alcohol, coffee, or caffeine either.) Wracked my brain trying to figure out how I got it. I had a blood transfusion about 45-50 years ago, back in the day when blood wasn't tested for stuff. (HIV didn't even exist in those days.) Have to get a bunch more tests done, to rule out cancer, etc., but the slowness of the process drives me nuts. I want to start treatment asap and they say, if I don't hear from them in a couple of months to call them. OMG! Really? I suppose a few months more after such a long time doesn't matter, but it matters to me. I feel fine other than the last two or three years I've had a mysterious pain in the back. Not sure if it's because of my worn out disks, but doubt it. The doctor said liver pain could present in the back. She's a new doctor and I'm her first Hep C patient. It is curable, and I'll have to take a daily pill (I think) for two months. No big deal. For more technical details, my liver is damaged to a stage 3 out of a possible 4, the latter being full blown cirrhosis. But I'm basically healthy and feel good. My liver is functioning pretty much normally. The virus load is about 3 million, which seems high to me, but doctor says it's average. And the only other possible source that I can come up with, and believe me I've tried, is around 1980 I went to someone's house and got permanent makeup tattooed on. Did that 3 times, before I gave up because it never stayed on me (eyeliner and lip liner). I always hated wearing makeup and it was a fad at the time. The woman was busy and probably didn't properly sterilize her needles. When I was young and poor I had dental problems and eventually had my teeth all pulled (now replaced with implants), but some of those dentists were real sleazy. All I could afford while raising four kids on my own. The bottom line, I'll never know where I got it.

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UPDATE: Further liver tests showed my liver to be fine.