Hexes in flotation

Got Hugh to go to the oasis with the tank tiles even though the weather is pretty miserable. Cold and foggy mostly.

Hugh tossing tiles into the tank one by one

It remains to be seen how the covering will perform. I have to admit I was disappointed in them. They're hollow and have a dab of water in each one. Or are supposed to. About a third of them had nothing inside. And even those with water should have had at least twice as much water in them so they don't blow away. Time will tell. Also so far they haven't arranged themselves very efficiently, as was claimed they would do. At least I know the evaporation has been reduced a bunch. If they blow out of the tank I'll have to cover it with netting or something.

Be sure to get your 2019 calendar before they're all sold out. The proceeds go to CMO! One month's photo (Lucifer Hummingbird) was taken at the oasis.

https://birdsoftexas.com/product/2019-birds-of-texas-calendar/?fbclid=IwAR0XfBoqXCglKYCg-r1nXxaueKny4Bh6s-eEqOfZ-fVaHXyXVyleU7RHPxo

Real time progress

Finally got the floating tiles today! I'm dying to take them to CMO and put them on the tank but unfortunately, they're too heavy for me to unload. They're in my husband's trailer and he refused to take them down today. Probably won't tomorrow either since we're supposed to get really cold weather. Once I get them down there, I can open the bags and remove them a few at a time. I think both bags together weigh 500 lbs.

Thanks again to all you generous donors for making this exciting purchase possible! This will keep the water in my 11,000 gallon rock tank from evaporating. Can't wait to post photos of them on the tank. I can't use them in my in-ground tanks because those tanks fill automatically during a flash flood. And when the big tank is full, the excess runs back down the arroyo. Once I tried to put up a screen at the spillway into the big tank. It piled up debris coming down the arroyo and totally blocked incoming water. So a screen to keep the tiles from getting out of the tank would also keep water from getting in. Flash floods are uncontrollable dangerous surges that can fill my huge big tank in 8 minutes, bringing tons of debris with it, including huge yuccas, etc.

Warm day

It got up to 85° at the oasis today, which was almost the warmest place in the Big Bend. And the low this morning was 43° which was the same as the coldest place in the Big Bend. It's so weird how the oasis is always among the hottest and the coldest spots.

Not as puny today, so made me a swiveling screed board to tweak the leveling on the tank pad. It was pretty darn level, if I do say so myself. Installation day is a week away.

The rope is so I can drag the board around the pivot post. I stop and check the level every few feet. The part Mike leveled is more level than the part I leveled. I'm not through with my board, but wore out and needed to come to town. The tank tiles were supposed to arrive today, but didn't. Maybe tomorrow.

Here's the paintbrush I re-photographed today. I think it's the Rigid Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja rigida)

Verdins make nests year-round. Here's one I saw today with nesting material.

Puny in a lovely oasis

Came to the oasis to try to do some manicuring around the perimeter of the tank pad. I'm just really not satisfied with the pad, but don't have the energy to fix it. I think more sand should be put on and leveled via a post in the center that a bar can pivot on. Maybe I'll just pay the installation crew to do it right. I took some measurements and it's not as level as it needs to be. A tank guy is coming out the day before installation and assess the situation.

I photographed some lovely Indian Paintbrush in bloom but my photo got corrupted or something and I can't open it. I'll take another tomorrow. Meanwhile, all I ended up with is this Black Swallowtail caterpillar on the rue (ruta graveolens). First I've seen on it this year.

The floating hex tiles are supposed to arrive in Alpine tomorrow, so I'll go back to town after the sand delivery and get them.

Puny and paranoid

After two days of slavery at the oasis I'm feeling puny today. And so paranoid that the pad won't pass inspection that I ordered two more loads of sand instead of one. That will put the amount of sand up to the required amount and even if they don't need it, it'll be worth the money for the peace of mind it'll give me. At least then if the pad isn't thick enough or level enough the material will be there to remedy it. I think I'm fine though, but just if.....

Here's a photo of the finished pad that Michael took yesterday.

Ten more days until installation. I'm starting the countdown...

Just found this on Facebook. This is one reason I fight so hard to preserve the oasis. This is what makes all the agony worthwhile. What can be better than enhancing the lives of others!

Tank pad done

That was a killer of a job. If Michael Gray hadn't come to help when he did today I think I would have had a nervous breakdown. I was so stressed. But he slaved away all day and we got it done. I also had two guys to shovel the sand from the loader bucket into the forms, which was a lifesaver too. It took us all. Mike did the leveling which was so stressful to me I couldn't deal with it anymore. He's a retired engineer. Whew!

Way hard!

I had two helpers lined up to help with putting the finish sand on the pad ... neither showed up, but someone else did. So, being short one man, I became that second helper. The 19 year old boy that showed up wore out about the same time I did, and my husband, who operated the loader, refused to work another minute at about the same time. So we only got about a third of the sand put down.

I have more help lined up for tomorrow, so hopefully we can finish it. Then Monday or Tuesday the  hex tiles are supposed to arrive. Also Tuesday I'm having more sand delivered. I'm told you can't have too much and it would be terrible not to have enough.

Although I didn't have time to watch hummingbirds, I never saw even a quick glimpse of one when previously they were buzzing around all day long. I did hear one, which I presume was an Anna's.

New oasis butterfly species

I was excited today to discover this longtail butterfly as I was ever-so-reluctantly leaving the oasis this afternoon. I thought it was a Zilpa Longtail, which wasn't a new oasis species, but still exciting. So when I got to town and Brian ID'd it as a male Dorantes Longtail, I got excited all over again. It was along my road in a big bushy American Threefold (Trixis californica).

Just had to go service my feeders and start my November lists. Had my first oasis Anna's Hummingbird for the season, plus a pair of Lucifer Hummingbirds, and several Rufous. One archilochus, which I think is a Ruby-throated.

Anna's

Anna's

Rufous Hummingbird

Probably Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Saturday we're going to spread the 2" layer of finish sand. Exciting!

This too shall pass

A cool rainy day in town. Hugh said he heard on the radio that this is the wettest October on record. Wouldn't surprise me.

The company that sells the floating hex tiles to prevent evaporation contacted me that they won't deliver to a residence. They wanted to refund my money. Said they don't like to do little jobs. (Only big million dollar jobs I guess.) But I'm going to try to get them to deliver it to a delivery business in Alpine, since they require a loading dock. A loading dock for a mere 300 lbs, would you believe? So I'll faint dead away if the delivery actually happens this week. I've never used a delivery service, but my son recommended it. It's called Tex Pack of Alpine. I don't want to pay them to actually deliver to me. I want to pick it up there. That's my plan anyway. I'm not going to give up on this. I have to persevere.

Tomorrow I'm going to go to the delivery service with its loading dock and try to arrange delivery there. Then I'm going to CMO to service my hummingbird feeders and get a few hours breather from the city. Probably not warm enough for odes and butterflies, but maybe some interesting birds will show up. It'll be November so I can start my November species lists.

Pressure building

Another month is over and still no tank installed. Today we took my husband's repaired loader down to the oasis and left it by the sand pile.

The plan is to get some help and spread the sand on the pad on Saturday. Then more sand is going to be delivered in a week. That will be for extra padding or leveling if needed, just in case. The installation is scheduled for the 15th of November. I'll have to see it to believe it.

Meanwhile, the tank covering tiles I ordered for the rock tank to prevent evaporation are supposed to be delivered this week. So maybe things will start happening.

I posted this photo on Facebook of more yucca leaving the Big Bend area. I'm amazed at how many comments are so pro-harvesting. Some of the people get real nasty about it.

But it's worth enduring the hateful remarks to know people are being made aware of this anyway. Maybe that'll help things move in a more positive direction sooner. Not optimistic though.

The pioneers confidently slaughtered bison, believing they could never make a dent in their numbers. And the same for other species. Passenger Pigeons come to mind. I do think the United States is better at preventing extinctions these days than many other countries, for what that's worth.