Saved myself from myself

The weather was perfect this morning and I felt ready to tackle the tank again, but came to town instead. Afraid I was still not recovered from my "cold" and would end up with pneumonia. That usually happens to me when I overwork on the heels of a cold. It's been years since I've had a cold or anything, so I didn't want to take a chance. Next week I'm going to finish the tank.

Remember a couple of years ago my husband had a bad batch of deer feed that I spread on the ground? Well, now he has a bad batch of corn, so one by one, I'm going to dump it on the ground beneath the feeder. I hope it doesn't attract too many javelina.

Nights get below freezing more often than not, and I'm wondering if that's the cause of the red spots on these leaves. They may be weeds, but I call them wildflowers.

Four hummers, four species

I only saw four hummers today (that I know of) and all were a different species. I guess the biggest surprise was the female Anna's, because I thought they had all left weeks ago. I only saw her fly-catching briefly this morning and not at a feeder, so here is the only shot I could get of her.

The Black-chinned tried out the apricot blooms before going to the feeders. He did a lot of displaying but I never saw a female Black-chinned. He was too fast for me to catch him with his bill inside a blossom.

I've already posted too many pics of Rufous and Lucifers, but they were the other two species I saw today.

The weather was lovely so it was difficult for me to not overwork myself, but hopefully, I didn't. 

I optimistically toted a couple of citrus to my new citruseria. It's a start.

Front- Kumquat (Meiwa), Back- Toothache tree (Zanthoxylum hirsutum)

Yuck!

I left Alpine way before daylight this morning, then at the edge of town, I realized I forgot my cell phone, so went back after it. It was so cold and windy that I considered just staying in town. There was no chance I'd accomplish much at the oasis. Additionally, I had a sore throat and a lot of congestion in my lungs, still from my getting rundown overworking. But even all things considered, I couldn't wait to get "home" to the oasis.

The wind had created quite a lot of dust in the air, making visibility low, and not helping my respiration any.

When I arrived at the oasis and saw the sun come up, it took a while to realize it was the sun and not the moon I was seeing.

I used to take March winds for granted, and always hated March for that reason. But with the advent of weather forecasts, which for today predicted the winds would abate in the afternoon, I was really disappointed when they didn't. 

Birders are scheduled for tomorrow so hopefully the weather will be good. And hopefully I'll feel like getting more work done. I'm so close to finishing that tank. When I started I wasn't sure if that could happen, but now I know I can do it. Even though a large area remains to be coated, it's an area that doesn't leak, or doesn't leak much, so a thin coat should suffice. I'm so ready to get it done with.

Winter's back

Probably just as well, otherwise I would have overdone myself again today, and I fear it could have been bad. Not feeling so well.

Here are photos showing yesterday's progress, and then back to the fire and stir-fry for me.

Overloaded myself

I was planning on coming to CMO early tomorrow morning, but got really impatient and came down this afternoon. I have all my energy mornings but thought I'd try to do a little on the tank since the weather was so perfect. You add the Thoroseal to water, not the other way around. I don't know what I was thinking, but I added some to about 2½ gallons of water, then it took 2½ gallons of the powder to get the mix right, so I ended up having to spread 5 gallons of the stuff. My record for one day, with break and nap in between, was 3 gallons a day. Couldn't waste it though, so I persevered. It helped that I borrowed my husband's electric mixing paddle (actually, that's what got me in trouble because I would have started with a one gallon can if not for the paddle). Also I think the floor is a bit easier on my shoulder. I hadn't cleaned a large enough area and had to hurry before the stuff set up, so a little dirt got mixed in. I hope the Thoroseal is a bit forgiving in that. Picture tomorrow. Didn't have my iphone with me. I only brought 10 gallons of Thoroseal, sure that it would be enough to finish the floor, but that 5 gallons today barely made a dent. Gonna take about 15 gallons more to finish, so I'll order 2 more buckets tomorrow. That floor is huge. Photos don't really show how big that tank is. I promised myself I'd take the day off from the tank tomorrow to let my painful shoulder rest.

So, of course, no time to bird or anything. I filled the seed feeders and noticed lots of blooms.

Apricot tree

Mexican Redbud

Also saw both male and female Lucifer Hummingbirds. It must be spring. Even the mesquites are starting to leaf out. That's a good indication.

Never-ending winter

That's what I heard it called on the news, and it seemed perfectly appropriate. I can attest that it's even worse in Alpine. At least today was nice at CMO. It's hard to tell on this photo what is what. What appears to be water is actually sky (sunrise), with a dark band of clouds above it. That vertical line in the lower sky area is a utility pole. Kind of an optical illusion.

I finished the walls. The floor is at least patched, so if the tank was to fill up, it should hold water. Actually, we do have a chance for rain this weekend, but doubt it'll amount to anything. Never know, though. Tanks did all fill once in January. And with this crazy erratic weather, it's anybody's guess.

The above photo is looking south, so the wall I finished coating was in the shade. I won't be able to work on the floor for about a week due to visitors coming, starting Saturday when I plan on getting back down there. I know it's going to be scalding on that floor very soon, but I'll do it all in the early morning hours, so I don't worry about that.

And had 5 visiting Green-winged Teal today. That headband really was green. Don't know why it looks so blue on this photo. I didn't do anything to it.

Crammed in all I could today

Another perfect day. Just charge it to my account. I'll pay for it sooner or later. Probably sooner. It started out at 24° again, and I fretted all day because I didn't see the Lucifer Hummingbird early this morning. I was sure with hurricane force winds all night and the cold, after his long journey, he just succumbed to the elements. Finally saw him late afternoon, and I think there were two. Saw the selasphorus early AM, but not again all day. Maybe he left when the wind stopped blowing. Yes, it actually was calm today.

Then, while I'm on the subject of hummers, I heard a Black-chinned display briefly, but could not see a BCHU. Unwavering in what I had heard, I was gratified to finally see him around the time the Lucifers came in. They had a little territory dispute, naturally. I didn't even think about taking photos. Just glad to see Lucifers. My shoulder wouldn't carry my big lens around by late afternoon after working in the tank all day. Tomorrow I'll do what I can, then go to town for a couple of days.

The tank. I decided to coat a thin coat higher in the tank where it doesn't leak, just to protect the concrete. Well, when I thinned the Drylok, it was messy and dribbled down the area I had stained red. So I coated it too. Then my sister held the ladder while I finished everything I couldn't reach without one. It will take 3 gallons to finish the walls, but don't know if my shoulder will let me do it in the morning. May have to wait a few days. I think the floor will be a little easier on my shoulder. I hope.

Looking north

Looking south

Forecast is for warm tonight, freeze tomorrow night. Ah, but I repeat myself!

Perfect day price tag!

Yup, 80° yesterday afternoon, and 24° this morning. Enough to make me crazy. I'm just blundering through. Too cold to do coating in the tank, so I worked a while on cleaning the walls. I have to scrub them with a steel brush before I apply the coating so I'm usually worn out before I get started with the paint brush. You're actually supposed to power wash the walls, but that's not an option. Here's a photo after I cleaned to the right of the broom/shovel, and didn't yet do the left side. You'll probably have to click on the photo to see the difference. Any chance for the coating to bond with the tank is essential.

That Ringtail hangs out at the feeders. I think its only handicap is being blind in one eye. Can anyone tell what might have caused this? I wonder how long he can subsist on birdseed.

The sound of spring

A flock of about 40 Sandhill Cranes flew over headed north, though they seemed to be having second thoughts, maybe confronting a wall of cold air between here and Alpine.

They got out of formation and hung around reconnoitering.

 It was 80° here, but I had just talked to my husband in Alpine, and he said it was really cold there, so he was building a fire. The cranes rose higher until I lost track of them.

 It's supposed to get down below freezing tonight. I'm going to put a heat lamp under the apricot tree. Might make the difference, though it's only partially blooming.

And I saw my first Lucifer Hummingbird of the year just before dark. Unfortunately, I didn't expect anything to show up so late in the day and didn't have my camera on me. By the time I got to the camera, he was gone.

The injured Ringtail was bopping around at the oasis like a normal Ringtail, except he came up to me and sniffed my feet then went a ways away. He later climbed a tree. Hopefully, he'll recover. He's obviously blind in one eye and his ear on that side doesn't function right.

For those who can still stand to look at the tank, I made some progress today, pushing myself, since it's supposed to be colder tomorrow.

First shot is from south side, looking north, and the last one is from the north side, looking south. I used up the last of the gray Thoroseal today, so the rest of the floor will be white.

Can't stay away from CMO

Driving down mid-afternoon, there were interesting clouds that looked like rain, but the forecast was no rain. (At dark we actually did get a few sprinkles.)

I was eager to get to work in order to salvage the day and forgot to put concrete adhesive in the patching mixture. So I'm going to re-coat it tomorrow to be on the safe side. 

The air in the house is heavy with the aroma of orange blossoms.

And at the oasis, the peach and apricot trees are blooming, ready or not. Here's the peach tree being enjoyed by a Pipevine Swallowtail.