No blog yesterday

I was at the oasis watering yesterday and it was real windy. Guess the wind made me think it wasn't as hot as it was. I got dehydrated (heat exhaustion?) and just collapsed into bed about 6 PM. Didn't brush my teeth or anything. Got up every hour in the night to drink water. Finally recovered. Today I finished watering and came to town.

Took photos at the oasis while watering. My current system is real slow. The new one will be slow (but sure) too, but hopefully not this slow. Nothing forecast except more triple-digit heat. Made me do a lot of thinking.

If I had it to do over I wouldn't plant anything that didn't already grow on my property along the arroyo. That way the trees would be better able to survive with less water, and with more water they'd get big and lush. That list would include Junipers, Soapberries, Hackberries, Desert Willows, Persimmons, Mexican Buckeyes, and Mesquites. I could probably get away with adding some of the native oaks that grow up on the mountain. Currently, these species are all scrubby, but with lots of watering they could make a lovely habitat. They normally grow along the arroyo, then die,or die back, in drought. Therefore they never get very tall. Most of these species have volunteered or been planted at the oasis, but not as tall as they'd be if I had focused on planting and watering them years ago.

But, since I don't get a redo, I'm just going to lean towards not trying too hard to keep the non-native stuff happy. At some point, as they die, one by one, I'll lavish extra water on the native stuff that volunteers to grow in the oasis. I'd also like to clean out lots of the beebrush that comes up everywhere that I water. These are the things I contemplate while watering. And these are the pictures I take while watering.

Varied Bunting on feeder

Brown-headed Cowbird

San Luis House Finch (H. mexicanus potosinus)

Juvenile Blue Grosbeak

Cactus Wren (first year I've seen one at the feeder)

Lucifer Hummingbird adult male (seeing juveniles around lately)

Scaled Quail

Final Post Park play day

Tomorrow I have to bite the bullet and go water at the oasis. Today was around 110° there. I'm really not looking forward to it. I hope the cottonwood still has some leaves on it.

Meanwhile, at Marathon, once again I glimpsed the Streak-backed Oriole but didn't get a photo. It was fun sharing the quest with some enthusiastic birders though.  Among the many birds I photographed, here's a juvenile Golden-fronted Woodpecker. Taken at a great distance, so a bit grainy.

Back in Alpine I snapped a couple of pics of the Great Horned Owl that lives in the big pecan tree...

A recently fledged Western Kingbird.

And our one remaining duckling, almost full-grown now....

Lotuses blooming

Post Park post

I can't seem to resist going to the Post Park lately. It's fun to be there with other birders and I do want a better photo of the Streak-backed Oriole. I didn't make up my mind about going until about 8:30 AM. By the time I got there, there were a couple of noisy parties with dogs. They left after a little while, but no birders showed up. Having the place to myself, I soon spied a raccoon entering a trash can. I guess he thought he was alone too.

Before long, picnickers arrived. Around 11:30 I saw the oriole fly into the foliage of the cottonwood tree that I've seen it frequent most. Only this time it didn't pause in the open for photos. I walked around the tree a bit trying to get a better look at it with no luck. Soon it flew off to the north across the pond and I lost sight of it.

Enjoyed seeing a Zone-tailed Hawk being harassed by kingbirds (I think). I would've just thought it was a Turkey Vulture if not for the harassers. They knew it wasn't.

Shortly after noon I decided to head back to Alpine when a couple of parties of birders showed up. I read their ebird checklists later and they did see and photograph the oriole. I'm getting so behind on work in town, but if I do go tomorrow, I'll plan to get there earlier.

Yesterday

When I was coming to town yesterday I saw a huge fire flare up just east of Nine Point Mesa (maybe at Cedar Springs). It died down quicker than if it had been a lightning fire. So I'm sure someone ignored the county wide burn ban. Scary! This photo taken from my gate.

I got to town mid-afternoon after being out in the heat watering all morning. Did my usual things. Catch up on housework, fill feeders, etc here in town. Went to bed at my normal time. Woke up at 4 AM this morning with a bad headache. I knew that meant I was dehydrated. Couldn't find my water bottle that I carry everywhere with me. It was still in my pickup! That meant I hadn't drunk a drop for over 12 hours. (I don't drink anything except water.) Shocking! I went out to my pickup and retrieved it and drank as much as I could. Finally got back to sleep. Should not be doing that. I hardly ever feel thirsty, so have to make an effort to remember to drink water.

I had promised myself a birding trip to Post Park in Marathon and did not want to get up at the early hour I had planned. But I knew I'd be OK once I got moving. At the park I didn't see the birds I hoped to, but enjoyed the company of other birders there. Didn't take any good photos. A pair of Scissortail Flycatchers was a treat. I seldom get one at the oasis.

Another watering over

It took a long time to water the last couple of days but got it done and back in town. I bought a reducer for my 2" pump so may be able to speed up watering in the future. Poor oasis is suffering but at least I still have water to dole out to it. Except the native stuff. Sure hope my hackberry thicket recovers.

The mesquites don't seem to mind. They're sagging under the weight of beans.

Saw my first Neon Skimmer for the year. They always like the back water feature with the drip. Except with my pump issues, no more drip or water there. But while watering today I put some water in the little horsetail pond back there and in no time at all a Neon Skimmer showed up.

A worn Black Witch moth hung out on the horsetails too.

Haven't given up yet

Down to the oasis to water today. Things here are bleak and bleaker. Not giving up. Watering is a slow process with my little pump in the big tank but at least there's water there still. I took a break when it got to 104.° Will finish tomorrow.

Here's a motivated Curve-billed Thrasher, out in the heat of the day gathering nesting material.

Duck's life

Our ducks have a safe place to live here as far as humans are concerned, but I worry about things like snakes, hawks, and owls. Today the ducks were foraging under the big pecan tree while a Great Horned Owl was perched directly above them. And of course baby duck goes right along with the adults.

Baby on left

The habitat today.

As covid cases are rising precipitously (22 as of now) in Alpine, I'm wearing my shield religiously.

________________________

7:30 PM. Here's a shot of the radar at the oasis right now. Maybe we'll get a little shower out of this.

9 PM - My sister called and said we jut got a few drops but good rain in the distance. Maybe tomorrow. I have to go water tomorrow. Can't take a chance.

Alpine shower

Even though no rain at the oasis, at least when we get a nice shower in town it doesn't feel as hopeless.

After the shower a Great Horned Owl came out of the pecan trees and preened.

All bathed and beautiful again

There's only one duckling left. This is one of the adults. I can't tell them apart. Not sure what mix they are but look good for Mexican Duck in my opinion.

Covid closing in

As of today Brewster County has 11 confirmed cases of Corona virus. I need to be more diligent here.

Common Raven

The electrician showed up this morning just like he said he would. He says the pump in the stucco tank is bad. And it probably is, since it hasn't worked properly for years, but replacing the pump won't solve the problem. Been there, done that. Even had the well service check one that didn't work in my tank and it checked out fine.

So I've decided to do something radically different. I'm going to install a trash pump in the tank, 115V instead of the 220v, and bypass the pressure tank. For several years now I've had to turn on both faucets to keep the pump from building up pressure and cutting off, so it won't be different by controlling when it comes on and off, instead of waiting for it to come on. The problem will be how to keep my drips going. Can't do that if I only have pressure when the pump is running. Thinking about running a drip from the new above ground tank. It's that or no drips. I don't want to use a trash pump to build up pressure, cutting on and off all the time. I need to keep things simple.

And I don't know how much pressure will build up in my water lines. The trash pump has a 2" discharge @ 10 GPM. But when it's reduced down to 1 or 1½" to accommodate my pipe system, and is pumped up 15 feet from the tank bottom, I have no idea how much pressure I'll end up with. Guess we'll find out.  I'm through with 220v well pumps, that I know.

Less gloomy today

I hooked up my little pump and tried it on the outlet and it worked so didn't use the generator. I accidentally discovered that when I turn off the breaker to the pump (that isn't working) in the stucco tank then the outlet at the big tank works with my little pump. Crazy! Electrician assures me he'll be here early in the morning. So I watered. It's an ordeal, but preferable to the stress of not watering. The deer hang out at the tank a lot these days.

Last year on this date I listed my 57th butterfly species for the year at the oasis. Today I logged my 35th species, so you can see how far behind this year is.

Mexican Yellow

Also saw an amberwing that didn't look right for an Eastern, but doubt it could be anything else. First Eastern Amberwing I've ever seen without the chevron pattern on the abdomen.