March 1, 2020
I left Houston around 4:20 A.M at 65 ° and made it to Amarillo just in time to meet the cold front with a few bands of swirling snow. By the next morning, as I was leaving just before dawn, it was 19°. My trip soon slowed as I had to stop and admire the scenery, and eat breakfast and do other piddling things. I stopped to take a picture of the pass and had two 18 wheelers pass me. I passed one and was completely blinded as it blew muddy snow on me. I had to stop in Alamosa for groceries and for a car wash to get the mud and salt off my car.
Instead of getting to my house about 1:00 P.M., I got there closer to 3:00P.M. I was shocked to see that my gate was locked and I didn't have a key. Everyone was in a meeting and I didn't get any answers as to how to proceed. Finally my boss texted me back and told me to go to the Monte Vista office, and pick up all my keys. I also figured out what the code for the coded lock might me. I was able to get in about an hour before dark.
I'm used to having a pair of owls in my yard, so didn't pay much attention to the big bird sitting in one of the dead trees. But when I got down my quarter mile driveway, I noticed the white head and tail of an adult bald eagle. This was the first time I've had an eagle as a yard bird. (And I saw it again on Sunday, when I went home for lunch.
I was too tired to do much more than bring in the essentials and wash my sheet I'd left on the bed. I must have forgotten to unset a mouse trap and found a dead mouse which I left out for the grateful yellow billed magpies. I had to stop once more to enjoy my welcoming home sunset over the San Juan Mountains.
I spent most of Thursday getting moved in and making some soup. I did a little cleaning on the local vault toilets, and hauled a truck load of trash to recycling in Alamosa. And I did have to stop by to check out the sandhill cranes. All the crane pictures are within a mile of my house.
Friday my boss was back at the office so I went over to meet here and get a few assignments. I also got back on federal e-mail. I was really excited that she had activated my security card and I didn't have to make an appointment and drive to get it. (Some years, that is an all day job. ) Then I spent a few hours at the library to use their Wi-Fi to start to clean up my drives and start new folders for this year. I also found the folder of signs I had made from last year and forwarded them to her for printing for festival use. I left her with a whole list of jobs, including more hauling, shutting down the hunting areas of both refuges, and doing some chores for our Crane Festival which happens next weekend.
Saturday I left home at 6:30 A.M. so I could be out at the magic hours for photography while shutting down the hunt areas, collecting signs, picking up trash, and cleaning bathrooms. I attempted to clean a bathroom in the hunt area and found my spray was FROZEN. I put it inside the truck to thaw and then stopped at the Alalmosa Visitor Center a few hours later to clean the two vault toilets. They were filthy, so I made a strong mix of Simple Green inside the Visitor Center. I found the spray from the bottle was freezing to the toilet unless I worked really fast. The mixture I made to scrub the toilets worked a little better. But when I I attempted to scrub the floors, it froze into a muddy mush that I had to sweep.out. I found I had made a skating rink, so had to put on more water on and swept it out really fast, then scrubbed with the broom and swept out more mush. Then I had to repeat a few more times until I was pretty sure no one would die. So a ten minute job turned into a half hour one. And I thought I had learned everything about cleaning bathrooms in my decades of cleaning them. I was wrong.
After cleaning the vault toilet, I took the long way home along the Rio Grand River which delineates the eastern side of the refuge. That took forever because of all my forced stops to take pictures. This is our prettiest area.
I finished the work at Alamosa and came back to Monte Vista to look for some buckets and signs for the Festival. I stopped to haul some barriers from Alamosa to the Monte Vista shop, which is the staging area for the festival. Then I decided I was hungry and needed to roast the chicken that had been patiently waiting for two days. After a delicious lunch, I absolutely needed a nap. I slept so hard, that the Friend's President came and left me money to go shopping for her without me ever noticing until I found her message last night.
This morning, I continued shutting down the Monte Vista hunt areas. I had four separate areas. On the map I thought I could drive from one to the next inside the refuge. But after two slightly hairy failed, attempts, I had to go around by the highway. There I found several problems, including some broken gates hat kept me from actually securing the sites. At the final site, I found, instead of two hunt signs to remove, there were thirty. I finally got finished at nearly noon and went home to cook a cauliflower and eat leftover roast chicken and sweet potato.
Then I drove back to Alamosa to edit pictures and write this blog. Its's a hard job, but somebody has to do it. . It's a hard job, but somebody has to do it. We'll all be working like crazy to get everything ready for the festival. I'll be supervising the loudspeaker equipment on several bus tours and having lots of fun. Next week's blog will be late since I'll work through mid afternoon on Sunday and the last few hours will involve hauling boxes, chairs, and tables. I'll probably work eleven days straight and then take off a couple of days to catch up.
I left Houston around 4:20 A.M at 65 ° and made it to Amarillo just in time to meet the cold front with a few bands of swirling snow. By the next morning, as I was leaving just before dawn, it was 19°. My trip soon slowed as I had to stop and admire the scenery, and eat breakfast and do other piddling things. I stopped to take a picture of the pass and had two 18 wheelers pass me. I passed one and was completely blinded as it blew muddy snow on me. I had to stop in Alamosa for groceries and for a car wash to get the mud and salt off my car.
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| At the beginning of the pass into San Luis Valley from the east |
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| My car after getting through the pass |
Instead of getting to my house about 1:00 P.M., I got there closer to 3:00P.M. I was shocked to see that my gate was locked and I didn't have a key. Everyone was in a meeting and I didn't get any answers as to how to proceed. Finally my boss texted me back and told me to go to the Monte Vista office, and pick up all my keys. I also figured out what the code for the coded lock might me. I was able to get in about an hour before dark.
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| Almost Home, Sweet, Home - View from my driveway gate, a quarter of a mile away |
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| Actually home, only two hours later |
I'm used to having a pair of owls in my yard, so didn't pay much attention to the big bird sitting in one of the dead trees. But when I got down my quarter mile driveway, I noticed the white head and tail of an adult bald eagle. This was the first time I've had an eagle as a yard bird. (And I saw it again on Sunday, when I went home for lunch.
 |
| "My" yard eagle |
I was too tired to do much more than bring in the essentials and wash my sheet I'd left on the bed. I must have forgotten to unset a mouse trap and found a dead mouse which I left out for the grateful yellow billed magpies. I had to stop once more to enjoy my welcoming home sunset over the San Juan Mountains.
 |
| Sunset over the San Juan Mountains |
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| Reflected sunset on the Sangre de Christi mountains to the east |
I spent most of Thursday getting moved in and making some soup. I did a little cleaning on the local vault toilets, and hauled a truck load of trash to recycling in Alamosa. And I did have to stop by to check out the sandhill cranes. All the crane pictures are within a mile of my house.
 |
| Evening experiences of Colorado geese - they are flying in from other fields to roost with the cranes |
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| Many cranes were still feeding in our overview site |
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| Flying in |
Friday my boss was back at the office so I went over to meet here and get a few assignments. I also got back on federal e-mail. I was really excited that she had activated my security card and I didn't have to make an appointment and drive to get it. (Some years, that is an all day job. ) Then I spent a few hours at the library to use their Wi-Fi to start to clean up my drives and start new folders for this year. I also found the folder of signs I had made from last year and forwarded them to her for printing for festival use. I left her with a whole list of jobs, including more hauling, shutting down the hunting areas of both refuges, and doing some chores for our Crane Festival which happens next weekend.
Saturday I left home at 6:30 A.M. so I could be out at the magic hours for photography while shutting down the hunt areas, collecting signs, picking up trash, and cleaning bathrooms. I attempted to clean a bathroom in the hunt area and found my spray was FROZEN. I put it inside the truck to thaw and then stopped at the Alalmosa Visitor Center a few hours later to clean the two vault toilets. They were filthy, so I made a strong mix of Simple Green inside the Visitor Center. I found the spray from the bottle was freezing to the toilet unless I worked really fast. The mixture I made to scrub the toilets worked a little better. But when I I attempted to scrub the floors, it froze into a muddy mush that I had to sweep.out. I found I had made a skating rink, so had to put on more water on and swept it out really fast, then scrubbed with the broom and swept out more mush. Then I had to repeat a few more times until I was pretty sure no one would die. So a ten minute job turned into a half hour one. And I thought I had learned everything about cleaning bathrooms in my decades of cleaning them. I was wrong.
 |
| Gotta shut this gate and drive through the back roads. The signs were not as described, so I'll have to bring back tools and do this all over again. Yea. |
After cleaning the vault toilet, I took the long way home along the Rio Grand River which delineates the eastern side of the refuge. That took forever because of all my forced stops to take pictures. This is our prettiest area.
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| The Rio Grande with Mt. Blanca in the background |
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| The river had interesting ice forms from breakup in some places |
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| I found lots of Canada geese - there were two bufflehead here but they dived and disappeared |
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| I had to stop and take pictures of the beauty at every bend |
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| Eagles are moving through here now- - there is one juvenile here - one tree held six |
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| This was the way I usually saw eagles - can you find three? |
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| I saw a few sparrows to far to identify them - this looks like a Savanah |
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| I was surprised to find a singing western meadowlark |
I finished the work at Alamosa and came back to Monte Vista to look for some buckets and signs for the Festival. I stopped to haul some barriers from Alamosa to the Monte Vista shop, which is the staging area for the festival. Then I decided I was hungry and needed to roast the chicken that had been patiently waiting for two days. After a delicious lunch, I absolutely needed a nap. I slept so hard, that the Friend's President came and left me money to go shopping for her without me ever noticing until I found her message last night.
This morning, I continued shutting down the Monte Vista hunt areas. I had four separate areas. On the map I thought I could drive from one to the next inside the refuge. But after two slightly hairy failed, attempts, I had to go around by the highway. There I found several problems, including some broken gates hat kept me from actually securing the sites. At the final site, I found, instead of two hunt signs to remove, there were thirty. I finally got finished at nearly noon and went home to cook a cauliflower and eat leftover roast chicken and sweet potato.
Then I drove back to Alamosa to edit pictures and write this blog. Its's a hard job, but somebody has to do it. . It's a hard job, but somebody has to do it. We'll all be working like crazy to get everything ready for the festival. I'll be supervising the loudspeaker equipment on several bus tours and having lots of fun. Next week's blog will be late since I'll work through mid afternoon on Sunday and the last few hours will involve hauling boxes, chairs, and tables. I'll probably work eleven days straight and then take off a couple of days to catch up.
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