Back to the VIS…

Guess what happened when I awoke this morning and tried to flush the toilet… no water!  Yep, the temps were cold enough to freeze the water hose.  I flipped the switch on for the on board water tank, and was able to take care of morning cleansings.  I didn’t think it was going to  get cold enough last night for that.  Tonight, I’ll be leaving the faucet drip all night.  :)

 

Most folks would just fill the water tank and disconnect the hose, but I don’t want to do that here.  I don’t want the water that we get to be in my holding tank.  It’s so full of minerals and such that none of us drink it or use it for cooking.  We get our drinking and cooking water up at the community building.  There’s a good sized reverse osmosis machine in the kitchen that cleans it up for us.  I only have about 1/3 of a tank of good water in reserve in the tank, so I’m pretty stingy with it.  I forgot to arrive with a full tank of drinkable water.  :(

 

It was about 29* when I arrived to open the VIS this morning, and not any warmer inside.  I turned on the two space heaters, and continued the opening up procedures with gloves on.  Luckily, the wind had subsided overnight, and there were sunny skies, so eventually it made it up to the 50’s. 

It was a pretty slow day at the VIS, but I’ve had worse.  In the afternoon, I checked the trees across the road, and found this blue-grey gnatcatcher busily working the trees hunting for things to eat.  These are tiny little birds that seldom sit still, especially in cold weather. 

 

Late in the afternoon, a couple arrived on a motorcycle.  When they came into the VIS, the woman looked at me and said “I think I know you!”  She looked puzzled, but insisted that she knew me from somewhere.  I certainly didn’t recognize them!  After chatting a while, we figured out that they had been on one my bird tours last spring at Balcones Canyonlands NWR up in the Texas Hill Country.  I’ve lead quite a few bird tours in my time, but this is only the second time that someone has recognized me in an entirely different location.  I told them that my next location would be in Mississippi, and I’d be happy to take them on a bird tour there.  :)

 

After work, I got my laptop set up in the rig for a group Skype call with all three of my kids and the grandkids.  Skype is certainly a wonderful thing, isn’t it?  It was pretty chaotic with five little ones under the age of five, and locations in California, Minnesota, Texas, and Indiana, but what a remarkable bit of technology!  I got to spend an hour seeing my family even though we are all spread throughout the country.  Will wonders never cease?

                                                                     THE END!

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy