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Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, June 14, 2013

I need some ideas

Tonight’s post is kind of a mixed bag of topics.  Yesterday morning I was assigned to shadow local volunteer John as he gave the weekly refuge history tour.  Since I was the only one that showed up for the tour, he skipped some places I’d already been to, but covered the interesting history of the refuge and took me to places I hadn’t yet been to or known about.  I’ll be telling you about some of that history in later posts when I can include pictures.

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It was obvious to me right away that John is not interested in photography.  He is a wealth of history knowledge, but he was most interested in getting this training session for me over with a.s.a.p..  I could understand that.  I will likely be giving this tour on several Thursdays throughout the summer.  I was lucky to get this shot of a barn swallow nest at one of the water structures.  Like tree swallows, this barn swallow lined the nest with white feathers.  Can you see the one egg that is visible?  It’s white with brown spots.

When I got back to headquarters, there were two packages waiting for me.  Wow!  Almost like Christmas.  The first one came from fellow blogger Merikay

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She and her husband, Craig, are getting their house ready for sale in California so they can go fulltime.  A while back, she posted about making a mosquito catching contraption with two liter pop bottles.  I thought it was very interesting considering I haven’t found a National Wildlife Refuge yet where I haven’t been plagued with those nasty little biters.  Even though neither Merikay or I drink pop, she was able to get six empties and converted them into  mosquito traps.  She sent three of them to me to test out since she doesn’t have a mosquito problem in California.

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But Wait!  That’s not all!  (sounds like one of those info-mercials, doesn’t it?  Laughing out loud)  Merikay also sent me a hand made snot rag holder.  Is this called needle point?  I can’t remember.  You can tell I’m not into crafty stuff that involves threads of any kind.  Anyway, it is just gorgeous, and I love the four hummingbird designs.  The colors go well with my rig, and it now has a treasured spot next to the chair I sit in to watch chick flics.  (very handy if you’re watching a real tear jerker)  It’s right next to my hand crocheted doily from Loree.  Aren’t fellow RV bloggers just the greatest?  Thank you so much Merikay, you are so thoughtful to take care of my running nose and hopefully eliminate my itchy welts.

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The second package I received was a Oxygenics PowerMassage shower head.  I decided to order one of these since I’d heard they increase the force of the shower spray.  I have never been impressed with my current shower head in the rig.  I figured this was something I could switch out myself.  Huh!  Except for one thing.  That part on the left holds the sprayer head and connects to the water line in the shower.  On the right, you can see where my water line enters the shower… midway down the stall in between the hot and cold water thingies.  No way to screw that part in there, and besides, that would mean I’d have to sit on the floor of the shower to be underneath the shower head.  What’s a girl to do?

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The only thing I could think of was to eliminate that part, screw the flexible hose into the water source, and hang the shower head up top using one of those zip ties.  Seemed like a winner to me until I turned on the water for my evening shower.  It did a marvelous job of finally giving me a fantastic blast of water, but it shot straight out over my head!  No way I could get it to shoot down on me because of the great water pressure.  So, that’s why I need your ideas on how to fix this.  That hook on the top is where the old shower head hooked in and pointed downward.  Help!  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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                                                                              THE END!!

This wolf scat is the only part of a wolf I’ve seen since I’ve been here.  Sure looks like they’re doing a good job of keeping the deer herd healthy.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

17 comments:

  1. Glad you liked the snot rag box cover. Since I retired from my art biz my hand have not been happy. I really like to create new things and sending them to friends "just because" is a personal delight.

    Looking forward to hearing about the skeeter catchers.

    Have you tried a tick collar, maybe you could attach one to your belt or something. Just a thought.

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  2. You might have to hold it in your hands and direct it where you want. Will the handle slip further up in the hook? I'm also thinking of museum putty to hold it in place. However, I don't know if it i stable in water.

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  3. I'm impressed that you shower at all. I thought you were one of those hard core, back to nature types... :cD

    I have no ideas to offer because I can't see the whole shower head. Hopefully someone has already conquered this problem.

    Nice gifts, looking forward to hearing how Merikay's skeeter traps work out.

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  4. I think hardware stores sell an item that attaches to the shower and holds a detachable shower head. We have a different model of the Oxygenics shower head (love it btw) and I think it came with the part I'm talking about. I don't know the name of the part but I bet a hardware store person could help you if you showed them that picture. Good luck.

    Merikay is so talented. I love her tissue box cover and that thing she made to hold her oils. She should sell them! I would buy one of each. I always loved her animal heads, too.

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  5. I did see the egg in the nest...way cool! Since I am a mosquito magnet I will be curious to know how Merikays skeeter getter works. I have tried everything...

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  6. Would that little clamp thingy that holds brooms up work? Or perhaps a command hook just lower that the hook you have now? I don't know. What I do know is I really want to know if that mosquito trap works. Did you know a fan will keep them away from you. They don't like the breeze too much!! Have a wonderful weekend.

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  7. I too am curios about the skeeter catcher. my mom made me a recipe box that looks like a stove using
    the needlepoint. the tissue box is nice

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  8. There is a plastic piece that can be held on to the wall with screws. The hose slides into it and the bottom of the handle is bigger than the opening. Don't forget to use some caulk so the water doesn't get behind the shower wall. Should be available at your local RV dealer.

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  9. Can you hold the shower head in your hand until you can figure out a permanent fix?

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  10. I would hate to start setting screws into the fiber glass wall. How about a longer cord. But like Jack said use good caulk. Good luck with it.

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  11. you can do amazing things with a wire coat hanger.

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  12. Judy, Mui looked at the photos and the Oxygenics website and believes that piece is used to convert a traditional home-style shower head to a wand holder. What you need is to replace the existing wand holder you have with an adjustable one that you can slide the wand into and then tilt to get the right angle for the water to flow over you. We already had such a piece, so we didn't need to install the piece you're showing. Might I suggest you take the wand/hose with you to the hardware store with you so that you can get the right size wand holder.

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  13. I see that tiny egg.

    Merikay did an excellent job on the tissue box. It will make it so much more enjoyable to have a runny nose.

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  14. Rather than drilling or blasting into the shower wall and perhaps causing all kinds of future water problems, I'd suggest getting some help from an RV tech or a local handyman. Oxygenic showers are sure great though.

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  15. I'm with Erin. . .I don't think that is the correct piece. . .our oxygenics. . .though different from yours came with a holder that looks like this: http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/showerhead-2-position-wall-mount/34913

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  16. I've been a lurker for awhile, but I had to chime in on this one because I encountered the same issue when I got an oxygenics. Mine looks a bit different from yours but it had the same part for attaching to a regular house shower head and no way to hold it up without it. I ended up buying this from Amazon:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AKJ9KU/

    It's not currently in stock but the part information might help you find it or something similar from Oxygenics elsewhere. I screwed mine into the wall because I knew what was directly behind it but it also can be put up with adhesive.

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