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Borrego Springs, CA

Monday, March 16, 2015

♫ I get along with a little help from my friends ♪

Actually, I get along with a lot of help from my friends, but I’ll explain that a little later.  First, I want to talk about the new things that I saw on Sunday.  I had the bird tour first thing in the morning, and there was the usual cast of avian characters.  For several weeks, I’ve been hearing about an American Bittern that has been hanging out down where I give the tour, but had not been able to spot it.

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To my happy surprise, it made an appearance for the tour.  This bittern went into his ‘hiding’ stance as we approached in the vehicle.  They typically raise their beak skyward hoping to look like a reed in the middle of a wetland, and stand stock still.  I’ve posted pics of bitterns from several different states in the past, but that doesn’t lessen the thrill for me to spot one here. 

Then working the VC in the afternoon, we had another surprise.  A visitor came in to tell us there was a snake in Digger, the desert tortoise’s, habitat area.  I grabbed my camera and dashed outside.

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Sure enough, a Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake had curled up under the creosote bush in Digger’s pen while he munched away on broccoli close by. 

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We cautioned the visitors about getting too close to this most poisonous rattlesnake.  It had the diagnostic large black and white bands on its tail before the rattle to differentiate it from the Mohave rattler.  Don’t know if it’s fact or fiction that each set of rattles signifies one year, but if true this snake was eight years old.

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There are some openings in the wall of the tortoise habitats, and eventually this diamond back made his way out of the pen, through the picnic benches, and back out into the desert.  It was pretty exciting, but also makes me think with the soaring temperatures, it’s about time for me to get out of Dodge.  I really don’t want to see too many more of these reptiles.

A short time later, my friends Bridget and John Hatch arrived for a visit in their motorhome.  Some may remember that I volunteered with this fun couple last summer at Tamarac.  They just finished heading up the parking crew at the Escapade in Tucson, and are on their way for a volunteer assignment at a refuge in Oregon. 

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It’s my opinion that John can fix just about anything on an RV, and when we firmed up their coming I asked John if he would help me with a few needed repairs on my rig.  Winking smile He asked me to send him a list so he could be prepared when he arrived.  Today was the day.  First up was a repair to my outside awning.  That was a challenge, but it’s working just fine now.  Next up was a little ‘oops’ I had putting out a slide a while back.  It got hooked on a cabinet door and tore off the oak trim on the slide.  Everything is back where it belongs, and looks good as new.

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The third of the four things on my list was the back-up camera that had stopped working.  John’s a tall guy and was trying to squeeze himself into a very small space.  He got the side view turning cameras working, but never could get the back up one fixed.  I want to mention that I had tried to fix all of these things myself, but was unsuccessful.

Last but not least was my off again/on again problem with the leaking fresh water tank.  John spent a lot of time under my rig on his back figuring this one out, but fixed the problem by installing a new sliding valve shut off thingy.  Confused smile  Other friends had tried to fix this with no luck. 

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While John was working away in the 93* heat, Bridget and I got to do some visiting, and I played gopher helping out where I could.

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The least I could do was fix dinner for them.  We had a variety of sausages and a whole lot of grilled fresh asparagus.  You can’t be in the Yuma area and not enjoy fresh asparagus.  We had a great time catching up until at exactly 6:30 the mosquitoes descended on us with a vengeance!  OMG!  Within a minute’s time  I had 16 bites on my legs, arms, and ears.  We bid a hasty goodbye until the next time we meet.

I am so grateful for being able to get by with a little help from my friends!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

23 comments:

  1. That's what I've always liked about the camping community...everyone has a skill set and is willing to use it to help someone else.

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  2. Don't know which is worse, snake or mosquitoes. Thinking it's the snake. Those bitterns can be difficult to spot. Len spotted one a few years back and pointed him out. I had a heck of a time seeing what he was pointing at.

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  3. Happy that you had such good friends to come by and give you a helping hand.

    Wow, how cool that you got to see a rattler. I wouldn't mind seeing one as long as I see it well before it sees me. Seeing it from a distance is the preferable way. :-)

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  4. That John!!! He is as handy as a "Pocket on a shirt"--Glad you got your repairs all fixed -- I met them at the first RV Rally in Branson - nice nice people!!

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  5. Yes Rattlesnakes sure are a worrisome thing right now in this hotter weather & we'll be glad to be on our way to cooler climates today. I've always been envious of those 'Jack of all trades' type people who just have the know how & patience to tackle & fix just about anything. Sure is nice & makes life easier to have mechanically minded friends willing to help with things.........

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  6. Great photos of the snake!..... He looks like a big one! So good that your friends fixed those problems.... what a nice thing to do.

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  7. Very good friends I might add! The rattlesnake we recently saw in the desert had his rattles going so fast I couldn't count them--he never stopped rattling the whole time we stood and watched him. My Dad used to say you could tell how old by the number of rattles.

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  8. We still have a couple of months to go out here in the desert before we can head north (Jim's cancer scan is in May). I'm hoping we don't see any snakes here in town but you never know. And I've been seeing mosquitoes up this way too. Stupid things. That Bittern really does blend in when he sticks his head up. Love that picture. I'm really lucky to have a guy who can fix almost anything. That would be one thing that would keep me off the road if anything happened to Jim. But then you remember how many wonderful friends you have that will help you out.

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  9. So the snakes are awake...that one would have scared me clear out of the state! Good to hear most of your issues are fixed. You must be getting ready to leave there pretty soon:)

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  10. It always amazes me how smart most animals are. For the American Bittern to think it is a reed is so fascinating to me.

    Glad you had an awesome day. And how nice are those friends of yous!!!

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  11. If only all RV repairs would cost so little, just a home cooked dinner! ;c)

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  12. Mosquitoes, 93*and snakes ...Time to get out of Dodge!! It amazes me how different the weather in these desserts can be, we're at 62* with rain, already for days, and supposedly more to come. Aren't these handyman handy? I've got one myself! :-)

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  13. Pictures of snakes make me wanta vomit, but yours were so interesting I forgot about the nausea and really learned something! Yep...I think the reason Dennis and John get along so good is because they are so much alike..You should see them together... Ol' MacGyver and his prodigy!

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  14. Warmer weather and snakes....both make me mighty uncomfortable. What is the date you leave. We are going to be in your area around the 25th for Mexico dental work and hope to see you.

    Make a lot of noise as you walk in the desert....scuff your feet. That usually tells the snake to retreat.

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  15. yup. . .93*. . .time to roll. . .got a departure date yet?

    Hoping to catch up with you, and John and Bridget in Oregon. . .want to see their coach.

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  16. Those mosquito bites sound terrible! I'm so glad that you got stuff fixed and had a great visit with your friends!

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  17. Ewww on the snake. The skeeters are easy to deal with, light up a Thermocell and they are gone. Poof! So nice of John to tackle the repair jobs for you... that was wonderful. And yummmmm asparagus!
    KarenInTheWoods and Steveio
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    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
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  18. Man, you put that guy to work! (what a nice man) 93 degrees? Yes, ma'am, it's time to get outa Dodge!

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  19. That looks like one big snake! I also wish I had the repair skills that John obviously has:(

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  20. Fun to see John and Bridget again. You sound like me - same blog title a few days ago. Wonderful pictures of the Bittern and the diamond back. I saw one only a few weeks ago and my pictures were no where near as good. But I'm not surprised.

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  21. John and Bridget (and of course Fred) are the nicest people you could ever meet. Yeah wouldnt like rattlers when I havea furkid

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  22. Great photos as usual. Tell John the parking crew at Escapade was amazing.

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  23. Your bittern reminded me of one of mine. I was doing a bird tour at Malheur and I was at my first stop - a big wetland area with some open water. I discussed the birds we could see and then said that there was probably an American bittern in the viewing area but we not be able to see it. I then told them that they needed to know the call and then made it. A bittern answered me back and narrowed down the area we needed to search to find it. The tour thought I was god and I was totally surprised but managed to act like this was all commonplace.

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