An emergency repair and a walk in the hills

This morning, I headed out for Cedar Park to pick up a case of wine that I had ordered.  It's about a 17 mile trip up, down, and around the hill country.  Once you get to Lago Vista, it becomes a four lane roller coaster like drive with a 55 mph limit. About half way to Cedar Park, there was an audible beep from the dashboard, and a message that there was low tire pressure.  Hmmm, I've never had a car let me know when a tire was low on air before.  I slowed down quite a bit and slowly made my way down the highway.  I passed several gas stations, but in these modern times that's all they are....gas and snacks...no mechanics.  As I neared town, I noticed Pampered Auto Repair, pulled in, and explained my situation to the mechanic.  He said that the monitoring systems are sometimes very touchy and that it could just be the colder temperatures that made the monitor go off.  He drove the Focus into a bay and checked all of the tires.  Each was a couple of pounds low, but the back passenger tire was down 15 pounds.  While pumping it up, he noticed a screw stuck into the side of the tire.  It turns out they don't do tire repairs at this shop, and he said that he wasn't sure anyone would repair it since the screw was not in the bottom tread of the tire.  It would be unsafe to use a plug to repair a puncture in the side of the tire.

Great!!!  I asked if he knew where I could take the car, and he gave me two recommendations.  I headed for the nearest one, pulled in, and explained my problem.  They came up with the same diagnosis.  A repair could not safely be done, so after only 8000 miles, I had to replace the tire.  Oh well, at least it didn't blow while I was driving down the highway.

With my wallet a little lighter, I finished the rest of my shopping chores which included getting a big bag of bird seed.  I have had to fill both feeders every day, so I was running low on oil seed.  I don't mind since I get such enjoyment out of watching my feathered friends.

This afternoon after the clouds finally cleared, Emma and I took a nice long walk in the hills.

About a half mile from the rig, there's an old  cedar post corral.  Most of the lands acquired by the refuge in the last 18 years were former ranches.  This prickly pear cactus growing inside the coral attests to the years it has been unused.

Since this is the hill country, there are an abundance of rocks and they were used along with cedar posts to create fence lines.  Everyone around here calls the green trees  in the background cedars, but they are really ash junipers.  February is the month that the male juniper trees emit their pollen, and many folks have severe allergies to the pollen.  Thank goodness, it doesn't bother me.

At the top of one hill, looking toward another.  What a peaceful place to take a hike, and it's my backyard for a couple of months!

Of course, I'll have to end this post with two bird pictures.  ;)

Here's the male lesser goldfinch on the Niger seed sock.

He was soon joined by an American goldfinch.

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

The Iceman cometh

Thanks to the El Nino, this has been the coldest winter that Texas has experienced in several decades.  Lucky me!!  Freezing precipitation is on the way tomorrow.  I'd like to get upset about that, but then all I have to do is think of my family in Minnesota and around Chicago, and I just smile.  :)  Think of those poor folks in Washington DC and the Northeast!  That puts things into perspective, so I can deal with a little more rain/snow/sleet.  I keep looking forward to the possibility of a fantastic blue bonnet bloom in about two months.  After all, that's one of the reasons I originally came to the Texas Hill Country for the spring.

This morning, I headed down to the office for my first official day of work at Balcones.  Rob Iske, the volunteer coordinator, found me some inside work to occupy my time for the morning and part of the afternoon.  After coming back to the rig for lunch and to take Emma out, I walked back off of the hill to the office this afternoon.  I would be picking up a refuge vehicle for my use.  With so many volunteers this winter, my only option was a 15  passenger van.  Talk about overkill for what I'll be doing!  Tomorrow, I'll load it up with all my birding equipment so I'll be prepared in case I run into something interesting in my work-time journeys.  That means my binoculars, camera (with two lenses), mono pod, spotting scope, tripod, bird ID book (Sibley's), and a couple of diamond willow walking sticks.  The extra stick or two will be in case one of the other volunteers wants to accompany me on one of my bird hikes through the hills.  I'll also add refuge pamphlets to restock kiosks throughout the refuge, and maybe some trail maintenance tools.  I'm happy to be back at work (?).

Peggy, Caroline, and I were fed up with office/inside work by 2:00 this afternoon, so we headed outside.  The sun was shining, and even though it was only in the forties, we enjoyed cleaning up the gardens surrounding the headquarters building.  We had a good time trimming off all of last years dead growth from the flowering native plantings while carrying on jovial conversation.  None of us get to really see the fruits of our labor since most of the plantings don't flower until summer or fall.  These plantings attract a wide variety of  butterflies, in season, but it was good to get out and do something physical.

When I got back to the rig, Emma and I went on a nice walk in the hills, and then I refilled the bird feeders that I have set out.  The large flocks of chipping sparrows are emptying them daily.  I also put out a Niger seed feeder today, since I spotted a lesser goldfinch in the ash junipers this afternoon.  Goldfinches and pine siskins really like the Niger seed sock feeder.  I'd like to get a nice picture of the lesser goldfinch to share with you.  It may take a few days, but the cold and snowy forecast for the next few days may improve my chances.

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