Okay, here's the plan....

We drove to Grants yesterday. It's only 27 miles from Bluewater Lake, and has a Wal-Mart and a Love's Gas Station, so that is where Katie and I will stay for the next six nights if all goes well.

Last night we stayed at Wal-Mart and tonight we are at Love's.  I was lucky to get an end spot, so at least I won't have a giant generator on both sides.  So far, so good.

I don't think I posted a photo of the campsite I was in for the last two weeks.  This was a nice spot -  big, very level and no close neighbors.  It is a drive through site on a one-way road, and there wasn't much traffic on the road. 

Across the street is Bluewater Creek, way down in the canyon. I couldn't see the canyon or the creek from my side of the street, we had to walk across to the edge and look down.  It's very green and pretty down in the canyon, and I was told there are beavers down there, constantly building dams.  I'd love to see and photograph them.   I haven't taken that hike yet, but hope to in the future.

We had such a storm yesterday!  Hard rain, hail, loud thunder and crackling lightening.  The rain was so hard it actually flooded the ground and all the little depressions in the landscape were filled with water.


Hail in the campground.

  The following photos are views out the windows.

These are photos taken out the window before the rain and as it was pouring down.  I could hardly see out the window, and the wind blew the hummingbird feeder right off the tree.  Later that day it was down on the ground under the tree.

Soon afterward, the water had been absorbed, but the ditches that were dug alongside the roadways were full, which, of course, is why they were dug.  All this rain has really increased and greened up the ground cover all over the park.
 

The ditch alongside the road to the lake was completely full.  Hopefully the Wal-Mart and Love's parking lots are on high ground.  I'd hate to float away. :)

Katie had her annual vet check-up this afternoon.  Hazel had been to a local veterinarian here in the Village of Milan outside of Grants that she liked, so I made an appointment for Katie to have her annual shot, check-up and also have her nails clipped while we were there.  I've been lucky so far that she has been very healthy.  All went well, and she's done for the year. 

She was super insulted at having her temp taken, she HATES anyone to touch her butt, and having her temp taken, well...  I wish I had my camera with me.  LOL.   She did fine with the shot, but really didn't like the nail clipping.  The nurse had to hold her tight while the vet did the clipping.  Poor thing.  The only surprise was that she weighs 14.5 pounds.  I thought she was around 12 pounds which is where she should be.  We're going to be cutting down on the treats again. 

She couldn't stop smiling when we got back to The Palms.

She is sleepy tonight, in fact, she's already been in bed for an hour. 

She usually starts out on the blue blanket, then later during the night she'll snuggle in her bed, but tonight, she started out in the bed.  The Vet's nurse said she would probably be extra tired for about 36 hours with this shot, and I guess that's what's happening.  Sweet dreams, Katie.

And from me and Katie, sweet dreams to all of our readers, too.  :) 



Wordless Wednesday - Sit right down and have some dinner

Squirrel chair- in case you want to have a squirrel over for dinner.  :)

Kind of expen$ive, I think, but if you are interested, see link on the right sidebar for information.

From me and Katie, have a great Wednesday, everyone!  :)

Birds at Bluewater

I've been snapping photos of various birds since I've been here at Bluewater Lake, and also found a new one when I was in Gallup.

Great Blue Heron standing by water filled berm.

 

Great Blue Heron walking along in the field.

Mountain Bluebird

Pinyon Jay

Pinyon Jay



House Sparrow at Wal-Mart in Gallup.

House Sparrow at Wal-Mart in Gallup.

 

Juvenile Turkey Buzzards

Turkey Buzzard - I still love these guys.



Look at this little guy - he must be really young, and he's soooo cute!  He's so darn cute, I think he looks like a cartoon! :)

This little cutie is also a juvenile - I think he's a Western Bluebird or maybe a Mountain Bluebird?

Rufous Humming bird.  He looks different in the other photos, but I'm pretty sure that's what he is.

Rufous Hummingbird again.  He is parked right outside my window, constantly scanning right and left, guarding the feeder.

One of Katie's favorite "critters."  She gets so excited when she spots one.

Not a lot going one here.  Birds are flying, bunnies are hopping along, lizards are sunning and campers are behaving themselves.  :)  The weather has been interesting and very changeable from day to day, and even sometimes from hour to hour.  My favorite kind of weather.  I'm here until Thursday morning, then will leave for my six days out of the park, heading to Grants this time with a new plan.  I'm looking forward to it.

The other morning I got under the rest of The Palms and checked for mouse entrances, then I checked out the rest of my outside storage compartments.  I found a few holes to plug, but I'm not sure they had access to the inside living area.  In any case, at least I won't have any critters coming into my storage areas.  So far, I haven't had any signs of rodents in those areas, and now the can't get in.  I still have the interior to check. 

Even though I'm in my all-time favorite campground here at Bluewater Lake State Park in New Mexico, I'm starting to think about Quartzsite, Arizona.  I guess that's my second favorite place, it has such freedom and flexibility as far as where I can park and set up camp, and once I find a place I like, I always put out the solar lights, chairs and table, feeders, flag, etc.  I don't usually bother when I'm only camping two weeks, but in Quartzsite I can stay the whole season in one place if I'm happy there, and I tend to settle in more.  So I'm starting to think about that.  I probably won't start heading that way until September or October so I have a ways to go until we start driving in that direction.

From me and Katie, have a great Tuesday, everyone!  :)

RV Maintenance - over and under The Palms

First, I have to show you this little Rufous Hummingbird that has taken over my feeder.  I have a hummer feeder hanging in the Pinyon Pine tree right outside my window and he has gotten very territorial.  There are two other hummers that try to feed from time to time, but little Rufous isn't going to hear of it.

I thought I had seen and taken pictures of a Rufous before, but this is definitely a new hummingbird for me.  His coloring is so pretty, and he also has an iridescence around his neck.  I saw it when the sun was shining just right, but didn't get a photo of it.

This Rufous Hummingbird isn't in my Birds of Arizona Field Guide, so I added him and a little box that I checked off.  (Of course, I'm not in Arizona, but usually any birds I see here in New Mexico are also in the Arizona Field Guide.) 

And this little one below is a female Rufous, I think.  

Along with my friend, Hazel, I've spent the last couple of days checking The Palms and doing some relatively easy repairs, but super important for The Palms and also for my peace of mind.

I was convinced I had a nest of mice in the A/C unit on the roof.  I climbed up there in a mild wind the other morning, and I could hear scurrying around under the A/C cover.  I called Hazel and she came over to help.  I had no idea what we would find when we removed the cover, so I had everything I could think of available on the roof:  Sticky paper, flypaper, ice pick, ant/roach spray, my Grabber, etc.  I was afraid there would be a moving mess of mice and babies running all over the place and I wanted to get as many as I could.

So...   we were ready and unscrewed the four screws holding the cover on.  Removed the cover, ready to pounce, and  - - -  nothing was there.  It was clean.  Turns out there was an 8 x 10 piece of thin fiberboard that was glued to the side and it had bent in half and the half that was no longer attached by glue was quietly flapping back on forth on the unit and the cover, making a scratching sound.  I swear, it sounded exactly like a nest of mice.  Whew.  What a relief that was.

While we were up there, though, Hazel checked out my roof for me and noticed the putty around the refrigerator vent was cracking and needed to be taken care of right away. She said she was surprised I hadn't had leaks in the kitchen.  Thankfully, there have been no leaks at all in The Palms.

Yesterday we got back up on the roof and removed the vent cover.  Then we took denatured alcohol and scrubbed off as much of the dirt/dust on the putty as we could get off.

We used a big spoon to hold a little alcohol at a time and dipped our paper towels in it, then rubbed and rubbed until the putty was pretty clean.  You can see the difference - that little spot by the spoon was the last to be cleaned.  Then we cleaned the sides of the vent and the area around the putty about two or three inches out for the EternaBond tape to adhere to.

Then we measured, cut and applied EternaBond all around the area, covering the sides of the vent and all the putty, out an additional two inches.  It looks like it will last forever.  I sure hope so.

Here's the A/C cover with no nests underneath, and the fridge vent on the right, all cleaned and sealed up around it.

Late in the evening after we drove/walked the Greyhounds around the park, Hazel and I got under The Palms looking for any holes the mice could use to get into the motor home.  We found some, I don't know if they would have given mice access to the inside of The Palms, but surely there is at least one hole that is allowing entrance. Katie and I had another mouse in the cab while we were in Gallup.  That's the fourth one we've trapped (and we've had two others that left the rig, and we drove away without them, totaling six mice in all) and the reason I thought there must be a nest somewhere.  Since we didn't find a nest, there has to be a hole they are using to get in.

Hazel did most of the under rig checking with a flashlight, she's done this with her own rig and knows what to look for, but I got underneath The Palms, too.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I'm a little claustrophobic, not too bad, but enough that I'm careful not to be stuck in small spaces.  The bottom of the rig was far enough off the ground, and light was coming in from all four sides, so it wasn't too bad.  We stuffed steel wool into the holes, and got the driver's side, the rear and half the passenger side done.  I have a little more to do, then I'm going to check the engine compartment.

After that, I'll check out the inside of The Palms for any holes that can be seen from behind the drawers, cupboards, etc. Then Hazel is going to double check for me, to make sure I didn't miss anything.

When that's done, I should have a motor home that will not be accessible to mice.  I had a nightmare about mice running over me in my sleep the other night and woke up trying to scream, that's when I knew I HAD to do more than just set traps.  Wow, that was an awful dream!

I sure appreciate Hazel offering to help when I need it. She's been RVing all her life and has so much experience and knowledge.  It's so nice of her to spend her time and muscle to help.  How many females do you know who would offer to climb up on your roof, and then the same day, crawl under your RV?  Thanks, Hazel!  :)

From me and Katie, have a great Thursday, everyone!  :)

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Katie wouldn't let me near her right rear foot, wouldn't walk on it, and kept holding it up in the air.

Lots of licking.

This picture just kills me.  :(

A day or so later, she was walking as if nothing had happened and I have no idea what was wrong.

From me and Katie (who is just fine now), have a great Wednesday, everyone!  :)