Clay mine

Nice chilly bike ride on this 57° Monday morning in Littleton. I broke out my long sleeved biking shirt, which helped take the chill off. 

Below the hot air balloon at the right side of the picture, is a large slash in the hillside. As the balloon was rising past that artifact, I had a sudden memory of driving my visiting Dad and Uncle out to see my workplace near Waterton Canyon, quite a few years ago. Uncle Bill asked about that big slash on the Hogback, and I hadn’t a clue, even though I’d been commuting past it for years. He and Dad proceeded to theorize that it must be some kind of mine. Today, thanks to my Topo Maps and Maps.Me apps, and some Google searches, I could tell them it’s the New Hedley mine, and according to MinDat.org and AnyplaceAmerica.com, the mineral commodity it produces is clay.

New bike computer

I received a spiffy new gadget from Garmin last night - an “Edge 1040 Solar” bike computer. It’s a surprisingly big upgrade from the device they asked me to beta-test for them in the Spring. This one’s got a bigger screen, and is a little more solid and heavier - and it’s got built-in solar cells that let it charge the 

battery a little, while I’m riding. 

 

I was excited to try it out this afternoon, so I hurried to get all my data transferred over, after our late breakfast. The solar feature worked pretty well, even on this overcast day - it started out with a 99% charge, and after riding for two hours, it finished with a 96% charge. I was impressed. I don’t remember the last time I was asked to participate in a beta test program, but it feels pretty fun to get this little prize for my effort.

New feeder

One more try at a hummingbird feeder - our third one this year, after breaking the last two. The new feeder has a cool stained glass look to it. The most recent one broke the same night we got it. Not the feeder’s fault... my clever hanging technique had a fundamental flaw. Those plastic Christmas light gutter hooks deteriorate in sunlight, and they’re not strong enough for hummingbird feeders full of nectar, especially big glass ones. 

The latest failure was pretty spectacular, as the new large glass hummingbird feeder fell to the rocks below. We completely lost the ant moat hanger extension, the plastic reservoir dish broke, the reservoir cover with the pretty flowers with holes in the middle got dented, and a chunk broke off the main glass tank. It only took a few hours for the weight to bend the plastic gutter hook open and cause it to drop. So now I'm trying something new, a metal gutter hook, that I found online, as my local hardware store had nothing like what I wanted. I hope it will work much better… hopefully it will never break.

Scammer warning

Yet another scammer warning: Scammers are piggybacking on the Walmart and Target names in a fake giveaway scam - don’t fall for it!

Here’s a quote from Snopes: “In summary, no, Target and Walmart weren’t giving away or donating refrigerators or ovens on Facebook on pages named Target Fans and Walmart Fans. We strongly advise readers to never click any links in offers that seem too good to be true. Also, we recommend sharing our article with family members or friends who might be susceptible to falling for this kind of a Target or Walmart Facebook scam.”

 

Of course... this is just one of an overwhelming number of ways that scammers try to get to you and your bank account. Don't fall for any of them! 

 

Y’all be careful out there!

Lightning!

I'm sitting at the table on my deck, enjoying a tasty burrito for lunch, while some big thunderstorms blow through. It’s a bit moist out here, as the wind is blowing mist across the deck, but so worth it… I caught this lightning bolt flashing across the sky, with a minute-long video, then took a screenshot of that particular frame, and it came out pretty well. Cleo and Mandy wanted to join me on the deck at first, but they changed their story, as soon as they experienced the cold mist and noisy thunder.

CR-V off to a new home

Sad and happy at the same time… We said goodbye to Jennefer’s 1998 Honda CR-V, thanks to a friendly older guy cruising our neighborhood, who made an acceptable offer. She wasn't feeling well this week, so it was a surprise when he came up and rang the doorbell while we were sitting down to breakfast, to ask if she was ready to let it go. He had stopped by several times over the past few years, to make offers to fix a bump in the back of my car, or to buy hers, so he felt a little familiar. We even helped him deliver it to his grandson, and apparently there were tears involved, as Jennefer got a little sentimental during her drive over there. So many adventures and fond memories. We are now just a two car household! The driveway and curb seem so weirdly empty…

Legend off to a new home

Here’s my last photo of Kristan’s awesome traveling car, her 1991 Acura Legend LS, which went to a new home this evening. So many fun memories of adventures we had, driving this rock solid and powerful road car more than a hundred thousand miles over three decades… and it’s still in pristine condition. I’ll miss it, but I’m glad to have the garage space back. Good luck in your new life, old buddy…