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Roadrunner roost

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It has been quite awhile since I last posted. We have been traveling quite a bit and catching up on chores, work, and hobbies. In early September we started seeing a roadrunner in the yard. I caught a few photos, but none of them were clear. I was not sure whether there was one bird or several coming around. In November, we returned from several weeks away to find that a roadrunner was roosting on our back porch.  We stopped using the back porch so that we wouldn’t disturb her. She leaves each morning around 8:30 and returns each afternoon around 4:15. She stays in her roost all night. I have tried to get a decent photo of her, but was not successful, until today, Christmas Day. This afternoon I managed to video her flying from the ground up to her roost and to get a still shot of her sitting there. Her roost is on a sconce about 6 feet off the ground between a large window and a sliding glass door. We have named her Esperanza.  Living in the desert is amazing. This was a...
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Driving cross-country

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  In mid-August, I drove 2000 miles from my AZ home to my mom’s in OK and back. I drove 500 miles each day and stopped often to relax and view the landscape. Driving alone across rural states provides plenty of time for contemplation and inspiration. It is interesting to stop in rest areas along the interstate highways. My favorite in AZ is Texas Canyon on I-10 near Dragoon, AZ. It is an iconic scene from a mid-century cowboy movie of the old west. My favorite interstate highway in the US is I-25 from Las Cruces, NM to Albuquerque, NM. I love the vistas and the curves through the mountains. The traffic is not heavy and the road is in good shape for an interstate. My favorite rest area on this road is a group of wooden pod buildings connected by raised walkways. It is near San Acacia, NM in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. It would be a great setting for a sci-fi movie. I-40 across the middle of the US is o...
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Activity goals

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    The Withings watch (Steel HR Sport) undercounts steps for daily activities like vacuuming, doing laundry, and shopping at the grocery store, even though they require walking, lifting, twisting, etc. It seems to count strides, not steps, so its counts need to be doubled for these activities. However, when I hike outdoors and manually start a "sport session,” the counts seems to be pretty good. Hiking outdoors generates more arm swing and so steps are counted more accurately. In the 3 months that I have worn the watch I have clocked over 10,000 steps in a day only 3 times. Today was one of those days. I did some chores during the day and took a 1.5 hour hike outdoors in the evening. I know from the fatigue I feel that I earned every one of those steps!    I have little interest in counting active calories, because they are so clearly connected to movement/steps that there is little new information provided. Dozens of trackers and ...
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