Friday Morning

The vacation is over. I haven't had any guests since Sunday or so and got a lot of hiking and administrative stuff done during that time but four check ins today and since Michelle never made it back I got some cleaning to do. I remember when I moved out here thirteen years ago and quit working at the facilities thinking I was so happy I wouldn't have to do major cleaning again. That was thousands of rooms and hundreds of hogans and houses ago.

I was going to sleep each night looking out my bedroom window at Jupiter to the right, Milky Way in the middle, and Saturn a little to the left. Jupiter is almost out of the window when I lay my head down now and the Milky Way has moved right along with it. Saturn is still middle of the window.

With the blinds open the natural light wakes me. I can make a mental note before going to sleep as to how much light I was to wake me up and it works. No matter what though I wake with the first song birds singing at the feeding areas. I haven't seen a hawk in over a month. Once the ravens got the numbers on them they ganged up and went around killing them. Most are buried in our wildlife cemetery with just a rock for a headstone. The ravens still create havoc now and then. They've learned how to lift trash can lids so all my vulnerable ones have bunji cords strapping them down and you can't leave trash in the back of a truck over night if you're going to town so I do pick up early in the morning around the property before heading out. They've abandoned nests in The Fingers so I'm a bit of a pain in their side as well. Never imagined though that they would become an ally in keeping the song birds safe in their feeding areas.

Can see Four Fingers and a Thumb sticking up over the Anti-Cline out in the Dripping Springs area from behind the main house.