That’s what I used to say as I kicked the covers loose from the bottom of the bed and stuck my feet out. I was young. Feet weren’t something that needed to be kept warm. Now I find my feet get cold at night; even under the covers. I don’t like the extra weight, but I put an additional small blanket over the foot of the bed so my feet won’t be cold. Oh well.
I used to walk this trail by the town of Hidalgo.
South Texas points of interest 
But there is a problem with it. It’s on the other side of our border fence. The border fence doesn’t follow the exact border. The real border is the river. It would be inconvenient to put a fence right down the middle of the river, so it has been built where it was most practical to put it, sometimes quite a ways from the river. This trail I like is entirely south of the border fence and maybe a mile north of the river. When they built the fence, they left gaps for where the gates were going to be, but it was years before any gates showed up, so I parked the car on the north side of the fence, walked through the gap where the gate was going to be, and walked the trail. Well, I can’t do that anymore. They installed the gate, closed it, and left it closed. Recently I discovered a different access point farther east; a gap in the fence that hasn’t been closed yet. I can get on the other end of the trail and walk it right up to this point, where I used to start. This is the view of our border wall from the south looking north.
Knowing the other access point now, this would have been a good loop trail. I could cross over and walk the length of the trail on the south side of the fence, pop back through the gate to the north side, and walk a levee trail back to the car. As it is though, I can still walk it as an out-and-back even though I have this aversion to out-and-back trails (going back the way you came being an admission of defeat). Given the construction of that gate maybe an out-and-back can be excused in this instance. (I probably don’t want to try climbing over the gate just for fun.)
But there is a problem with it. It’s on the other side of our border fence. The border fence doesn’t follow the exact border. The real border is the river. It would be inconvenient to put a fence right down the middle of the river, so it has been built where it was most practical to put it, sometimes quite a ways from the river. This trail I like is entirely south of the border fence and maybe a mile north of the river. When they built the fence, they left gaps for where the gates were going to be, but it was years before any gates showed up, so I parked the car on the north side of the fence, walked through the gap where the gate was going to be, and walked the trail. Well, I can’t do that anymore. They installed the gate, closed it, and left it closed. Recently I discovered a different access point farther east; a gap in the fence that hasn’t been closed yet. I can get on the other end of the trail and walk it right up to this point, where I used to start. This is the view of our border wall from the south looking north. Knowing the other access point now, this would have been a good loop trail. I could cross over and walk the length of the trail on the south side of the fence, pop back through the gate to the north side, and walk a levee trail back to the car. As it is though, I can still walk it as an out-and-back even though I have this aversion to out-and-back trails (going back the way you came being an admission of defeat). Given the construction of that gate maybe an out-and-back can be excused in this instance. (I probably don’t want to try climbing over the gate just for fun.) Can you spot the Great Kiskadee nest in this tree?
The nest is right here in the middle.
Here is what Mom looks like.
The nest doesn’t look like a normal cup nest. It looks more like a fort kids would build.
There are two babies, one of which stepped up for a better look at us.
Judy’s Garden
It’s a little more open now.
A little more native.
More drought tolerant for when we’re not here.
While still providing a watery respite for critters whether we’re here or not.
A little more native. More drought tolerant for when we’re not here. While still providing a watery respite for critters whether we’re here or not. The Big Drip
We have a birdbath in the back. We decided to put in a dripper to make it more attractive to the birds. They like moving water. I couldn’t find a dripper kit online that everybody didn’t hate the control valve. I bought one anyway, knowing the valve wasn’t going to work well. Everybody was right. The plastic valve only rotates ¼ turn from full on to full off; not nearly sensitive enough to damp the flow of a faucet down to single drips without just turning all the way off.
So off we went to the hardware store and bought a good brass needle valve. I installed it in the drip line by the faucet.
Better, but still not good enough. It drips too fast, or it’s totally off. What can we do to gain finer control over the flow? How about two needle valves in sequence; would that help? My question is: is there a difference between pressure and flow? If the problem is too much pressure, then installing another valve in series with this one won’t help. When the pressure builds up the water will run by the second valve too. If the problem is flow, then all we need is a series of valves, each reducing the flow, until we get just what we want. I installed a second valve in the drip line out by the fountain to see what would happen.
Two brass needle valves. I turn the first one down as far as it will go without shutting the water completely off then turn the next one in line down until it is almost completely shut too, and Voila! The perfect drip every time!
About one drop per second. The birds love it. So far we’ve got cardinals, doves, (grackles and sparrows of course), and groove-billed anis. We have a family of three anis that come in to bathe, drink, and gargle the bathwater every afternoon.
So off we went to the hardware store and bought a good brass needle valve. I installed it in the drip line by the faucet. Better, but still not good enough. It drips too fast, or it’s totally off. What can we do to gain finer control over the flow? How about two needle valves in sequence; would that help? My question is: is there a difference between pressure and flow? If the problem is too much pressure, then installing another valve in series with this one won’t help. When the pressure builds up the water will run by the second valve too. If the problem is flow, then all we need is a series of valves, each reducing the flow, until we get just what we want. I installed a second valve in the drip line out by the fountain to see what would happen. Two brass needle valves. I turn the first one down as far as it will go without shutting the water completely off then turn the next one in line down until it is almost completely shut too, and Voila! The perfect drip every time! About one drop per second. The birds love it. So far we’ve got cardinals, doves, (grackles and sparrows of course), and groove-billed anis. We have a family of three anis that come in to bathe, drink, and gargle the bathwater every afternoon.