Morning show

This morning the way to the office was blocked by a roadrunner who was standing in the doorway, so I stopped to take some pictures.

Well it seems she was there for a very good reason, breakfast. The owner of the park said she shows up every morning about the same time for her handout and if he is not right there she will peck on the door.

Her preferred treat is white cheese and here you can see the owner making her a happy roadrunner. I guess it's a lot easier than chasing down lizards or rattlesnakes, their normal diet.

Reader KennyB was wondering about my weather station. A couple of years ago I found The Great Big Outlet on line which is the factory outlet for LaCrosse Technology. This site has their closeouts and discontinued stock at really good prices. The one I have is similar to THIS ONE. He was also wondering what I have to do to get underway. Actually very little. I mounted the wind vane permanently to the ladder and glued the rain gauge to the roof.

The anemometer is rated at 110 mph and for the most part I can keep Mel below that speed. I do have to remember to turn off the high wind alarm. The time or two I have forgotten it has been quite annoying going down the road and hearing the constant beep of the alarm that is just far enough away that it can't be turned off without stopping.

Then I routed the wires down the ladder and under Mel to the sewer hose storage compartment (which was never used as intended) and connected the outside temperature/humidity/transmitter module.

When on site I just open the door, pull out the module and hook it to the gas filler cap under the slideout. That way it's in the shade for a more accurate reading.

The inside module hooks right to the computer and gives a very nice display of what's going on in the world of weather.

The primary reason I bought the weather station was to protect my $5,000.00 internet satellite investment on the roof. I can sleep at night knowing if a wind comes up the alarm will sound and allow me to stow the dish before it blows away or gets damaged.

Yesterday we made it to 101 and the overnight low was only 77. Today it's overcast and breezy so maybe the temperature will stay in double digits. Either way we will still be able to enjoy the good life.