Month of April 2023 (Nat’l Avg $3.504)

Way to go, Gord. Enjoy your new spare time!

 

Now you can celebrate like I did, when I retired. I was surprised, I didn’t get killed at work! After surviving work, EVERYTHING is gravy.

 

No April Fool’s Day jokes yesterday EXCEPT……… yeah, there was one joke.
While at the river with the binoculars, & at the 10 foot overview, I was observing, when 15 or so black steer ran from a barn, & onto the country road. Thought they would continue running into the other field, but most stopped on the road. One started up the road toward me & others were getting ready to follow him. But, I raised my hands & yelled. He stopped & eventually returned to the other steer. Eventually, the farmers corralled their cattle & herded them back into the barn & area.
I know, I know. The only thing the steer wanted to do was look threw my binoculars. But, I was busy, playing traffic cop so people driving the road, didn’t drive around the bend & into the steer.

PS…..Anyhow, it’s raining & cold today. So I may or may not make it to the observing site today.

PS I ..…Did get to the river in the Hyundai Accent. It was lesser chance of rain this morning than the predicted rainier weather this afternoon. I took my lined heavy flannel shirt & warm hat, instead of my usual fleece pull-over & heavy vest on this fairly cold day for early April. Could have taken my gloves, but the single shirt worked well. Save the pull-over & vest for chillier, breezier days. The river had so few birds as I walked north, I was reduced to watching a few swallows flitting in the air & Robins on the ground. At the south end of my walk tho, I did see a Bald Eagle in a nest a third of a mile away…..probably sitting on eggs. & of course, the best view of Mergansers was when I got back to the car. Resting the Pentax 20power x 60mm binoculars on the car top, they gave a wonderful detailed view of Mergansers as they drifted downstream in the river…… yeah, right next to the car.
Looked like dark clouds were moving in, to match the supposed greater chances of rain. HOWEVER, driving home there were increased patches of sunshine. AND right now, as I’m in the computer room, the sunlight is shining in the window! Hey…..if it isn’t going to rain in the next hour or 2, it wasn’t much of a weather prediction today!

PS II…….OK, OK…….Later in the afternoon, we did get a little rain & even got a bit of hail. Still, nothing big. Now at 4:30PM, we’re getting more rain than anything this morning….& now a lot of rain. So, the prediction DID come true.

 

Two days ago, I, the Hyundai Accent, & Tasco 7-15powerX35mm binoculars visited 2 outdoor recreation sites, that I hadn’t visited in a while. Birds were minimal (must be nesting). There were some heatwaves, but the Tasco’s small lenses helped cut through the atmosphere & retain sharpness! Very nice, indeed! I did see some Coots, Pied-billed Grebes & Mallards. But lo & behold, what did I also see! Circling over me was, not an immature Bald Eagle, but a Golden Eagle. The Tasco optics, at 12 power, showed the Golden Eagle’s wide black terminal band at tail’s end & the white band, both very well. That makes 2 Golden Eagle sightings in the last year in the valley for me. Supposedly, Golden Eagles may not be in strong numbers in Washington state. Reduction of prey, such as jackrabbits, due to excess wildfires & Global Warming & lead shot ingestion are two reasons. An increased reliance on birds such as Coots, instead of rabbits may be an indicator. Also, nest & young survivability decrease above 32degC. Our increasing forest fires give Global Warming multi-sided effects. Possibly, GEs are coming out of their normal regions in the mountains, trying to find more fruitful terrain. Therefore, the lead shot problem should increase.
Went to a 2nd area & was surprised & happy that brush clearing had occurred, which opened access to part of the area that brush had over-taken completely. It was very nice that the area was now…..bigger & accessible.

That was 2 days ago, & misty rain has been the norm since then. People are surprised that Seattle gets less rain than other cities in the US. However, we get lots of days like this, light drizzle that will get you wet over a period of time, but adds up to little precipitation. Plus, other areas have clouds bank up against the mountains around the Salish Sea(Puget Sound) & get lots more rain. In the past I’ve said the 7000+foot mountainous watershed for Everett’s water supply gets 90 inches of rain per year. However, that number is low, & is about 165+ inches of rain, which is near the same as the rain forests of Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula.. In the early 1990’s, one year was 224 inches.

 

From Robin's house to work is 14.0 miles.
37 deg F fcd = 49.5 MPG

 

A very good major Milestone has occurred for ccp coronavirus, as copied from the Coronavirus Death(s) thread:
///////
March 29, 2023:
…..right now the World(683,117,323 cases, 6,834,218 deaths) indicates just OVER 1% of all cases end in death……to the 3rd decimal place!
//////
4-10-23:
PS…..Now, the World(684,461,844 cases, 6,843,696 deaths) indicates just UNDER 1% of all cases end in death…..to the 4th decimal place!
//////
Tho very very small fractional changes, “ccp coronavirus deaths per cases” continue to fall in the right direction in this Milestone statistic.

 

Were you not asked to keep this doomsday crap in its own cubbyhole ? Jeez.
Today , 48 deg F in Naperville.
33.1 miles, fcd = 55.5 MPG.

 

This is good news, not doomsday. We don’t have to be so scared as we were before the vaccines were developed. Truly, the daily Grinds of genius scientists have paid off well for us in the Daily Grind here(& everywhere). Thank you, genius scientists.

& as you did, I’ll also thank and praise Jesus AND Hallelujah to God.

 

Today , 60 deg F ( Fit thermometer)
33.1 miles , fcd = 58.0.
One of these days I will make a few consecutive fillups
from the same pump and calculate my fcd error.
Tanks don't last too long when you fill up with nine gallons.

 

Very nice!

 

Hyundai Accent took me, 8x42mm & 20x60mm binoculars to the river, thinking that would be a better scheme than the Tasco 7-15X35mm zoom binoculars. Welllll…..maybe NOT! Sitting in the car, animal life was quiet. Walking down river, I lifted the 8x42mm to my eyes, just in time to see the seal leap 2/3rds of the way out of the water! May not have seen it with the zooms. But with the zooms, I may have seen it at 10-11power. Anyhow……I switched to the 20x. & in the time it took to switch binoculars, I DID miss the seal jumping the 2nd time! & that was the only times I saw the seal jump. If I had had the Tasco zooms, I would have seen the second jump AND POSSIBLY at a higher power. So ya pick your binoculars & ya sees what ya sees. One possible advantage of the zooms is that you can be looking, while you are zooming. So there!

 

Filled up today at Exxon in Elk Grove , pump #3.
$4.399 for each gallon of E10.
483.7 miles, 9.319 gallons
ODO = 16,602

 

Hmmm……this specific sighting of a seal in the upper parts of the Snohomish River, got me to look up some articles on whales & other ocean going mammals & their “adventures” near & upriver from the mouth of the Snohomish River.

A two year old article from the Spokesman Review newspaper in Spokane,WA detailed how in recent years, drone studies have shown a specific group of Gray Whales(36 to 42 feet long) peal off from normal Pacific Ocean Gray Whale migrations to the north from California to Alaska. They enter the Straits of Juan de Fuca from the ocean & swim 170 miles in the Salish Sea(Puget Sound). Often they appear to be under-weight (even showing their ribs), which may be one of the indicators WHY there are reduced numbers of Gray Whales generally in the oceans. The small group(2 dozen only?) of Grays, wait for high tide at Everett, WA AND then move about a mile or so, upriver on deeper tidal waters of the Snohomish River which loops north around the City of Everett, WA. These big marine mammals, then roll on their sides & stir up the mudflats that are temporarily tidally filled. The Grays have discovered that the mudflats are filled with “ghost shrimp”, which they feed on! As the tide drops again, they return to the Salish Sea. Yes, enough ghost shrimp are available over a period of months, that the Grays take on weight & strengthen themselves! Just a remarkable article!

I also read an article from only weeks ago, of a kayaker, Alex Sidles on the Northwest Paddler, who spotted one of the Grays in the Salish Sea, near the mouth of the Snohomish River. He managed to get a fairly distant photograph of the Gray, which has been identified as a “new” individual, but which has remained in the Salish Sea for over a year.

The Pacific Whale Watch Association reports increased numbers of many saltwater mammals in the Salish Sea, including the endangered resident Southern Orca population. However, their numbers still show signs of stress, due mainly(?) to Salmon loss. The Biggs Orca population which is in the Puget Sound & Salish Sea are increasing well in numbers.

 

Today , 32 deg F in Naperville and Elk Grove.
33.1 miles, fcd = 50.7 MPG.
oil life at 70% ( from 100% Jan 15 )

 

Today , 43 deg F in Naperville , 44 in Elk Grove.
Wind SW 7
33.3 miles, fcd = 55.9 MPG.

 

You seem to have hit your stride with the Fit on your commute. Nice! Small and light doing as well as the Prius, albeit with your capable foot.

 

I'm sure you have a very capable foot as well, Bill.
I honed my DWL technique to "fit" this car.
The instant MPG display spans a 90 deg arc.
It reads from zero to 90 MPG.
There are four marks on it.
22.5,45,67.5, and 90. I try to keep it between
67.5 and 90 as much as possible.
Highway speed is 55 MPH.
It helps that I don't really have traffic in the morning.
In the afternoon , it's more like 48-52 (fcd)