Month of August 2023 (Nat’l Avg $3.780)

With gas so high & me, on an economic descent, it is a salvation to be able to walk into the bottomland…..twice today & I’ll probably go once more later in the evening. The first walk this morning was uneventful, except I charged my electronics on the far side of the bottomland & returned, eating more of the ripening blackberries. Oh, yeah. I found a newish, unused 10mm 1/4 inch ratchet socket. The 2nd walk, I worked the east side of the bottomland. Like the squirrel that I described a few days ago, this time I saw a Stellar Jay with 7-16power zoom binoculars, who was flying & bothering a small branch of Maple leaves. Eventually, he tore off part of a leaf & flew away with it. Seems a bit late in the year, but could the Jay be lining a nest. I dunno.

At the river, the binoculars spotted a very very dark brown young immature Bald Eagle 400 yards away, across the river on the shore. Could have been the young one I saw the other day. Anyhow, I saw another dark brown, immature, flying Bald Eagle, which landed in a tree about 100 yards from the other one. They both sat fairly quietly. I got the idea, maybe they were siblings. With a lack of salmon, hope they can survive the coming winter. Maybe, the coming winter Salmon run will be better this year. Surprisingly, I saw few people at the river, which had had many more people over the previous last few weeks.

One fellow I saw tho, was an older guy who I’d seen at other times, working the river shore for some gold. He said he panned about $1000. But he’s working long & hard for that $1000. About ten years ago, an outfit worked the north fork of the Skykomish River with some big equipment. I heard they found about $30,000 worth of gold. Who knows, maybe they aren’t saying how much gold they are really finding. In my young days of mountain hikes, I’ve seen some of the small mines, people dug one hundred & thirty plus years ago. Again, lots of work for little pay.

PS.....Went for my 3rd walk today in the bottomland. A few more people this time, but still not over-abundant. Quiet. Ate some more of the blackberries. May have to get a machete from the old place, so I can get into the berries deeper in the Wood. Saw another deer, this time very close....15 feet or less. With the 10 power binoculars, she was like a foot & a half away from me. She snorted at me, which is a sign she was nervous. Otherwise, she was calm. I moved off the trail, in case she wanted to move past me. But she slowly moved off-trail herself & into the Wood. Man, if I start seeing deer further from me than 30 feet, I'll mark it up to a non-event. That's 12 deer in less than a month.

 

Added detail to my post in the last of the June 2023 Daily Grind:
//////
litesong wrote:
......over-sized tires truly have made our cars feel bigger on highways & Freeways, with less body vibration & engine rpms.
///////
Other advantages of over-sized tires vs. OE tires on smaller vehicles while on highways & Freeways:
Using wider tires(10mm or 20mm?) than OE, while driving through turns & bends in the road, there is less body roll & tendency for tire squeal. Yes, these differences aren't much, but at times, you can notice the slight variations.

Yes, all these slight differences, when added up, do make over-sized tires pleasant.

 

Somewhere on Cleanmpg, I had mentioned that GM would dis-continue the Chevy Bolt, which I wanted to buy sometime, when I got the money. I was very disappointed, but held out hope they would resurrect the Bolt. Now, because of “consumer demand”, they are bringing it back.
Any bets, GM will boost the price & change it enough so I can’t afford the Bolt & won’t want it…. again.

 

I'm guessing that most North Americans prefer their EV's to be larger.
I think it's perfect for me.

 

Ah.....Illinois must be like Washington state & offers "short vehicle" discounts for their Ferries. Across the Great Lakes, "short vehicle" discounts would save you mucho bucks. As for me, I'll be able to save 20% on Washington state Ferry trips, if I can ever afford to buy the sub-14 foot Chevy Bolt EV. Don't get the 6 inch longer Chevy Bolt EUV. It doesn't qualify for the "short vehicle" discount.

 

In the bottomland today, I walked 15,000 steps. Also, I saw the very dark brown immature Bald Eagle again, near the same area. Yes, my conjecture that the 2 Eagles are siblings was strengthened. Looking for Eagles in the trees across the river, I finally saw the nest, high in the branches & leaves of a Maple Tree. It is a huge nest, maybe used & built up over many years. So fortune smiled on me. Again, I'm not seeing mature Bald Eagles. I wonder if the parents have left the area & the 2 immatures are fending for themselves. I'll keep looking.

PS....Despite the nicety of 13 to 16 power from the zooms, I did miss the nest due to their narrow FOV. But, I almost missed the nest with the 7 power wide angle I had, when I swept right passed it. I said "whoa" & had to back up. So, I'll use an 8 power wide angle binocular(a compromise) & hope to catch some more interesting, but accidental views.

 

Today , 65 deg F in Naperville , 68 in Elk Grove.

Wind S 3

33.3 miles . fcd = 59.0 MPG

 

WHAT?! What did you say? 6.5 miles per kWh….uphill! What kind of Magic Tesla are you driving?
I gotta get an EV……

 

litesong's putting me out of my job...

 

Ahh…..NOT shifting from miles to kilometers caused the multi-hundreds of millions of dollar spacecraft to crash. You, not shifting from kilometers to miles cost….NO extra loss of jingling change at all.

 

I expect my $0.00 paycheck to be deposited anytime, now......if its late, that's OK.

 

Down in the bottomland again, out to the river. This time both siblings were on the same branch together. One was squawking. It would open its beak & 1+ seconds later, I would hear him cry. Then a big fish jumped out of the river & splashed down right in front of me. Getting the binoculars on him as quickly as possible, I could see the big fish just under the water, & then he rolled on the river's surface. Soon afterward, I saw a mature Bald Eagle cross the river from my side to the other. Bet it was one of the parents, checking up on the off-spring. Finished off my walk. No 15,000 steps today, but did get 13,000+ on my travels.

PS....At the apt., the Osprey off-spring were aloft & flying with one of the parents. The other parent was sitting on one of the Cell Tower posts, where the nest is. The 3 Osprey started soaring....& they went plumb out-of-sight, high in the sky.

 

Filled up today at Exxon in Elk Grove.
Used same pump as last time , so hopefully it repeats.
437.0 miles , fcd = 57.0
437/8.138 gallons = 53.7 MPG.
Pretty sizable error. Looks like my factor will about .942.

Leaving Friday morning for Michigan.

 

Well....yesterday, both sets of nesting Bald Eagles over on the river, nesting Ospreys near my apt., & deer, have put on a disappearing act. I think the immature Balds & Ospreys are learning from their parents how to hunt & of course, they have to strengthen for the upcoming migration in latter August. It was wonderful to see the Osprey young soar out-of-sight on thermals 2 days ago, indicating they are preparing. In latter afternoon yesterday tho, 3 of the 4 Ospreys were back on the nest & at least 2 are on the nest, this morning.

Since my wife & I separated, it's almost been like the wild Bald Eagles, Ospreys & 12 deer have shown themselves to me, as a means of consolation. Its only temporary, because the birds will leave soon, & the fawns are growing to follow the Does across the river to the south. Once the leaves fall(a few have already fallen), the deer will want to be among the Evergreens for hiding protection, away from people & not among the barren deciduous trees & brush of the bottomland. We'll see if I see some bottomland deer as the fall & winter approach.

PS....Went for a bottomland walk this evening. Over at the river, saw the 2 immature Bald Eagles sitting on the same branch of a tree. Quiet & calm, except one of them, kept calling....maybe for one of the parents to feed him. No parent around tho. Walking thru the Wood, I saw my 13th deer. She was also calm. I moved off-trail, if she wanted to go by me. She went off-trail, but stopped & let me advance toward her. I stopped at 22 feet. The previous 12th deer allowed me to be 15 feet from her. I'm getting afraid for them. There are enough people in the bottomland, that someone will think they have an easy kill.....& they will. There are enough free food & clothing opportunities in the community, that no one has to claim "subsistence hunting" & walk around in deer skins.

A place to rent or stay.....that is the big question. Some people are taking refuge in hollowed out trees or root systems.

 

Why would you ride on a Guernsey cow......unless you have a very long vacation? I know. England is very small compared to the US. OK, I understand.

 

It's slightly larger than the state of New York in land area, and more densely populated.