Friday, May 4
View from the door of the Best Little Trailer
The crew and I are camped in the back yard of our new house!
A mesquite tree, freshly leafed out and displaying yellow blooms, provides a canopy for our outdoor room.
I push back in the lounger and watch a hummingbird move from one yellow buffet to another. Nearby Reggie and Roger attack each other. Even with a large yard in which to race around, they still see the blue mat as their special play space.
About backyard camping . . .
You know, I can’t just park the BLT and plug into a house outlet.
The BLT’s cord is 30 amp (your rig may be 50 amp). The house outlet is 15 amp. Something to consider, eh?
Besides the amperage difference, another consideration is the length of the power cord. The BLT’s cord is 15 feet. If I want to make our camp under the mesquite tree in the back yard, I need a longer cord.
On the way to the closing on the house . . .
I stop at the store.
“Wait a sec, guys. I’ll be right back!”
I buy a 25-foot, 30-amp extension cord for forty-nine bucks and change.
Of course, Amazon has a similar cord: Camco Heavy Duty Outdoor Extension Cord, 10-gauge, 30 amp, 25 feet
Okay, now the length of the cords combined is 40 feet (See how I did the math for you?). Forty feet will reach from the BLT parked under the mesquite tree to one of the house outlets.
The 30-amp plug is a big honking 3-pronger.
That’s good because it keeps people like me from plugging it into a little, 15-amp outlet. I also pick up an adapter at the store for about ten bucks.
Here’s one at Amazon: Camco Heavy Duty RV Adapter- 30 amp plug to 15 amp outlet
Make sure you get the right one because there are adapters for the reverse, 15 amp plug to 30 amp outlet. Electrical nerds like to say “male to female” or “female to male.”
Sheesh. Gotta’ bring sex into everything . . . .
(And whatcha’ wanna’ bet that last sentence causes my spam folder to runneth over?)
I’d better change the subject.
Birds! Yeah, let’s talk birds!
Yesterday at dusk two gambrel quail scurry up the road, topknots a-bobbing. Every day there’s a flock of sparrows singing from the trees. While I relax in the lounger, a flicker flicks (of course) through the mesquite branches, looks us over, and then takes off.
From somewhere doves coo.
I noticed a gray bird with a curved beak bringing insects to her nest in one of the Italian cypress trees. A few moments ago, as I sit here inside the BLT with my laptop, I go to Cornell’s All About Birds website and search.
Identification is easy!
By comparing recordings of calls, I distinguish it from LaConte’s Thrasher, which also can be spotted in Arizona.
Funny thing . . .
Right when I’m about to listen online to the Curve-billed Thrasher’s call, “our” thrasher calls outside the open window. I hit “play” and can’t tell which call is which, real or recorded. An exact match!
You can listen to the call and song, plus watch a video, of a Curve-billed Thrasher at this link.
Oh my gosh, a roadrunner!
He hops onto the chain link fence and jumps into the back yard. I try for a shot and get nothing but tail feathers as he makes his way around the perimeter. Roger sees and chases him out.
I’ll get him with my camera someday.
This is great! Already our house is a welcome place for birds. We’ll have to get a bird bath and put up feeders . . . .
rvsue
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