I’m still not caught up but am recovering from “traveler’s revenge” and taking a lot of naps in preparation for a train ride adventure while also working on blog posts and videos.
After what felt like an all day trip to town I drove the 30 minutes home with a stop along the way. Actually, the Skull Valley cemetery is one mile from my turnoff that is a sharp 70° right turn at the bottom of a hill. I often stop to let traffic go by. This day I noticed a Raven also visiting the cemetery.
Once home and unpacked I went to walk up the berm and stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of a four inch Bark Scorpion. It’s the first one I’ve seen on the ranch and I’m alright with that if they stay outside. Went to bed early as I was recovering from a full day in town.
During the cool of the morning and before the high of 81°, I cleaned the truckcamper floor and put down a new carpet runner. I’m slowly working on getting it ready for winter occupancy in the desert. Didn’t take long before I was hot and tired so took a nap. I’m still recovering you know. Later, I worked on a blog post and trail-cam videos.
How is it that my website was fine when I went to bed but “unsecure” and not opening in the morning? Rebooting didn’t help so I contacted Hostgator (my web host) and they solved the error problem of “SSL expired”. Seems that’s one of the things I pay them to do, automatically. (SSL, Secure Sockets Layer, is “a standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client—typically a web server (website) and a browser, or a mail server and a mail client (e.g., gmail).”) Secure is the key word. If an URL is https versus http, it’s secure. Anyway, with that problem solved, I took a nap. This time recovering from website shock.
Later, while outside I saw this cute two-inch Horned lizard, also a first sighting on the ranch. They are harmless, eat ants, and are said to bring good luck.
The next day it rained, slowly at first, on and off yet steady. Had to update software to continue working on video. Exhausting. So I took a nap. Thunder and lightning filled the evening air.
Awoke Sunday to rain cleaned air, ah petrichor. May have been the last of monsoon. Snow is already falling to the north.
I was motivated to clean the camera sensor though I’m scared at the same time. For months now there’s been a reverse “C” shaped something probably dust on photos with the lens set between 18-30mm. It shows up in the sky about half way between center and 2 o’clock. If it’s on clear sky I can remove it post-processing. But it needed to go. I recently bought a camera cleaning kit that includes anti-static gloves, camera cleaning cloth, cleaning swabs, air blowing, cleaning brush, screen and lens cleaner. After wiping down the outside including degreasing the view finder I removed and cleaned the lens glass. Then the scariest part. Locked the mirror up to expose the sensor and first blew air with the bulb (not wet breath) followed by two quick sweeps with the sensor cleaning swab. Put the lens back on and voila, the “thing” is gone in several test shots. I was told that dust and hair gets stuck to the sensor by static. So I was nervous about adding to it in my never that clean home with floating cat hair.
While I mess with the DSLR camera, the trail-cam works on its own. A Striped Skunk wandered by about 3am and that night after dark a fox came through.
But I was asleep for that because the next day I was off on a train ride adventure and the Verde Canyon Railroad deserves its own post.
I’m done recovering from traveler’s revenge and now planning for the next journey. When the days drop into the 50s and the nights head toward the 30s it’s time to move further south into Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Won’t be long. Feel free to join me in the desert of Congress, Arizona to watch November’s Beaver moon. I’m sure to be awake for the rise and set of the full moon, and maybe for the lunar eclipse between 1-7am.
To watch the video from a couple months of wildlife caught on the trail-cam and my review on the cam, follow this link https://youtu.be/7n_jDP-6WKc. (I am not being paid or compensated in any way.)
To order Geogypsy 2023 calendars please leave a comment below or use the contact tab above. Final photo choices can be seen here https://geogypsytraveler.com/2022/10/14/time-to-order-geogypsy-2023-calendar/.
