The Mexican Olive tree

 

By the back fence.

 

It blooms all summer.

 

 

Under each bloom there is a soft green olive that the critters love.

 

They don’t have to eat them whole.  Little birds, like orange-crowned warblers, can just stand next to them and eat all the little bites they want!

 

It’s official

 

The end of the amaryllis bloom.

Its job is done.  The last flower finished today.  Now the amaryllis can play outside in the sun all summer, resting up for next spring!

Hey look

 

A great Kiskadee on the back fence.

 

 

 

He’s at the northern edge of his range.

 

 

Camping with the kids

 

Circa 1978. 

 

 

English Trials

 

All four brothers rode dirt bikes at one time or another.  Some of us rode English trials.  English Trials is a non-timed event where the contestants test their skills against a series of obstacles in an effort to ride through without having to touch a foot to the ground.

 

A person can ride any kind of motorcycle they want, but a specialized Trials bike is a “must” for any of the advanced classes.

 

I didn’t actually have a specialized Trials bike, I rode the lower level classes on an enduro, a more all around dirt bike.  It looked exactly like this, an Ossa Pioneer 250cc.  It was heavy.  It weighed 250 pounds.

 

Brother Bill, he advanced higher in the classes on an Ossa Plonker 250cc.

 

It was configured way better for Trials.  Not something I could have also used as a commuter to get from home to school and back, like I did with the Pioneer.

 

The current iteration of Trials bikes now looks like this.

 

Lightweight.  A small powerful motor.  Big rear sprocket for low end torque.  Lots of clearance.  Not made for sitting at all.  English trials is all done standing on the pegs for maximum control.

 

Well, now there is a new thing in Trials.  There is an “e” class.  The bike looks a lot like a gas powered motorcycle except it has an electric motor and battery (and no exhaust pipe).

 

Here is a test ride of an electric Trials bike.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maZcbqIWYzY

 

The actual riding starts at 7:30.  The video shows the kind of stuff Trials riders do.  They’re a little more sophisticated than what I used to do.  We could start and stop and work our way through without touching the ground back then, but I never got to bounce around and turn in place like they do now.  Getting lined up for a difficult obstacle had to be accomplished during the previous obstacle.  How we attacked one had a lot to do with how we finished the one before it.

 

The electric Trials bike is doing so well now, eBikes will no longer have their own class.  Starting in 2022, all classes will be open to any bike, no matter the method of propulsion.  Head-to-head, electric versus internal combustion.  It’s now an even field.

Camping with the kids

 

Circa 1978.

 

 

 

 

 

Any drive to Port Mansfield

 

Got to watch for the deer around town.

 

 

Hey look

 

Green Jay!

 

Too late.

And the single amaryllis bulb continues to entertain us

 

 

It’s doing a fine job, but surely it must be getting worn out.

That slide within a slide I wrote about a few days ago

 

 

 

It’s on an upscale Jayco Pinnacle model fifth wheel.  The bigger part is for the whole bedroom wall.  The smaller part is for the head of the king-size bed.  It makes for a pretty big room inside.

 

Windows, room to move around, a television, a fireplace, a couch, and a king-size bed!

 

It’s the middle of April

 

…and we’re not out chasing migrant birds.  That’s weird.

 

I just checked our bird count for this year.  We’re at 132 species.  Last year at this time, we were at 343.  We’re at our lowest number since 2009.  We’re on pace to set a record low!

 

Still enjoying watching and identifying the birds around us, we’re just not getting around as much, and that’s just fine this year.

Freshly planted pots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset at Sandpipers

 

 

Once is not enough

 

That amaryllis that bloomed for us…

 

It just went on and on, flower after flower.  When it was all through, we cut back the bloom stalks and put the plant back out on the deck.  Now we look, and it’s not through after all.  It’s doing it again!

Have not seen this before

 

A slide-out within a slide-out!

It’s so deciduous here

 

More shade.  Not as much cactus and scrub.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re in San Antonio enjoying a couple days in the bus.