December 10 -- No Hikes Today, But A Missile, RV Canopy And Well House To-Do's

Or more likely a roar...An FB friend living near San Simon, about 25 miles to the north, sent me a link to an online newspaper article about the Army test-firing a missile from southwest New Mexico that was supposed to be seen all the way to Las Vegas -- or it was the last time they'd fired one. At that time, people were reporting seeing something strange in the sky as when the morning light shined a certain way on it and the contrail, it would be multicolored. Today's missile was due to be fired between 6:30 and 7:30. Cool!  I've photographed solar pillars cumulonimbus (anvil) clouds and also hail clouds, so a human-caused sky spectacular would be a welcome addition. The sunrise here wasn't so great, so I waited...and waited...Finally, around 7:10, I saw a squiggly line to the east, far off and not too impressive. But that had been made about 15 minutes ago; there was another contrail to the northeast. And it was just made. I had my 500 f/4 lens with the 1.4x TC attached (700mm digital total, or 1200mm in old-fashioned film terms), looked at what I thought was the end of the contrail, and --

Unmistakable -- unless it was a comet, but comets don't make contrails. Then it arced up, making a longer trail -- 

At which point I lost it. There were squiggly lines all over the eastern sky, but to tell you the truth it wasn't that impressive here, especially to the naked eye. But it WAS another sky event.. but apparently not a "Cochise County Wonder" as I posted this on that Facebook site, and it disappeared. 

The main reason I didn't go on a hike -- and it was perfect weather, reaching 75 degrees in the afternoon, with very little wind -- was I was going to have the RV canopy's rectangular dimensions measured out on the ground. But to do that, we (Rob the RV canopy dealer and I) had to decide where to put it. I knew it had to be on the north side of Faranuf as that was the only open area that was large enough for a 26 x 20-foot  "garage". But there are some considerations before marking out the exact spot where the installers will put it up. One thing to know is how the water pipe runs from the well house to the main water connection outside of Faranuf. Rob and I went inside the well house to figure out where the pipe went out. We had to follow the direction of the pipe (PVC) from the electrical well pump (the well head is in the back of the well house), through the 3 tanks of the soft water system. then see where it went out. I'd always thought it left the small building at the water softeners; Rob found out that it didn't. It actually comes out of the water pump, goes through the two filters, makes a sharp right to the water softeners, goes through 2, comes back out and into the wall (which is where I'd assumed the pipe went out to the house) then angled down and into the 3rd tank, then out that along the floor, back to the pipe with the filters -- then into the floor. It's important to know exactly where it leaves the well house so you can figure out the angle that it takes, through the ground to the house's main water connection. We had to assume it followed a straight line to the house; there should be no reason why it shouldn't as it's not going anywhere else. You have to make sure that the canopy side railings don't go over it, over wise the awls that hold the structure into place may be drilled INTO the pipe -- and all hell would break loose, along with the water. So Rob figured that the canopy will have to be angled, not straight back, to avoid hitting the water line. AND it also has to be on ground that is level as much as possible, though that can be compensated for to a certain extent by the installers. We discover that the ground between the well house and Faranuf is a bit high where the end will be, then dips slightly in the middle, then slopes down at an angle. But not by a huge amount, and Rob says it should be ok. Now comes measuring the width and length -- which is harder than it seems, because it has to be 26 x 20, with just an inch or two of "error". We measure and mark the end points with rocks. Then Rob realizes that I measured my end with another rock, not the right one. Too many rocks here -- DOH!  And the 2 measuring tapes get twisted, and at points go over tall grass that throw the exact dimensions off a bit. One side's measurement is good, but the other is way off. Darn! So we move everything over a bit more. Then the other side is off -- darn again! We increase the angle relative to the house a bit more. After about -- well, I don't really know how many tries -- all the sides match the canopy's dimensions. The angle to the house isn't too bad, and we the water line is missed by the length sides where the augurs will be put to hold the canopy in place. And after checking we find out that the other lines -- telephone, electrical, etc -- are either on the other side of the house, or run east from the main utility box to the power pole, and not a consideration at all. Serendipity once again! Rob ends things by putting small red flags at the corner points clears the frame spaces with a shovel,  then sprays the lines with paint. Not so easy-peasy, but it could have been a LOT worse. And I don't have to call Blue Stake to detect and map out the underground lines, or call Columbus Electric because of underground electrical cables. Now all I need is to get the building permit in the mail, then photograph it and send it as an attachment to the building company so they can start making the building materials. And when it's all done, Discovery II will have a new home. 

Here's where it will be

I've been a bit concerned about how the well house, and the pipes in particular, will fare in sub-freezing temperatures. They've done ok in the 8 years that they've been here, so that's a good thing. But the PVC pipes CAN crack -- and there is a circulating fan that shoots air down into the well house; its use is mainly to keep things dry inside as much as possible during the humid season.  But during winter it brings cold air in. For those who don't know what it is, it's shaped like one of those (I'm dating myself here) Jiffy-Pop popcorn things that you put in the microwave, where it gets bigger as the popcorn pops; the fan looks like that at its "most popping" size. And it spins in the wind, which brings the air in. So in winter, the trick is to either cover it, or the opening underneath it on the well house roof. It's been recommended that I could put a light bulb near the pipes and put it on a timer, so there is heat on them during to cold periods during the night, but I opt for another solution -- put a big trash bag over the fan to stop it from spinning, and holding the bag down on the roof with rocks. So I get the long ladder that I borrowed from my friend and neighbor Helen climb on top of the well house roof. Ah, it has composition shingles just like the roofs on Faranuf and the garage! And none are missing, and all seem to have held in place. I put the trash bag over the fan, hold it in place with 4 rocks, hopefully that will take care of THAT. I'll find out tomorrow as it's supposed to be windy; hopefully the trash bag will stop the fan from spinning. So it's been a day of accomplishment...

The sunset is colorful from nearly all angles -- 

North

South

West

And now I can relax by finishing the bio of Frank Sinatra (he dies in the end).