The Full Buck Moon...

 

The full Moon names used by The Old Farmer’s Almanac come from a number of places, including Native American, colonial American, and European sources. Traditionally, each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not solely to the full Moon.

The full Moon in July is called the Buck Moon because the antlers of male deer (bucks) are in full-growth mode at this time. Bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year, producing a larger and more impressive set as the years go by.

Several other names for this month’s Moon also reference animals, including Feather Moulting Moon (Cree) and Salmon Moon, a Tlingit term indicating when fish returned to the area and were ready to be harvested.

How it looked this evening (103º at 9:00pm):

Just coming up behind South Mountain...

 And, in its full glory...

 Yeah, it was hot out there while we were waiting for the moon to climb above the mountain.

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I tried some video with the DJI Pocket 3 - that didn't work out, but the camera did get this view of the lights in the yard with the moon...

 Joan has a lot of lighted things amongst the plants and flowers.

 

 

It's a new record!

 

Sounding like a broken record?  Yeah, pretty much.  The predicted high temperature yesterday was 117º.  The actual high reached: 118º.  2º hotter than the previous record of 116º.  The weather weasels on TV treat this like it is a competition, "celebrating" each new record high.

Global warming?  That term seems to set off some people on both sides of the issues.  Based on my non-professional observations, that seems to be the case; this are continues to top record highs.  "Extreme Weather Alerts" (when the temps are expected to top 110º) are happening more frequently.  Another one today, with a predicted high of 114º.

"A cool-off for tomorrow" - that is a quote... "only 110º."

It does affect day-to-day life: with the Extreme Weather Alerts, people are warned about "going outside after noon."  I feel for those who have to work outside.  Construction in the development southeast of us goes on; more activity early in the day.  By mid-afternoon, it tapers off.

Murphy is aware, too.  He likes to spend time outside, which means one of us will be out there with him.  So, early in the day and just before dark... but, early is better.  It was still over 100º at 10:00pm last night.

I try to keep up with the temperature on the hot tub.  The water temperature was 103º when I got in around 8:30pm; the outside air temp was 107º... you can't just turn on the tub and have the outside are temp help cool it down.  I even ran water from the hose into the tub... after letting the water run for a while to get the hot water in the hose and water lines out.  It didn't bring down the water temp in the tub.  I tried a new tack overnight: leaving the tub uncovered.  That worked: when I took Murphy outside this morning, the air temperature was 90º (at 6:30am) and the tub had cooled to 94º.

The hot tub is designed to have the cover closed when not in use.  To keep the water warm.  Also keeps the water cleaner.  But, you do what you have to do.

Is this all about one old guy grousing about the heat?  Well, it is my blog.  But it is a lot more than that.  Even the saguaro cacti seem stressed locally - there is a limit to how much heat they can endure, too.  And looking back where we used to live: the Gulf of Mexico is averaging 2º warmer than it was in 1970.  We all know that warmer water is providing more energy for hurricanes, but more than that, it puts more moisture into the upper atmosphere... which means more thunderstorms and potentially severe weather into states north of the Gulf.  Like the horrendous rains in Hill Country in Texas.  And the damaging storms in the mid-west and east.  "Tornado Alley" has moved east, as well.

It's all related.  The Earth has warmed and cooled over the eons.  We are certainly in a warming period right now.  That means more unstable weather.  "Unstable" - that seems to be a good term to describe Mother Nature these days.

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And, while we're talking about getting outside early and late in the day: the moon-rise over South Mountain was gorgeous last night.  No, I didn't shoot and photos or video.  Joan and I were out there with Murphy.  It was quite a treat to see the glow of light behind the mountain, followed by the moon-rise.  The actual full moon is today, so I may get around to shooting something this evening. 

  

I did it...

 

I was not swayed by the hype.  Or so I thought.

The MacBook I'm looking at was not on sale during the Prime Day (days?) Sale.  I did peruse some of the sale items.  And then I came across a lens I have been considering.  Really, I almost put it in my Amazon cart last week.  After all, I do have a birthday coming up next week.

Lo and behold: that lens is on sale during Prime Days.  $40 off the already good price.  Joan said, "That's your birthday present."  I'm good with that.  It's a 25mm lens for my Sony a6700.  Viltrox (the brand) - I first heard of that brand last year.  This particular lens gets good reviews.  Should be fast and easy to use with the a6700.

 It should be here in time for my birthday.

Swayed by hype?  Not really.  I was looking for a prime (nothing to with Amazon) lens in this general focal length to use when traveling... I like to shoot through the windshield.  May use it on the bike.  We'll see.  I was surprised to see this on sale, though - the price was already good, but expected to rise thanks to the tariffs.

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It's been about a month since Mark and I got together to make some music... I was gone, then he was gone.  Today, we remedied that.  It felt good to play some good ol' rock 'n roll, with harmony.  No new songs, just getting back into the swing of things.  Plus, it was good to see my friends, Mark and Cindy again.

 

 

It's finally here!

 

Did you have trouble sleeping last night?  The anticipation of what Ama Claus (Santa Prime?) might unveil for the Amazon Prime Days Sale?

 

Yeah, me neither.  I am considering an upgrade to my laptop, but the Apple Macbook Air has been "on sale" at Amazon and Best Buy for weeks.  I was hoping to see something better for Prime Day.  I have been going back and forth between the Air and the Pro... price difference, performance difference, screen difference, internal fan vs no fan, difference in ports, size, weight.  All the different configurations make it more of a challenge to get comparisons.

As far as the other stuff on the Prime Day Sales - yeah, I haven't really dug into it... maybe there's other stuff I didn't even know I need?!  I'm kidding.  A lot of hype.

 

 

Above Normal...

 

"Is that like Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average"?  If you said, "Garrison Keillor, from A Prairie Home Companion," you are close and get 5 bonus points as a "participation award."

I'm talking about our local weather weasels... "This will be hottest week of the year.  So far."  No shit, Shakespeare - every week will be "the hottest week of the year - so far" for the next couple months.  Average temperature here for this time of year is 107º.  For a newbie desert dweller, there is nothing normal about living just outside The Gates of Hell. 

To quote the late Sam Kinison and his rant on world hunger: "You live in the f****** desert!  Go where the food is!  We have deserts in America - we just don't live in them!"  Screaming Sammy was funny... not accurate, since about 4 million of us live in this desert in Phoenix... but funny.

 

That's not normal.  Why do people live in the desert?  To get away from "winter"?  People don't live at the North Pole.  'Cause they aren't stupid.  Apparently, living in the desert makes you stupid.  The weather weasels tell us: "You won't want to be outside after noon because there's an Extreme Heat Warning.  It will still be in the 90s through the overnight hours..."  Do we need to be told this?  Are there people here that are so stupid that they don't know you will spontaneously combust if you go outside after noon?

Normal.  At what point does all this "above normal" become normal?

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This is serious.  I like my hot tub.  As in: I use it almost every night.  I like to sit out there after dark and watch planes go by and enjoy the jets (the water kind, not the flying kind) on my my joints.  We are kinda on the flight path for Sky Harbor Airport for traffic coming in from the west.

The serious part: the temperature of the water.  I turn the temp down when its hot like this... 100º feels kinda cool (I keep it at 103º during the winter).  It's an EcoSpa and seems to be well-insulated.  It hold the temperature very steady when it is cool out.  In the heat, the tub is more affected by the sun pounding down on it.  With the temperature of the tub set at 100º, the water temp will climb to 104º or so in this heat... too hot to comfortably soak when the outside air temp is still in the upper 90s.

So, I adjust the temperature on it, as necessary - trying to determine how the heat and pounding sun will affect the water temperature.  I've been doing pretty good... until these over 110º temperatures.  Time to set up the pop-up kiosk over the tub...

It makes a difference.  Last night, the water temperature was 101º when I got in for a soak, around 9:30pm.

"So, why don't you just build a gazebo over the tub, Jim?"  I like the open air feel of where we have this - I can look straight up at the stars, look to the west to see air traffic, or watch the moon come up over South Mountain.  Even this pop-up kiosk cuts down a lot of that visibility, but at least I can take it down for the months it isn't needed.

Yeah, a "first world problem."  Last year at this time, we were gone: spending time in North Carolina, then Arkansas, then New Mexico.  We will be here in the desert for most of the summer this year, so I do what I gotta do.  And, I miss the hot tub when we aren't here.  Such a dilemma, huh?

 

A Trifecta!

 

I first used that term to describe the "attributes" that attracted Joan when we were teenagers (and horrified her parents): long hair, played in a band, and rode a motorcycle.  ;-)

It was a goal that was celebrated, but seldom accomplished, when driving the whale watch boats: 3 different species of whales in one trip.  Once or twice a season, if I was lucky.

Today, another type of trifecta: a different bike outing on 3 consecutive mornings.  Today, I took Joan's Xmax out.  The three bikes we have are very different; on both of mine, I feel like I'm riding in the bike... probably because they both have Corbin seats, which are scooped to give you more support on the backs of your thighs.  On Joan's bike, it feels like I am riding on the bike - I still taller, giving it a higher center of gravity.  One isn't necessarily better than the other, just different.  Cruiser bikes tend to have that "sit in" feeling, and sport bikes are more "sit on."  Just an observation.

The Xmax has more power and grunt than my Burgman; less than the CTX.  So, they each provide a different riding experience.  The Xmax is the sportiest of the three.  

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Before getting out on the bike, Murphy and I had some morning-time together outside.  This is his "S-up?" (What's up?) look...

 I think we all slept good last night.  I didn't hear another intense round of fireworks at midnight.  Walking the yard this morning, I found one cardboard tube - the remnants of one of the aerial displays.  I was surprised that there was only one, considering how many went off so close.

Happy Birthday, America...

 

249 years old.  No doubt, others before me have said, "I don't if this country can take much more of this crap."  But, this blog has never been about the politics.  Heck, it seems to me that humanity may be trying to make itself extinct.  I digress.

I feel like I should eat a hotdog, maybe some apple pie; go to a drive-in theater and watch some fireworks.  You know, like the good old days.  'Cause that's what you used to do on the 4th of July.

These days, I'm good to not be around crowds.  Too many stupid people.  Stupid people, alcohol, and fireworks... what could go wrong?

I digress again.

I got out on the CTX this morning.  A couple degrees warmer and about 20% more humidity than yesterday at the same time.  The CTX is a different kinda bike from Burgman.  Today was a different kinda ride.  Being the 4th of July, I was expecting more traffic up on the mountain.  Before I left, Joan said, "Ride safe - there's likely going to be a lot of people out there."  Yep.

Riding into the Park & Preserve, this sign is a sign of that...

 A view of the city would be spectacular from Dobbins Lookout at the top - you would be able to see fireworks all over the Valley.  But, they have to completely close the park because of stupid people (and fireworks and alcohol).

I didn't bring a camera with my today, but I did shoot a few things with my phone...

 The park was a lot busier today (as expected); yesterday, I saw one other motorcycle - today, there was at least 30.  Plenty of people on bicycles, too.  I rode different today - yesterday, I had the road pretty much to myself, and I may have bumped my adrenaline level a bit.  I was more deliberate today, expecting the unexpected.  I waved a couple Harley riders around me on my way up the mountain... I was enjoying the scenery, the feel of the bike, listening to some tunes in my helmet, and not "pushing it."  On the way down the mountain, I waved a kid on a Honda Monkey (a little 125cc bike) around.  I made it easy for each of them to pass.  Unlike a couple guys on bicycles who rode side-by-side, filling the whole lane.  It was easy enough to get around them, when I had enough forward visibility after a curve; but, they were slow and not about to make it easy for anyone to get around them.  Their problem - I was just enjoying being out.

I stopped at the top of the mountain to re-hydrate.  Stopped once more on the way down to take that photo of the bike (above) and a couple scenery shots...

 Just a nice holiday day to be out, enjoying the ride and the scenery.  And, feeling like a grown-up motorcycle rider.  :-)

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I keep hearing on TV and in the media that "times are tough for the typical American family."  Based on the amount of money that went up in smoke tonight just in our community, you wouldn't know it.  Yeah, I'm talking about fireworks.  The regulations in Phoenix: "any fireworks that launch or explode are generally illegal in Phoenix, except for supervised public displays with a permit."

There were a LOT of launched aerial displays happening, every direction around us.  Just after dark settled in, it sounded like a fire-fight in a war zone out there.  I enjoy a public fireworks display, put on by professionals.  In a safe manner, at an advertised time.  All the commotion out there tonight was not that.

"Aw, Jim, don't be such a curmudgeon - people are just enjoying the holiday."  Yep... an evening of drinking and amateurs with explosives - what could possibly go wrong with that??  I was soaking in the hot tub when the people one lot behind Steph and Dan shot off a dozen loud aerial displays.  Yes, the kind that aren't legal in Phoenix.  Pretty, but obnoxiously loud while they were going off right over the top of our house.

10:30pm currently, and the fireworks competitions are dropping off.  The regulations say that people can set off fireworks "until 1:00am on July 5th."  Hopefully, I will be asleep way before that.

Murphy didn't pay much attention to all the noise, other than looking around when the sound was really close.  I had checked with Steph and Dan earlier to see how their critters were doing - nobody was fazed.  I know some animals panic with all the noise... poor babies.