I guess there are some areas inland that are in the triple digits.  I don’t think it’s been that hot up here, but it’s been hotter than usual.  (At least from what I’ve heard from others who have been around here longer.)  Yesterday Mark was working off-range all day.  He spent 5 hours working on the accumulated trash, sorting it and taking it to the compactor.  He spent another 5 hours on maintenance.  One of the things he checked on was a water tank.  The tank has a pipe running along the ground.  The whole thing is enclosed.  Mark opened the door to check on it, and there was a lizard about 6 inches long sprawled out on the ground pipe.  It didn’t even move when Mark opened the door.  Mark said the only way he knew it was alive was because its eyes were watching him.  He told it that it had to move so he could do his work, and it was reluctant to leave the coolness of the pipe, but it finally got up and left.

I saw a lizard while I was working too, only mine was a 2 inch baby.  I wouldn’t have even seen it if my eye hadn’t caught the motion of it skittering away.  I followed it, entranced, and it finally stopped so I could look at it.  It watched me until I finally turned back to my work, and then I caught the movement of it dashing away in my peripheral vision.

Other wildlife I’ve seen up here include different kinds of birds than I’ve seen before.  I think one kind I’ve seen a lot of is Stellar Jays.  They have a black crested head and almost navy blue feathers everywhere else.  My first day of cleaning the restrooms, I kept disturbing a whole flock of them whenever I went out to get more cleaning supplies.  Another kind of bird I’ve been seeing is a small bird with a black head and just a tip of white on its tail.  If anyone knows what kind of bird this is, leave me a comment.

I have a whole new set of flora and fauna to learn here in California.  Joe was telling me that flowers have a hard time up here because it’s so shady.  If I were in Oregon, I’d be able to give him some clues what he could plant (he takes care of our landscaping) but I’m not so sure here.  Sometime I’d like to check out a garden store and see what kinds of things they sell.

Another thing I deal with here is hard water.  My skin has been very dry, and I have only been using conditioner on my hair lately; not shampoo.  Do any of you deal with hard water?  If so, do you have suggestions?  Leave them in my comments.  Thanks!