FISHY PACKETS FROM THE AIR. OCTOBER 2026

North Carolina will soon distribute 600,000 oral rabies vaccines in 17 of its western rural counties by dropping them from low flying planes, helicopters and by hand. It is intended to inoculate the 600,000 raccoons. I couldn’t find the original image that only showed the green bait. This photo shows 3 different styles.

Officials say if you find one to leave it alone unless there is a possibility of a dog or child getting to it. Dogs might eat some but it won’t harm them except for maybe giving them a bellyache.

If it must be move, officials suggest wearing gloves.

COMPLETED THE LITTLE APACHE TRAIL. OCT. 10, 2026

A cool morning with blue skies. I packed for the mountains and the last step was to get Bella in the back seat. I opened the back seat door, opened the gate and told her to come. She’s done fine the last two times. She took one look at the open door and ran into the middle of the street. What the heck? I told her we were going to see Lolli and she came running back and jumped in.

I’d lie to my Mama if it would get my dog out of the street.

I hope I have fewer chances for accidents this time over. The last time I had to survive three incidents, none of which would have been my fault. I do like this CR-V with all the safety features. I especially like the sensors that let me know if a vehicle is in my blind spots and the sensors that let me know when traffic is coming from the side as I back out of a parking spot but I can’t forget the sensor that slows the CR-V when a slower vehicle gets in front, the steering wheel that shimmies when I pass over certain types of lane stripes. I may have to turn off the part where it brakes when it believes a vehicle has come to a standstill in front of me. So far it’s been two parked vehicles on the side of the road at a curve.

I drove past Bent. If I didn’t have Bella, I could have talked myself into stopping at the Bent Apple Festival. It was held at a small rock church next to the highway. Attendees parked on the shoulder. Soon we were on NM-244 taking twisties before straightening out and following along a many mile long meadow. Quaking aspen here and there are no longer a pretty yellow. More brown and some trees are bare. In the Basin, the cottonwood tree are getting a smattering of bright yellow. The prettiest foliage on a cottonwood is just north of the High Rolls tunnel near the curve. Huge tree all by itself. Pull the yellow crayon from a box and you have the color it gets. It is on a property near our old place and the tree is watered by a couple of tiny springs. Or at least it used to be. It’s been over ten years since I’ve walked the hill.

Silver Springs RV Park and Trout Pond is full. A large open area is full of tents and RVs and kids running everywhere. It’s but a skip over to the trout pond.

I pulled into the four campgrounds hub area of Silver Overflow, Silver, Fir, and Apache. It also has two nice trails. The Little Apache Trail, T124, begins at the Silver Overflow vault toilets, meanders here and yon, goes up a long meadow, and ends at the edge of the Silver Campground about a quarter mile from the parking area. It is 2.7 miles and is considered moderately difficult. There are no long views. It’s all about the trees and meadows. The other trail is Fir Trail, T122, that begins about a quarter mile southwest of the tiny parking area and meanders not far from NM-244, past a group campground, and also pops out on the campgrounds access road. It is 1.9 miles and is considered moderately difficult. Also, all about the trees and meadow. Both trails have an elevation change around 300′.

I intended to start Bella with fetching in the 450′ x 250′ asphalt parking lot re-designated as the Silver Overflow Campground, but there was still a travel trailer inside even though the gate was locked. I could see legs moving on the other side. I wonder if they will be there all winter. The only services for the hosts was a large propane tank and a water spigot. No electricity and the water pipes have been drained. Not sure the TT was at a host site. So we moseyed past the now closed vault toilets and hit the forest trail. I practiced Bella on not pulling. She does quite well. So much better than HappyDog who put her head down and PULLED. The trail was a bit slippery in places, so I let Bella off leash. She stayed close by and checked back often. Ears went up and I leashed her. She heard people coming before I did and and alerted with a lift of her head and a stiffening of her body. “Yes,” says I with a fist pump. Another indication she’s going to be a great trail dog.

I talked briefly with the couple, and we parted. Not far back was a woman with an graying female Rhodesian Ridgeback. The breed was created in South Africa and used to track and bay large animals including lions. It’s a calm and protective breed. Bella and the dog met nicely. While we were talking, the dog slid her head under my hand. Only then did I realize how big she was. Her head was past my hip joint. The woman said the trail behind her was free of critters which I appreciated. A quick goodbye and back to walking.

Got a little confused when I’m suddenly on a well-used gravel road. There used to be the grassy remnants of a road from years ago. Did the forest service make a back door road? Gmaps would end my confusion. It’s a road that accesses the top of the gravel hill (upper right in the photo) being whittled down by a gravel company. That also explained why the gate to the business is open.

Now, where is the trail? There used to be a marker on a post. Ain’t no guessing going on here. The trail should be… looking at the track in GPX Viewer Pro app… right about — there it is. A tree marker is hidden in the shadows.

I have a good view of the gravel business. A pretty good portion of a small mountain has been removed. A measurement from Gmaps shows the removed area is 1100′ x 660′. I’m glad I’m not operating the equipment sixty feet up. It looks to be closed for the winter or maybe for good. Nothing there but two trailers. This reminds me the county will soon begin stockpiling a reddish sand at US-82 and NM-244 for spreading on the roads when they freeze over. Since we are expected to have a wet winter I wonder if they will be bringing in more than usual.

According to my phone app loaded with the GPX files from Lynn Melton’s Trail Guide Lincoln National Forest page we were at the midpoint of the trail. Do we go back the way we came or do we complete the trail? I checked with my body. Now that I don’t have a leash in my left hand I can manage a good stride. Hips not hurting. Dog still has the same energy we began with. Let’s go for it.

We’ve been going down in elevation to this point and from here we go slowly up. I was doing a mix of Bella off-leash and on-leash when I felt a presence behind me. Just as I turned a fellow on a bicycle called out. I jumped about three inches. He apologized for startling me. For the uninformed, call a hello at least 30-40 yards away to prepare hikers. Remember when we were kids and put playing cards on the spokes for the noise? I wish mountain bikers did the same. He did tell me another was following and not long after I met him. Bella behaved much better than the last time when she tried to run after them. We met them several hundred yard farther when they stopped for repairs. They mentioned they met a group with lots of dogs in service vests.

Bella had a grand time. She got the zoomies and I let her burn it off in a series of go out and come backs. She was very good about checking back at about 15 yards. We took a break on a fallen tree, and I took out the spiked ball and we played fetch. Never have I played fetch in a more beautiful place.

Bella hasn’t learned to drink from my cupped hand as I gave her a drink from a bottle. She licked it as it falls out of the neck. That immediately becomes her bottle and goes on the same side pocket that she walks on when on leash. I hope I never get it confused with mine. She has the thickest spit of any dog I’ve ever known. I wash her water bowl with soapy water every evening. Since the morning the water becomes a gel. It even sounds thick as it goes down the sink. When I was at Margo’s she asked why I was wearing an apron in the middle of the day. Why am I still wearing an apron? I realized I’d begun keeping my apron on because Bella slobbers. When I love on her, she snuggles that big jowl into my lap and I’m a sloppy mess. The apron keeps my clothes cleaner and dryer.

As we arrived at the second trailhead near the Silver Campground, I gave myself a high-5. This is the first trail I’ve completed in at least a year. I can add another half mile since I parked a distance from both trailheads. I can claim 3.2 miles. Been a long time coming. The cooler weather and thyroid pills are giving me my energy back. The yoga is giving me flexibility and pain free hips. I’m in an overall better frame of mind. The meadows and trees are so gorgeous after several months of rain. The air smells like vanilla, happy soil and green grass. I love autumn. The only thing I miss is I have yet to hear a bugling elk. Breeding season is almost over. I’m running out of time.

I wish one of these campgrounds had electricity. I’d come up more often. A month ago when I had the RV up here and paid $32/day, the camp host mentioned I could get half off the campsites if I had a specific pass. It’s been a month and — you know, brain fart — I think she was talking about the America the Beautiful Senior Lifetime Pass for $80. I can get one at the Sacramento Ranger Station, but they are only open Monday thru Friday. I want to get one soon because I want to stay at a couple of campgrounds in the Basin. The last fee campground — Deerhead — officially closed today for winter. I don’t know when they reopen.

At the parking area, an 8-dog trailer was parked under the only shade. I guess the service dogs were getting a lesson in hiking trails. I didn’t hang around. While I was excited to complete a trail, I was also tired. We could go into Cloudcroft but it’s probably already full because of the weekend. Got home by mid afternoon, and we celebrated with a nap. Bella flopped into her bed. I’ve recorded six good movies so my evening was full.

An unexpected tap on the kitchen hood vent extending through the ceiling. An on and off drizzle to cool down the house and make the grass grow even more.

Still, a great day. I want to walk another trail soon.

MAX AND HURRICANE ISIAS, HIGH TIDES. OCT. 9, 2026

Remember when I complained about the hurricane/storm names of Rollo and Pollo because they were too similar? Well I’m falling all over Isaias. I see an I, I pronounce an I. I-sa-i-as. I had to look it up. It’s Spanish: “ee-sah-EE-ahs,” with the emphasis placed on the third syllable. Four syllables. Now I’ve got it. However, I would be pleased with something shorter. I’ve looked at the future names through 2031. One has four syllables: Ophelia. The rest are three syllables or less.

Which country gets to name the hurricanes? I looked it up. Hurricanes are named, not by a country, but an international committee under the World Meteorological Organization, an organization of the United Nations. Hurricanes to our close east and Gulf of Mexico are named by meteorological representatives from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Yeah, that makes sense. Can’t have different countries giving the same storm different names. I don’t mind other culture names. Just make them easy to spell and pronounce. Is that possible?

At 6:44 pm I tuned in to Max Velocity – Severe Weather Center on YouTube to hear 53 Waffle Houses have already closed because of Hurricane Isaias on the verge of landing in the Florida panhandle. Ya know it’s going to be dangerous when Waffle Houses close. While the company considers that an impressive statistic, I consider it a black mark against the company. Unless those employees are getting paid big, big bucks, those employees should be safe in their homes or packing up and leaving.

People have been instructed to evacuate. Of course many don’t. They do the opposite. Common sense was in short supply. At 6:47 pm six people, at least three of them kids, walked past a camera installed by a storm chaser to monitor an advanced beach surge. An old Florida dude in shorts walked out to dip his hands in the surf and throw fisticuffs in the air. At least he wasn’t stupid enough to get more than toes deep in waves that would have carried him off so easily. Vehicles drove through rising water.

Some bay bridges were closed although I’m not sure how that’s done. I looked it up. Some bridges raise a portion of the roadway to 90° to the road. Other cities place barricades and police officers. I’d hate to be those unlucky patrol officers who got tasked with the responsibility of manning the barricades. Some states don’t block the bridges. They figure if you are stupid enough to go up then your safety is on you.

Six storm chasers working with Max have scattered themselves to capture live coast conditions. Periodically, Max tapped into to their videos. At night, the chasers illuminated the storm with their headlights. During the height of the storm, the views out the windshields was nothing but slants of rain and inefficient windshield wipers. Debris broke the windshield of a storm chaser vehicle on an interstate. Another had his soft Jeep cover shredded. Why would someone drive in a hurricane with a soft cover?

Some cities didn’t turned off the electricity. Very cheery Christmas lights were wrapped around poles at Fort Walton Beach. Where the electricity was off, business’s emergency lights came on.

Design from Max Velocity

A small shed near a beach received lots of attention because it can be seen in one of the cameras, and the surge moved it. It became a running joke and viewers asked Max to make a T-shirt that they can buy. Max has a graphic artist in his employ and an hour after the hurricane hit shore, the artist had designed a shed image. Here it is. At 8:18pm Max said a shed T-shirt was available. By 8:20 the first person crowed that they bought one in steel blue. By 9:20 they had sold 360 on his merch page. Towards the end of the show he asked everyone to guess how many times he mentioned the word shed in two hours. I guestimated 65. It was 64.

Max is a young guy. 24. Graduated from a meteorological school last year. Has a strong, well enunciating voice for online and an outgoing personality. He currently has 2.19 million subscribers and throughout the evening three million households watched his show. That’s an amazing number. Tonight was the second highest live views of his channel. He is in a great position to build a massive online business since so many government weather facilities have been shut down.

When Max needs a break, he hands control to another young fellow in another studio somewhere who talks about related storm data and shows fresh graphics. Then it’s back to Max. He might be online for 8-9 hours. So much so that it takes a toll on his voice.

Max and his crew do a fabulous job at engaging with their online community through six different platforms. The chat window on his main YT screen sometimes has so many chatters that the screen scrolls continuously. When the action slows, he answers chatters questions, and reads the ones that interest him. This personal touch is drawing in a lot of viewers. I admit I am a fan.

Viewers can submit their location which shows up on a big map. Regular folks can send in photos and videos of weather and he might use them during the show. He also has partnerships. In between saying how many households were without power he mentioned a generator company. He also mentioned he uses WeatherFront for monitoring the weather live.

His and his crew’s energy and expertise reminds me how old I am. I’m grateful young adults are stepping up to fill important niches.

.————–.

Hurricane Isaias was inside the Gulf of Mexico. It’s 661 miles from where it made landfall in Destin, Florida to Port Aransas, Texas where I like to visit every fall. Even though the distance is across most of the gulf, Port Aransas and Corpus Christi experienced very high tides and waves. The usual happened. A dozen or so surfers ignored rip current warnings. The sea was, in some places, touching the dunes past the road which is nothing more than scraped sand that’s been lightly packed by vehicle tires. And yet people thought it was a good idea to park on the beach. Stuck vehicles everywhere. Cars, trucks, RVs. There’s a photo of a family trying to dig their Class C tires out when the wet sand is up to the axles. Volunteers from 361 Off-Road Rescue were unable to budge it. I wonder how much a heavy tow truck cost and if they were even willing to drive onto that muck. Someone parked a travel trailer so close to the water line that it flipped it on it’s side. Some folks commented it might have been an insurance scam.

The one good thing about high tides is it packs the sand pretty good after the water sinks. Make a good driving surface. I hope so. I’ll be there in a week. I know the parking area least likely to involve towing is a paved area next to the pier. In case it’s not available, our reservations are three blocks from the water. We are just going to have to hoof it.

WASHED AND WAXED THE CR-V, POMEGRANATES. OCT. 5, 2026

In the spring, I noticed the CR-V’s finish was not sheeting water off the surfaces. It’s parked under a carport or in a garage, but it has been through three southern New Mexico summers. Common sense says it needs a waxing. Might as well get it done so if I’m in Texas and it rains, the water will zip off.

I didn’t look forward to the task. The water here is full of minerals so I had to keep the vehicle wet until I completed scrubbing the entire SUV or the surface would be pockmarked with white circles. It will require drying it thoroughly then waxing before dust alights on it. I figure I have two hours before I’d have to rinse and dry again.

I got out all the items needed including a three-step stepladder as the temperatures rose high enough to be comfortable in a fuzzy pullover. First a rinse to remove the sand, then soap and water. I bought a clay bar to remove embedded particles that regular washing can’t remove. It feels like — clay. Yellow like a canary. I looked on YT how to use it. It’s not an intellectual exercise. Just sweat. Got the vehicle wet, rubbed the bar across the surface until the clay doesn’t stick or skip. Followed by a rinse. Well, darn it. One article said I should have done the clay bar first followed by washing and rinsing instead of washing, rinsing, clay bar, and rinsing. I hope it doesn’t affect anything.

Still running around between sections to mist the other areas. Finally, I got to out my new Royal Shine Microfiber Towel, XL 35″ x 24″. 1300 GSM. It’s been sitting in its cardboard box. To use it, all I needed to do was toss it on the horizontal surfaces and pull towards me. Man, that’s nice. I ran it across the windows which were full of drops. Sucked them up to perfection. Hey, I like this towel. I got about halfway through when I became aware that the towel was getting heavier. Like a five pound sack of sugar. The water uptake wasn’t as perfect as when I first flopped it out, but another wipe completed the task.

I was exhausted from all the activity. I went indoors and watched TV and napped. At 4pm I returned to the SUV and went over it lightly with the heavy towel that was drying quickly. I wiped on the polish — not wax — and after it turned a hazy white, I wiped it off with an old T-shirt. About ten percent of the vehicle is a dull plastic trim baked by the New Mexico sun. I cannot use the polish on that. And of course some got on it, and I had to scrub it off. Now the black trim looks even duller in places. I texted Margo and sure enough she has some trim stuff that should return it to black.

The vehicle is not done for the day but I am. I put away the wash items and took plenty of OTC pain pills. I don’t have to do yoga tonight.

Social media tells me the Deerhead Campground south of Cloudcroft on NM-130 is the last fee campground to close for the winter in the Sacramento District of the Lincoln National Forest. The gate will be locked on Saturday the 10th. That’s about a month later than the other campgrounds.

Folks are really complaining about the road work on US-82 from Alamogordo to High Rolls. Road work equipment apparently is making an already dangerous caution intersection at US-82 and Florida Avenue even more dangerous. The road surface is getting something called a fog coat/seal. A fog coat is a sprayed on layer of diluted asphalt to lock in the new chips in and seals cracks that might hold water during freezing temperatures. The pilot vehicle is taking traffic across this layer and folks are concerned that the asphalt will splatter on their vehicles. Most folks say it’s not, but I’m not taking any chances with my new wash job.

Wednesday

Bella woke up running. I fed her and put her outside. She disappeared around the west side. Did I have the gate open for her to get in the back yard? Yes. She was a race horse. She definitely needs a good long hike and it wasn’t happening today. We played fetch. Bella is quite good for a big dog.

I went to the discount store for canned dog food and treats. Met a local postal delivery woman. I asked her how the recent rains affected her route and she said it wasn’t bad, but the current road construction on US-54 is backing up traffic for miles in both directions. The state recently widened the narrowest part of the highway south of Corona so drivers — especially big trucks — would be enticed to take 54 instead of I-25. This current repair is 11 miles of road between Tularosa and Carrizozo that would be milled and inlaid, replacement of rumble strips and new guardrails. Will take 100 days to complete. I’ll be glad when they widen that length of road into a divided four-lane. Right now it’s collecting more than it’s fair share of headons and fatalities.

I returned back to the SUV. Time to clean the SUV glass inside and out and wipe on Rain-X. I need to replace the wipers but will have to watch some videos first.

I’ve been searching for new microfiber cloths. My last batch left tiny bits of material on the windshield. So bad I tossed the entire batch away. I recently purchased Maxshine 16″x16″ Glass Cleaning Microfiber Towels. 5-pack. 300 GSM. Unlike most microfiber towels that grip my skin most unpleasantly, these feel so soft. They removed the glass cleaner quickly and easily. I like ’em. However, I haven’t washed them yet. When I do, it will only be done in unscented, no dyes, no brightners washing machine detergent. Then air dried.

In between I did a number of chores, the most painful being to dispose of the pomegranate fruit off one of two pomegranate shrubs. The little failing shrub had six. The other had 100. I had to stop watering two months ago when the village was placed on emergency water rationing. This apparently was an vital time to water because the fruit turned from red to a brownish-red. Many were black on the bottom. After the recent deep rains, the fruit busted open. Birds and ants have been harvesting. I was disappointed because pomegranate drink is really healthy. Lemme go back to that painful comment. If you’ve ever stuck your hands inside a pomegranate bush you know the branches are full of two inch thorns. I wear heavy leather gloves. The fruits are held firmly to the plant and must be cut with hand shears. I trimmed the shrubs several years ago following the recommendations of doing so in early spring or the plant would fight back with lots of suckers and extra growth. Thought I did a good job and then — swoosh — came all the suckers out of the ground around the trunks. Maybe I’ll clip them in early January.

All this vehicle cleaning and leaning and squatting for two days has done me in. I’ll wander over to Margo’s tomorrow.