The Night Life....

My parents never set a bedtime for me when I was a child.  I asked my Mom about this when I was older....  I remember my friends having a certain time for bed...  why didn't I?  Well, my Mom said that I always went to bed early...  she didn't have to set a time.  Actually, if they couldn't find me they would just check my bed and sure enough, I'd be sound asleep.  Obviously I am not nor have ever been a night person.  I came into this world around 5pm on a Saturday evening...  I wasn't even fashionably late for dinner.

I miss out on a lot of entertainment...  theater, concerts, parties....  they all start about the time I hit the sack.  We go on cruises...  I hear they have great entertainment...  the only show I've ever gone to was called "The Blue Man" or something like that, and believe me, it was not worth staying up to see.

Now that we're gainfully employed as Gate Guards, we have to be ready to open that gate and log in the vehicles 24 hours a day.  Doesn't take a genius to figure out that since Bill & I are working this as a team, someone has to take the night hours.

The first few days on the job we'd each take 2 hour shifts through the night.  Yeah... that means sleep a couple of hours, work a couple of hours, sleep, work...  etc.  .... this wasn't precise or anything, but neither of us was used to being up at night.  Crazy, huh?  But we had to kind of get the feel for just how long we could stay awake during the hours we'd normally sleep.

That really busy time slowed down after the fracking was done, and we had a week or so of no night traffic at all.  Now the next phase is starting, and there'll be a lot of vehicles during the tubing and installing the pumps.  So... it's back to night shifts.

This time we're trying something different.  I think I'd rather do a longer shift and then sleep longer in the morning.  So Bill goes to bed around 9pm...  and I will be "on duty" until 4 or 5 am. 

"You Light Up My Life"

If it's warm enough I enjoy sitting outside.  Those flood lights not only light up the area well enough to read, but they draw all kinds of insects. 

I've found the night life to be quite interesting.  The night hawks swoop down... so close I can practically count the feathers on their winds.  They have a gourmet meal every night....  a veritable smorgasbord of choices.

It's especially interesting to look at the creepy-crawlies....

Look at this tarantula!

He caught my eye as he was moving along in front of me.

And...  WooooHoooo!

A Scorpion!

 He was one of 3 I saw this evening.  It's funny how they hold their tails in a curl over their back.

Seeing these critters at night is not only exciting to me, but it makes me aware that they ARE around... even during the day, so I need to be cautious!

I've already posted photos of the sphinx and the Io moths....  and the false scorpion and some of the other insects.  But there's always something to watch...  even if it's as small as a tiny moth.

One thing, though...  the flood lights are so bright I can't see the stars.  I used to recognize several constellations, but now I'm happy to see Orion or the Pleiades.  However...  that's not going to happen here.

On the plus side.... I believe I have better internet during the night hours.  It's certainly nothing great, but after midnight I think it might be slightly faster than dial-up.

This night life isn't too bad after all.

Oh yes...  thank you all for your kind comments about our dog dilemma.  You made me feel better about a difficult situation.  Thanks for listening.

That's All for Today!