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canyonwalkerOn our drive to Barstow yesterday we took some detours across the Central Valley to avoid traffic slowdown. Our initial route plan was to drive I-5 from near Los Banos to Buttonwillow, then cross over to Bakersfield. Then I-5 crapped up, and real-time traffic apps recommended we drive 152 east from Los Banos to 99 then south. But then 99 crapped up, too. The maps suggested we drive a variety of county and local roads to avoid the jams. We're pretty bored with the two usual routes, so we figured, Sure, let's do it.
The roads took us through little bits of the Central Valley we've never seen before. For example, we finally saw the town of Firebaugh. We've only ever seen it by its name on road signs in the middle of nowhere. As in, "Firebaugh, 20 miles deeper into nowhere -->."
We also saw lots of hawks on the roadside. They were perched on telephone posts, power line pylons, lamp posts, etc.
We also saw lots of bird boxes. Most farms have them on near the edge of their orchards. Some of the mystery was revealed when we saw a big sign advertising Barn Owl enclosures. We passed a shop that builds & sells them. It was near Firebaugh. And right past that we saw another owl box... with a huge red-tail hawk sitting atop it.
Yeah, that's not going to attract owls. Think, a combination of "It's a trap!" and a riff on the signs you see for new housing/apartments... "If you lived here, you'd be dead already."
The roads took us through little bits of the Central Valley we've never seen before. For example, we finally saw the town of Firebaugh. We've only ever seen it by its name on road signs in the middle of nowhere. As in, "Firebaugh, 20 miles deeper into nowhere -->."
We also saw lots of hawks on the roadside. They were perched on telephone posts, power line pylons, lamp posts, etc.
We also saw lots of bird boxes. Most farms have them on near the edge of their orchards. Some of the mystery was revealed when we saw a big sign advertising Barn Owl enclosures. We passed a shop that builds & sells them. It was near Firebaugh. And right past that we saw another owl box... with a huge red-tail hawk sitting atop it.
Yeah, that's not going to attract owls. Think, a combination of "It's a trap!" and a riff on the signs you see for new housing/apartments... "If you lived here, you'd be dead already."
