The Most Amazing APP

Remember that bright star next to the moon I took a picture of last week?  Truly, I had no idea what it was and since my Dad told me the brightest star was always the North Star, that's how I identified it.  Funny, I was looking South when I saw it.

Anyway, NOW, with this new App, you can find out exactly what every single star is named.  Who knew they all HAD names??  All the credit goes to reader Mister Ed.  He sent an email showing me this new App that I just HAVE to share with you.

Have you ever looked up and wondered where Orions Belt was (besides in the movie Men In Black)?   Well now you can see it right on your phone as you look up in the sky.  You can even see it INSIDE your house if you wish.  It works anywhere.

Download the app and preferably go outside at night.  Hold your phone up to the sky and you will see this.  The background is actually the Arizona sunset I was looking at.  Superimposed over that is all the stars and planets.  Touch a planet with your finger and this image comes up telling you exactly what it is.  This is Jupiter.  Whoever came up with this is a genius.

Looking above my house was again Jupiter, even though I couldn't see it because of the clouds, along with another planet.  I wonder what THAT one is?  I tapped it to find out it was the moon.  

Just to double check, I turned the app off, and sure enough, there was the MOON!!  This is so cool!  I tapped on several tiny stars to find they all had names.  I never knew.  Here's another amazing thing ... I even found the space station.  Not that I could see it, but it showed up on the App.  If you WERE trying to see it, this will show you exactly where to look.  It even gives you it's flight path, as well as those of the planets.  What an amazing thing to share with your grandkids ... or even your kids.

It is an iPhone application found in the App store for free.   It's called Skyview Lite.  There has been one around for other phones for quite some time.  THIS one is a kick in the pants!!

So as temperatures soared yesterday to a whopping 107, I didn't venture out much.  It's only 102 in my home town, but smoke from the fires is making it difficult to breathe.  I'd rather be here.  

I finished the digging for lawn edging, filling in several more holes around the yard.  I actually bought a broom to sweep out all the dead black spiders in the garage from when I soaked the interior with bug spray.  Yes, it was a little toasty.  I'm hoping there's a little fat coming out with all that sweat, sort of like a built in sauna.

Someone informed me that I will never get rid of the scorpions, but if I keep spraying and kill everything on their dinner menu, they will go away.  That works for me.

In the meantime, I'm in a battle of the wills over two holes outside my yard.  Everyday day I stuff huge rocks in the holes, forcing them in with all my foot power.  Next day, the rocks are out.  I stuff in another one.  I'm running out of rocks, but determined whatever it is can go elsewhere.

From the size, I imagine it's a rat.  Too small for a bunny, too big for a desert recluse, which I think lives in the smaller perfectly round hole next door.  

While digging out one dead plant, I discovered four big fat nasty worms eating the base, which of course killed the plant.  This is what the nice lady at the nursery gave me the systemic for ... to mix up and pour around those plants and kill any weevils trying to suck the life out of them.  So that's today's plan, besides more sewing.  

And finally .. some good news about my awning.  But that's for tomorrow.

Meet Cocoa!!

One of the really cool things I've discovered about RV'ing is meeting up with friends you have met on the road.  Patty and John Painter became part of the Golden Spike Group some time ago and have traveled all over the western states with our group.

It happens they just adopted a new member of their family.  Meet Cocoa, the cutest English Bulldog EVER!!  She and Cooper have been carrying on conversations on Facebook for the last couple of weeks as the family traveled to New Mexico and back to Phoenix where they live, hiking mountain trails all the way.

She's only three months old, so Cooper has been giving her hints ... things like how to act really tired and get her humans to carry her and what expressions will get them to give up their lounge chair.  She's a quick learner.

Cocoa loves patio dining, so Patty googled "pet friendly restaurants" and came up with LaIndita Restaurant in old town Tucson ... 4th Street, for those who know the area.  It wasn't exactly your upscale restaurant, but we really didn't care.  At 102 degrees, I did expect a ceiling fan or SOMETHING, but I would be wrong.

We walked through the restaurant, being led by Miss Cocoa and headed out the back door to find the tables filthy dirty and covered with chairs.  They did NOT follow us out to show us to our seats.  Okay then ..... I lifted the chair off the table, leaving the seat part behind.  I tried the second chair with the same result.  After putting all the parts and pieces together, we all sat down.  

A very nice kid brought us chips and salsa, thinking we were crazy for sitting outside in the heat, and proceeded to put them on the dirty table.  Could we have a rag to clean this please?  We got a tablecloth.  Now THAT'S service!!  I'm sure it was because he was enamored with Cocoa who by then was wrapped around the chair leg twice and chewing on her bone.

Don't let her fool you ... she's a three month old puppy full of play and chew with her spiky knife sharp teeth.  What a bundle of joy!!

The background here looks nice, right?  I should have taken more pictures.  At any rate, we got our food, which was delicious, but only after asking them twice because they forgot we were there.  John never did get his beer.  It was no concern to me however, since I was having fun with Miss Cocoa.

On the way out, the cook and waiter loved her so much, Patty and John had to rush out the door to keep them from grabbing her.  You can't blame them, she even made ME think twice about adopting one of her sisters who are still available.  BONK!!!  That was me hitting myself on the head for having such a dumb idea.

I spent the entire rest of the day sewing on that Block Challenge quilt, watching baseball and playing with my kids.  It's been a rather sad time in baseball with half of our team not playing because they are hurt.  Honestly, I don't even know the players names because they are all straight out of the farm team.

Unfortunately, due to my visit with Cocoa, I didn't get my awning paperwork turned in to the HOA, so that will be today's project.  The guy didn't call upon his return from out of town and I only got an answering machine.  It's okay though, I'm going ahead with the project anyway.

Next up ... I have a really cool APP for your phone!

Straight As A Crooked Arrow

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, I was up early to start work on my edging project.  Not really .... although the puppies have me up at 4:30 every morning now, I would really not have to actually DO anything until around 9:00.

With this weekend heat, I knew I had to be out early, so I donned as little as possible, keeping the neighbors in mind, and headed outside at 6:00.  Whoever said the desert had DRY heat is a liar.  It's so humid that five minutes outside and you become a soaking wet mess.

I keep telling myself I should put this stuff off until winter, but that's when it's cool enough to wander about the country on an adventure.  I decided to give it an hour.  Here's the result.  About as straight as a crooked arrow can fly, but not TOO bad a line for not having a string to stretch out.  It's about 60 feet long.

In no time, my wheelbarrow broke.  I was using it to haul the dirt to a big hole on the far side of the yard.  They don't build them like they used to folks.

I've stepped in this 6" deep hole a dozen times and almost twisted my ankle.  It's now full to the brim, but needs a little water to compact it.   I'm sure that bermuda grass will cover it quickly.

If you look over the fence, you can see the agricultural project I had going to feed the deer.  This was all dry desert when I left before the sprinklers got stuck in the open position.  Actually, it's a good example of what the early Indians saw before the Cattlemen arrived.  Much of this desert area was covered with this kind of grass, not the scrub brush you see today, the result of overgrazing large herds.

My hour up and literally dripping with sweat, I took a quick shower and headed off to my favorite fast food joint ... Dairy Queen ... just because it's less than two minutes from my house.  That's when I ran into this rain cell.  When it pours in Arizona, it POURS!!  It is however, a cheap car wash if you need one.

I was back home by 9:00 enjoying the fruits of my labor.  

For dinner the other night, I wanted to barbecue two pork loins I had in the fridge.  I came up with a really tasty marinade of soy sauce, honey mustard and spices and set about heating up the grill.  YIKES!  It was a mess from the last thing I cooked.  With no brush to clean it up, I smashed up a piece of aluminum foil and did the best I could.

Medium low was the desired temperature.  I really did turn it down, but it wasn't having any of it.  I couldn't see any difference in the amount of flame when I turned the knob.  I closed the lid and hoped for the best.  In fifteen minutes I turned them over ... a little toasty on one side.  I adjusted the flame even lower, or at least I tried to.  

Another ten minutes and I figured I better get them off before they became burial material.  Sure enough, they were overdone, although still very edible and quite tasty.  Unfortunately, they left a big mess on the grill for me to clean up ...... next time.

Yes I do have those grill mats, but they have to be cut to size, which I couldn't do on a hot grill.  Also "next time".  In fact, I'm going to cut them to size the minute I finish this blog.

They keep moving the HOT weekend back, which now appears to be happening on Tuesday.  I possibly have company coming today and am meeting with the HOA about my awning project in the late afternoon.  Then it's off to Home Depot or Lowes (whoever is closer) for some brick.

Arizona Water

You've heard the term hard as a rock?  Well that's what Arizona's water is like.  You have to use twice as much soap to clean anything.  It causes a little havoc in your coach too!  I don't go overboard with the filters on my motorhome since it was just too much trouble and took up valuable driving and recreating time.

I don't drink the water in the coach anyway.  I've been too used to being on a well system all my life, meaning lovely sweet water with no metal or bleach taste to it.  That meant sooner or later, I would have some hard water troubles in the rig.  It happened just before I left.  I turned on a faucet and hardly anything came out.

I thought maybe it was the pump and it needed to be replaced.  Why in the world the thought came to me to clean the faucet screens, I have absolutely no idea, but clean them I did.  I took every end off and even though they were plastic, I soaked them in CLR.  It cleaned up a glass coffee pot for me once and now I swear by it.

Amazingly, they didn't melt and when I put the faucet ends back on, water poured out just like it should.  How cool is that?  I just saved myself hundreds of dollars.  Next up is the toilet, which seems to have the same problem.  That's going to be a little trickier since there is no room whatsoever to maneuver around and remove the water line, but remove it I must.  Won't THIS be fun!  

Have I thought of a water softener?  Yes I have, but they require you keep lots of bags of salt around, not to mention being here often for maintenance.  Next up ... the little cord that holds the fabric in my window awnings is coming out one end, meaning it's not holding the fabric on the other end.  I've no idea how to fix that, but I'm hoping when Mr. and Mrs. Chance return, maybe Dan can help me out.

The last repair involves cleaning out the drain tube on my household refrigerator because all the water drains into the bottom of the freezer.  I've no idea what will be involved with that one.  Thank goodness there is a La Mesa RV close to fix it if I mess up.

Not to be outdone in the repair department, I brought one of my bicycles on this trip, only to find it making a terrible noise with two flat tires.  I took it to the local doctor for a checkup.  $130 later, it works like a charm if I pedal fast enough.

Yesterday morning while on the patio, I noticed Mr. Dove came to visit again (same picture from before), but this time they traded places.  How cool is that?  He's sitting the nest just like Mom.  About 6:00, she came back and they traded again.  I can't wait to see babies!!

While I haven't seen anything of my favorite critters, Mrs. Bobcat, Mr. Coyote or the deer, I did get a glimpse of a couple of bunnies while on the patio with an Awning Contractor.  While he won't install anything for my RV, he will install awnings along the South side of the house that receives the most sun.

I had more questions about the desert than the awnings, since he's lived here for some time.  The reason for all the nasty critters is because the rain fills up their dens and holes, forcing them topside to harass me.  Apparently it's going to be like this until the end of September when the monsoons stop.  That means I'm going to revamp my schedule and try to be gone at least July and August.

As we talked, a few more storm clouds came through and I was able to get another lightning picture.  I just love these!!  It's funny it doesn't go in a straight line.  In no time he had written up a contract for more than I wanted to spend, but it really needs to be done.  I also added gutters all around since there are a couple of spots where water hitting the window ledge has caused damage to the window sills.

In case you were wondering, my kid is doing just fine.  That cushion setup on the couch has worked really well and Cooper uses it constantly.  He's back to playing the ball game, although I don't throw it more than a couple feet any more.  At night he sleeps in the foldup jail on the floor and hasn't complained one bit.  Now if I can just get Jessie over being thunder-scared, I might get some sleep at night.

Today's early morning project is to cut away the edge of the lawn in a straight line (haha that's going to be a good trick) in order to park some concrete blocks along the edge to make it easier to mow the lawn.  I get to rake out underneath the shrubs and cactus first ... hoping I don't run into any more creepy crawlies!  I'm wearing my cowboy boots for this one!!

Wait ....... listen ........... coyotes are howling!!!

Hummers And Dessert

I'm thankful to be alive this morning.  So far I have not found any more deadly desert recluse spiders around the house.  Thank you Dave for confirming what Miss Patty Chance said she guessed it was.  I'm contemplating an even bigger weapon for protection.

Here's the thing ... I already DO have a pest control service who should be spraying around the house every month.  Maybe those critters are immune.  Just as a backup, I purchased a big jug of spray myself for the garage and windows.  And here I thought my biggest problem would be the pack rats!!  Ha!!!!!

As I tried to calm myself with coffee (not the best of solutions) some of the desert's nicer critters came to visit.  The hummers are crazy around here, fighting over territory constantly.  They buzz from tree to tree like kamikazes.  Although they look very plain and brown, when the sun hits them, they are gorgeous.

This little guy was pretty reticent at first ... then I saw why.  There was a yellow jacket hanging off the bottom of the feeder.  No shovel this time, just a good fly swatter.

Once gone, this little guy started to drink his fill.  They aren't afraid at all ... they will come eat when I'm standing less than two feet away.  I don't know how they do it in this heat.  Wouldn't you know, I got a heat warning today for the entire weekend.  I think I'm going to be housebound.

While shooting the hummers, I turned around to see this.  The sun was just coming up making the clouds tinged with pink.  I'm guessing that's the North Star on the far left ... except that's not North, so who knows.  Yes the sky really is that blue here without layers of smog covering it up.  There's nothing better than fresh air.

So ... here's the tiramisu recipe I promised.  It's super simple and really delicious.

1 cup whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks

1 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tablespoon Brandy if you like ... I use a glug of Baileys

Whip that all together until it gets thick, which only takes a minute.

2 cups strong coffee

1 package ladyfingers ... see picture below

Cocoa powder for dusting.

Dip the ladyfingers quickly in the coffee.  Too slow and they become real soggy, which you do not want.  Put a single layer in the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan.  Spread half the mascarpone mixture over the top.  Place another layer of dipped cookies over that and finish with the last of the mascarpone.  Rap the pan on the table top to get out any air bubbles.  Dust with cocoa.  

I would make this several hours in advance and leave it in the fridge to soak up the flavors.  Excuse the wonderful tableware, but here's a nice big slice.  It's super quick and easy and tastes exactly like my original Italian recipe that takes hours to make.  If you like coffee, you'll like this dessert.

This is what REAL ladyfingers look like.  Don't get the fake ones at Safeway.  I actually drove 25 miles to find these at the Whole Foods Market in Tucson.  By the way, they make an excellent breakfast cookie dunked in coffee.  I bought four containers and keep them in the freezer.

This Whole Foods Market is not nearly as big as I'm used to, but they have something interesting going on.  They have teamed up with Amazon (who hasn't nowadays) in order to gather your shopping information surreptitiously.  Items in the store are marked with an "Amazon" sign.  When you purchase them, you get an extra "Amazon" discount by scanning your app at the store.  

I'm guessing it sends them your entire receipt of purchases.  Not sure I like that idea, but you do get discounts.

Today I'm going to attempt cooking a pork loin on my Weber Q barbecue.  This should be fun with it being the hottest day so far.  Actually it's only been in the high 90's, but with all the clouds and rain, the humidity is getting up there.  

AND ... I finally was able to get ahold of the guy to come give me an estimate on a front patio cover.  I'm also researching an RV cover.  What a project THAT'S going to be!!

I'M AT WAR!!!!!

There I was, sitting on the couch sewing the binding on my favorite Texas Star quilt when there was a movement at the window that caught my eye.  HOLY CRAP!!  I stabbed myself with the needle as I jumped up and ran for the kitchen, dripping blood all the way.

I grabbed my swiffer floor sweeper from the closet and snuck back to the window ready to SMACK him!!!  Wasn't I surprised when I discovered he was on the outside of the window.  Wait ... there's a screen on that window and he's between the glass and the screen.  That can't be!!

I carefully got close enough to take this picture, then headed outside to make double sure he wasn't INSIDE the house.  Sure enough, he was caught in between.  How could that possibly happen?  There wasn't a fraction of an inch around that screen where he could crawl behind it.

SAY GOODBYE HONEY!!  SMASH!!  The Great White Hunter strikes again!!!  He dropped like a rock as I jumped back six feet!!  Oh wait ... he's behind the screen.

Yup ... he's BIG ... BIGGER than the scorpion by far!!  WELL over three inches wide.  Just to be sure he was a goner, I pried the screen off with great difficulty and dropped him to the concrete.  I do believe he's dead.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief, then panicked when I realized I was barefoot on the walkway where things like bugs and scorpions crawl.  

I tried to do some research and find out what kind it was, but the only thing that looked even close was a brown recluse, which scared me even more.  Maybe it's because something like these were in that Arizona Highways Magazine my Mom used to scare me away from snakes.  It worked really well.

This morning I saw a cricket as big as godzilla crawling across the patio.  I am not ONE with the creepy crawlies .... I may have to stay elsewhere during July and August.  At any rate, I did find my roses blooming even more.  Apparently they really like the systemic food I gave them in March because they are growing like gangbusters.  They really need to be pruned, but I'm becoming afraid of what might lurk beneath them.

As I wandered around I discovered Daddy dove came to visit Mom.  She leaves the nest once a day for water down at my station below the yard.  I've been trying to catch her off the nest to get a picture of the eggs, but no luck so far.

After all the drama with the spiders and scorpions, I needed something to sooth my ragged nerves.  What better than tiramisu?  It's an Italian coffee flavored creamy desert without too much sweet to make me even MORE nervous.

The problem was finding ladyfingers to make it with.  In my neighborhood in California, they are fairly easy to find.  I found some at Safeway that I can truly say are NOT ladyfingers.  The hunt was on!  I did finally find some and will give you the recipe tomorrow, along with pictures.  It's super simple and mighty tasty.  Perfect for that RV rally potluck or the poker game you are going to or to sooth your frazzled nerves from fighting spiders and scorpions.  

I'm going to go outside now and sit on the patio with my first cup of morning coffee ... shovel and swiffer in hand.

Scorpions or Snakes??

If you're my Facebook friend, you've probably already seen this guy.  Only the second one I've found, the first being under a rock outside on the patio.  I smashed him so quickly I didn't get a picture.

Probably the two worst critters around here to cause me angst are scorpions and snakes.  No one ever mentioned them until AFTER I purchased the house.  Apparently the smaller they are, the worse they are.  I don't want to find out.

Here's what happened ... I needed a plant for the corner where I tore out an oleander that was huge and rubbing up against the house.  I went to Civano's nursery, probably the most expensive in the neighborhood, just to look around.

I told the nice lady what I wanted and she showed me my choices.  This is a Convent Texas Ranger.   It only grows to 5-6 feet all around, perfect to hide the crawl hole and blooms with beautiful pink flowers.  She even placed it in the back of my Jeep, a thought that makes me cringe with fear.

As I took it out of the Jeep, now parked in my garage, I reached for the back door, only to see that baby scurry across the floor.  Was he in the plant?  Was he under the door?  WHERE did he come from.  I literally dropped the plant on the floor as I grabbed my shovel.  The dude made a wrong turn and came right for me.  SMASH!!!!!!!  I crippled him!  He's about 3 inches long.

This time I had the sense to take a picture before smashing him another 35 times until there was absolutely nothing recognizable but a smush on the concrete.  I truly didn't want to touch the plant again, but finally put on gloves and got up the nerve to park it in the dirt.  Now I wonder if there are any more scorpions in my Jeep??

She also gave me some tree and shrub stuff to kill the weevils that are killing my cactus.  Once I find a suitable bucket for mixing, that will be my next project.  I purchased the roundup at Ace Hardware, to use in keeping the lawn from invading the flowerbeds.  

I made one more trip to town for groceries after searching the inside of my Jeep from top to bottom.  Back home, I got out and headed to the very same door and what do I see ... ANOTHER SCORPION!!!!  What the heck???  Luckily I keep the shovel right there, so more slamming and smashing ensued until there was nothing visible.  Did he escape from the plant pot?  Did he come in under the door?  

I grabbed my household kill-everything spray ... having no idea if it's going to have any effect at all on those horrible little critters ... and soaked the garage from top to bottom.  I advise you don't walk barefoot in my garage.  

Next morning I find all these guys on my patio.  I've no idea what they are, but at least they are DEAD!!  I found a broom in the garage to sweep them up, but by the time I got to the steps, some birds were picking them up right and left for a quick breakfast snack.  THAT was awesome .. natures broom got rid of every single one.

It's been in the high 90's with thunderstorms every afternoon or evening, making it rather humid.  Nothing like back East however.  In the afternoons I just stay inside in my nice air conditioned house.

I'm totally done with the scorpions and hoping I don't run across any snakes this year.  They are a little more intimidating to hit over the head with a shovel.

Thunder and Lightning ... OH MY!!

I have to say one thing for the desert ... it sure can put on a show!  One minute the skies are bright blue and the sun is shining.  The next minute, I get a storm warning.  Can't be, there's not a cloud in the sky.  Five minutes later, the heavens let loose.

That's when the thunder starts, so you KNOW there was lightning.  Ever since I updated my phone, I've been having trouble capturing this amazing power.  Many times it strikes in the clouds instead of hitting the ground.

So yesterday I sat outside in my camp chair just waiting and waiting.  I'd point right, it would strike left.  I'd point left, it would strike right.  FINALLY ... a good shot as the thunder roared and the rain came down in torrents.  The good thing is I don't need my sprinklers!  Yup ... that's another train in the foreground.

Flash flood warnings are everywhere, but luckily I sit on the side of a hill way above the riverbed below.  In spite of the rain, critters were out.  These baby gamble quail are so darn cute.  They come around every day for a drink from the saucer filled with rocks at the bottom left.  That way they don't fall in because quail don't swim very well.

In spite of all the thunder, lightning and rain, Mrs. Dove has been sitting tight on her nest.  

With all the clouds passing over, the sunsets have been amazing.  I haven't even had to move from the back patio.  It looks like this may come to an end for awhile however.  The forecast is for 90-95 degree days all this week, with just a few clouds.

That's too bad because I was looking forward to capturing more lightning.  I did have one tiny thought about being outside sitting in a chair holding up a metal instrument ..........

I'm in love with this Acacia tree.  It makes me feel like I'm in Africa.  I'm not all that hot on the bugs that come out at night and die by the hundreds on my patio.  Today I'll be buying a broom.

In the meantime, I found some reflectix for the rig insulation (had to buy 50 feet of it) and stopped by a local nursery for some gardening help.  

By the way ... did you notice I just completely ignored Friday the 13th??  I figured if I pretended it was Friday the 10th, that nothing would happen.  And it worked!!!!!!

Sunsets And Sewing

Unlike Arizona, who usually has beautiful sunsets every night, California rarely has any, at least where I live.  About the only time you see gorgeous colors is when there is a fire somewhere, which was the case here.

It was so smoky from a fire WAY up North that we actually had some beautiful colors before I left.

Here in Arizona, they have storm clouds making for beautiful sunsets almost every night.  I'll post some tomorrow after I process them.  It's the monsoon season, something I've never experienced before.  

You never know which direction the storms are coming from.  Some times it's from the North, some times from the Southwest and yesterday, it just swirled all around in a big circle.

Also unlike California, when it rains here, it RAINS.  No wonder I see all those FLASH FLOOD warnings.  Good heavens .... water fell from the sky like gangbusters most of the day.  I just never had any idea it rained in the desert like it does here.  Boy are the cactus and trees happy!!

That meant I stayed in most of the day, getting absolutely nothing done in the yard.  It was a good time to work on that block challenge I picked up from the internet.  Here's blocks #3 and #4.

I've never sewn this precisely in my life.  It looks rather difficult, but is really easy if you follow the directions.  Jack the Ripper and I had a few tussles ripping out seams and resewing, but mostly it came out okay.

I did make one quick trip to the fabric store when I discovered I used a piece for this quilt in another one.  Okay, to be honest, it was the third trip I've made in five days.  This quilt called for 21 fabrics, three of which I had not yet purchased.  

I wasn't able to stop for a picture, but the rivers are running wild and crazy from all the water.  I've never seen anything like it.  Completely dry during February and March, they are full to the brim now.

In the meantime, just to keep myself out of trouble, I baked up some more peanut butter cookies, this time adding peanut butter chips to the mix.  Here's my secret ... I keep them in the freezer and pull out just one after dinner.  I choose not to think about how many that adds up to in one month.

This morning I'll be back to chopping and hacking in the yard before trying to clean out the sprinkler valves by myself.  I'm sure hoping that goes well!!  Then it's off to Lowes to purchase a cover for the valves to protect them from the sun and to provide shelter for lovely critters like snakes and scorpions.  

Note to self:  Find a BIG stick to keep by the sprinkler valves!