Hummingbird
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Caitie texted me Friday night and mentioned she was coming into Albany on Saturday, not Sunday. So I left early yesterday (0550) and drove straight through to Clifton Park without stopping. I guess it makes a difference if you skip breakfast and have nothing to drink! Traffic was light so I made good time. Got to Jimmy's Egg in Clifton Park a little after 9:00 to have some breakfast before I went to Mom's.
Visited with her for a couple of hours before I went to pick up Caitie at the train station. Went back to Mom's so Caitie could visit with her, and Mark was there which was a nice surprise. We stayed for about an hour and then got back on the road. Caitie drove for over half the trip. She's probably a better driver than I am, but she doesn't drive for fuel economy like I do. I looked over and saw the speedometer was at 85mph at one point. I suggested it might ruin the weekend if she got a $500 traffic ticket. She said she thought the Subaru in front of her would get it first.
When we stopped to switch, I looked at the computed fuel economy and it was only 34mpg. Every 10% increase in speed requires a 22% increase in energy with a corresponding decrease in fuel economy. I did not mention this to her. Highway driving is where hybrids get their worst fuel economy.
I'm a little disappointed because my lifetime fuel economy in the Mav is 39mpg. I was hoping this trip would get me closer to 40mpg. The previous trip to Clifton Park came in at 41.6mpg, since over half the trip is stop-and-go where the hybrid excels. I was hoping for about the same on this one but I don't think that's in the cards.
It was a beautiful night last night, and we sat outside on the back patio and watched the hummingbirds at the feeder. A little downy woodpecker was quite upset that we were out there while it was trying to visit the bird feeder. It would perch on the shepherd's crook and Chirp-chirp-chirp at us. It chased off a hummingbird or two while we were out there too. To my surprise, they like the hummingbird feeder too.
We had a little fire in Mitzi's fire pit, and I'm coughing a lot this morning. Knowing what we think we know now about PM2.5 fine particulate pollution, we probably shouldn't indulge in sitting around a fire for fun anymore.
It's a beautiful morning, so I probably should get on with it.
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