Tour Training

I did a 38 mile training ride this morning. We were on the trail at 0630. It was still dark but it was nice and cool. The small animals were on the move with the cool weather. I almost ran over several different critters. I was concerned because I didn't want to swerve to miss and ride off the trail but I didn't want to hit the animals either.

I had visions of being laid up in the hospital with broken bones and such. I started to have poems run through my head about the incident. I was on my bike and hit a squirrel and to the ground I did hurl. Besides the squirrels, there were several lizards, red birds and field rats that crossed my path.

It is because of these incidents that i have decided to make that my last long training ride before the tour. The evening rides are not as bad with the critters. I only have to worry about the heat. Due to the heat I will be keeping the rides to 14 miles max.

2010 garden

I planted my garden today. My garden isn't the traditional garden with straight rows or mounds planted evenly. I hand tilled the soil in the flower bed and tossed the seeds in randomly. I planted yellow squash, zucchini squash, cucumber, and egg plant. I only put half the seeds in the tilled up area. The other half I tossed in the rest of the flower beds and a few seeds in pots. The last time I planted a garden the squirrels ate the blooms off as fast as they grew. I hope that by using this scatter method some blooms will go unnoticed and I will get to enjoy the fruits of my labor, so to speak.

Moving at the speed of life!

Summer has to be here because the temperature is staying near 100 and water restrictions are entering stage 2. I had to mow my newly planted grass today. I am pleased at how well it is doing. I hate to see my water bill though. I have been watering every day as the web site recommended for the first two weeks. Now I need to water only once a week. Good thing, I leave to California tomorrow for 5 days and I know nobody here will water it while I'm gone. The Owl House remains empty. I am sad about that but I have read that it can take several years for the owls to find it. We had high winds here several times and it remains steady in the tree. The woodpecker family has moved on as well. The nest is empty and it is all quiet back by the fence. The squirrels have pissed me off and I removed the bird feeder. I need to find a squirrel feeder before I put more food out. That feed has gotten expensive and the squirrels can empty a feeder in a matter of minutes. The humming bird feeder is doing real well on the end of a long coat hanger. The squirrels look at it but can not reach it. I have several hummers that buzz around it and are amazing to watch. The pond is doing great. The lotus is doing real well as you can see from the picture. Still no flower and no flowers on the lilies. The Koi will come over to feed now but are still very skiddish. Christopher got his gituiar and is taking lessong once a week. I hope he sticks with it. If not maybe I will learn how to play. Well, thats about all that's been going on in my neck of the woods.

Front yard wildlife

If you can't beat em, feed em. I tried everything to keep the squirrels from destroying my bird feeders and humming bird feeders. I have had several types of feeders and the squirrels always find a way to get to the food. the flowers are chewed off all of the humming bird feeders and the one that does not have protruding flowers, the bastards pulled the bottom off of it. I have been putting out the corn on the cob and it seems to be keeping them occupied and leaving the feeder alone. The one humming bird feeder that I still use is suspended over the pond on a wire coat hanger. The squirrels looked at it for days trying to figure out just how to get to it. They have abandoned it for now. These are two males that just love the corn. The one sitting on the corn feeder is very "excited" to have the corn. The one sitting in the tree is "nuts" over the feeder. Sorry, I couldn't resist the puns. I will see how long this lasts before they get on my last nerve. Where's the owls when you need them?