Still cyclin' to see the pooch

Ooh this is gonna be a quickie .. it's already Tuesday night here in California, and there is unfortunately someone waiting to get on.

Anyway, the highlight of the week past was a THIRD bike trip to visit Sandy, this one the first one which i biked both directions, which led me to an amazing discovery: there is significantly more downhill in returning to Heartwood than there is in leaving it! Takes about 2-&-a-half hours going, but about an hour forty to come back.

Significant events of the day: 1) a vulture flew up suddenly from next to and a few yards below the road, and i wondered if it might've been feeding, and so turned around to have a look. Sure enough: a huge boar lying on its side, dead i'd suppose for a few days already, a huge hole having been worked at by the scavanger. A beast i would most certainly not want to encounter on the road, or anywhere for that matter.

2) Arriving on the property to find Sandy once again stretched out in the sun. i gently woke her up and she went into her little oh it's YOU dance. Before i put in a couple of hours work (more scalping, this time around one of the greenhouses to cut down on insect infestations, and watering all the plants in the two greenhouses on top of the hill), Sandy and i walked out the main gate toward the stream that flows under the road, for a dip in the cool pool there. i had a blast, but Sandy couldn't really lie down very comfortably due to all of the rocks, so next time i take her down there i'll bring a shovel and make a space where she can lie down in the shade and chill.

3) On the way back from spending the day there, i was speeding down this one stretch of road thinking i'd passed all the bumps and realized too late that there were more! i hit one of them so hard that my water bottle popped out of its container .. i just caught a glimpse of it skidding across the pavement as i very nervously continued to slowly apply the brakes. Turned around to retrieve the badly-scraped (but still usable) container, and parked my bike right on top of a quarter-dollar! Nice! i'm allowing the condition of the water-bottle to remind myself of what could happen to my BODY if i'm not more careful on the bike.

BIRTHDAY SHOUT-OUTS this week to

• JANET STARKWEATHER, who celebrates being born on the 16th! Hmm, i'm thinking, she might not appreciate her age being splashed about the 'net. Let's just say that she and i were in the same high school class! ;o) Best wishes girrrrrrrl, you rock! And to
• LANCE SAVAGE -- woo hoo! -- who rolls back the big four-four on June 17. Way to go Lance buddy! Dude you are SO loved, you know that right? And to
• my brother SCOTT, who hits the big five-two on the 18th. Go Scottie!

i called my sister Eileen on Sunday for her 44th birthday and was very pleased not only to catch her, but to use up the last 20 minutes of my last phone card in a most enjoyable chat. Way to go Eileen! Sorry you can't come out to California this summer, but we'll be hooking up again soon one way or another.

Not much to report otherwise: school's coming along nicely, work is ok. OH, bad news, we've lost one of our work/study buddies, Michelle -- 'Chelle. Her stepson died about a week ago, and we received word today that she was not going to return. Which is a shame. We all admired her sense of self, and her energy. If you're a prayerful type person, you might include her next time you're saying them.

OK, i'm gonna turn this 'puter over to another of my work/study buddies Kimberly who's been patiently waiting for the past 25 minutes! See y'all next week!

ps - Kathy i had no idea that the blog up to this point is 55 pages long (printed out)! What can i say, i like telling stories! Thanks Linda for the print-job and for helping us get caught up!

xxx