80's in June?

This past weekend started off with a delightful cycling accomplishment, 37 miles in about 2.5 hours, with a good 20 some odd miles uphill. Sure the first 9 miles uphill were slight, but the burn was there. The other uphill miles were quite the challenge, but well worth the rapid-spinning-hamster-wheel peddling. Jonathan and I lucked out with terrific temperatures for June, low 80s, however, the pesky seemingly constant wind provided a bit more of a challenge especially on those previously mentioned uphill stretches. I had originally intended to attempt to run down the block after the ride to test out this whole cycle/run transition for my potential future in triathalon training, but after not trusting my legs to keep my body upright post dismount I decided perhaps I'll test this out following a shorter ride.

After our ride we planned out our eventual front landscaping. I say eventual because once again we'll need to build up the project reserves before we can take on something as large as the front yard. Our plan is simple, clean and keeps with the style of the house, as well as the zero-scape reality of living in the desert and avoiding a water bill akin to a college tuition. As for the backyard, we have a good idea of the elements we want to include, but the measuring alone is daunting enough that we're still in the brainstorming phases. On Sunday we did manage to put one part of the plan into action by setting up some of the guidelines for the bougainvillea to start growing along our back block wall. Its taken quite a bit of wrangling, and clean up and has resulted in many a cut and scrape, but we've actually started training the bushes and are looking forward to them filling out. I had no idea bougainvillea grew so well here, but their rapid growth is darn impressive. 

In addition to working in the backyard we got to spend some time with Max and Maggie in Scottsdale. Jackson enjoyed his visits, but wasn't too excited about his pool time. No we did not toss him in, rather, with both Jonathan and I in the pool at one point we brought him in from the side to test out his swimming skills. Believe it or not the little guy can hold his own, but the life aquatic is not for him. He prefers to bite and chase hose water rather than dive in for a refreshing dip.