Mountain, Cross and Shuffleboard Nats

[pixychick]

The last two rain/snow systems that came through southern Arizona missed us again. Because of the extreme drought, I have started to water some stuff outside the wall and thunderdome every week or two. This week I noticed some new green and a few flower buds on the aloe. It is amazing that some plants can come back from a drought. Where I have been watering daily, has been exploding into spring already. There is already enough blooming that hummingbirds are going to flowers too. Migration starts in a few weeks, so looking forward to more varieties of birds.

Art and I just passed our 39th anniversary. I know, that makes us sound pretty old. I am thankful to have this time together in our life. It has been an awesome 39 years so far. We did a mountain bike ride on our anniversary day and rode up CP single track to baby Jesus trail. It was a great ride as usual. I hope to have many more together. That being said, this pandemic has us missing group rides. I am not complaining, as we do still have each other to ride with, but it is nice to ride with other friends too. Hopefully more of that in the near future.

 

[Robin]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!

 

[pixychick]

Flowers are coming up in our garden. As fast as they come up and bloom, the gophers eat them. I try to enjoy them each day, as tomorrow they may be gone. Thankfully there are many wild flowers in our courtyard this year.

We have our first vaccine shot scheduled for Monday. Getting it scheduled happened way faster than I thought it would. It feels hopeful to have it finally available to us, so we can move ahead on the road to getting back to the new normal. Hoping more vaccines become available back in NJ too. My 86 year old mom is still waiting.

While I still get out to ride 3-4 days a week, I have been busy with researching for a few more home projects. Our concrete kitchen floor has developed a crack and is starting to lift and separate. It is the area where the wall was removed when we did the kitchen remodel 6 years ago. We have an estimate to have that repaired and have the floors refinished. We plan to go ahead with that soon. We also have had it with the concrete countertops. They have worn completely through the top coat around the sink and have started to not be water tight. They also have multiple chips and wear areas and are very maintenance intensive. They were a really bad choice and we would never do them again. As much as I like the soft look of soapstone, we will most likely go with honed granite. It seems to be more cost and maintenance friendly. We have slabs coming down to Tucson next weeks to check out. We will probably do butcher block top on the painted cabinet to break up the look of all the black tops. Art can make that himself when he feels up to it. So in addition to riding and gardening, I am gearing up for a few days with out a kitchen. Life goes on, and spring in Tucson is always amazing.

 

[pixychick]

First vaccine is done. Next one is scheduled for April 5, so we should be good to have vaccinated guests after the 19th. Well, we may be heading back east a few weeks after that date, but I feel better traveling after the vaccine. I'm glad we could get on the schedule while out here. No symptoms on the first other than sore arm.

I will try to get pictures up later. ...

 

[pixychick]

We have blossoms on the lemon tree we just planted. Blossoms are next years fruit. Yay!

Say bye to worn concrete countertops. Demo starts in 5 minutes ....

 

[pixychick]

Templates appointment is not until next week, but we did a test demolition of the first countertop to make sure removing was within or our ability and time frame. We started tarping plastic after breakfast full of drop anvil on moose head jokes. We built a little 3'x10' tarp area and Art went in with angle grinder, vacuum and crowbar. I heard a few swears, and went out side to plant something in the garden, and shortly later Art was carrying out chunks of countertop. Luckily he had the whole countertop off by 10:30 without the use of an anvil. Set up and clean up (my jobs ) actually took longer than demo.

So, with this insight of first countertop removal, we may just wait until the day before template to do the other two countertops. Once they are off, we will be without a sink, filtered water and dishwasher until install at end of month. So, I prefer to keep my sink as long as possible. Once sink is out, I will be washing and and filling hummingbird feeders in the bathtub. That may seem like no biggie, but I have 15 feeders and half of them need filling once or twice daily. I try to clean them each time to avoid mold. The new countertops will be slightly thinner, so Art plans to add a thin plywood layer on top of cabinets so that new countertops meet the backsplash tile. We will need to re grout as well, so even after install is done, we will have some things to do ourselves.

 

[pixychick]

We finally got some rain last night. What a surprise when I woke up and saw 2 inches of snow that came down as well. It is all melted in the yard now, but we had to scramble and get out to clear the snow off the holes on the hummingbird feeders. So, I guess winter is not over just yet. Always amazing in the mountains!

 

[pixychick]

Some more pictures:

... from yesterdays ride:

... and this morning:

 

[pixychick]

Tuesday we had another snow rain event. I let the cold get to me, and I know the cold here is nothing compared to real cold. Snow did not last long on the ground and today it was upper 70's.

So, old countertops are all out and Art rigged up a kitchen sink to get us through a week or so until install. He is still having some issues with his back, but physical labor seems to help. I think his body misses trail work. Today was a beautiful day and I hope to get on my bike tomorrow.

 

[pixychick]

Art installed maple butcher block on one cabinet. He needs one more piece of wood as a filler strip in back and then we will need to grout. Granite for the other cabinets installs either Friday or Monday. So things are plugging along with projects.

The weather has been awesome and I have been enjoying hanging outside. Fruit trees are showing some fruit ( limes in picture ), which is always hopeful for next years crop. Sugar snaps are on the vine and squash blossoms look to be a few weeks away. Gopher family most likely is well fed as lupine, poppies and gaillardia disappear mysteriously each day.

Friday I got a chance to ride Starr Pass, which was a nice change. However, I had a front tire wash out and went down pretty hard. Luckily, no damage to bike or body, but I do have some sexy wife beater looking bruises going. I rode locally today, and it was awesome to be out. ...just perfect weather, fun trails, beautiful mountains and I kept it upright, Yay!

 

[pixychick]

Migration has begun! We had our first oriole spotting and rufous and broad tailed hummingbirds are buzzing around the last three days. I only got a crappy rufous photo. Migrators are pretty shy around people. Not at all like our little costas that come right up the feeder while I am carrying it in and out of the house. .... and more rain coming today ... yay!!

 

[pixychick]

Countertops went in Monday and they look and work great! We are glad to finally have that behind us. Sure, there will be some touch up paint, but the real mess is behind us.

Last weekend we rode Honeybee. I did most of honeybee with my friend Brenda and Art did Honeybee and ridgeline / wild Burro loop with a group of friends. Both rides were just over 30 miles, but Art's loop had a bit more climbing. I did not have the energy to do all that climbing, and in addition to that, Art's loop burned last year. It would have been sad to see the damage. I am ok to miss it, and hope that it recovers a bit before I get back up there again. Even with the lesser loop that It did, I was wiped out afterwards. Four days later, and I am still a bit tired. I guess it has been awhile since I have done a ride that long.

Warm weather has finally arrived. It has been in the 80's for several days and we were able to eat dinner on the patio the last few days. The dry heat is comfortable, yet the sun is very strong. Mid day naps in the sun have shifted to the shade. ... retirement has it's perks.

 

[serviceguy]

Countertops went in Monday and they look and work great! We are glad to finally have that behind us. Sure, there will be some touch up paint, but the real mess is behind us.

Last weekend we rode Honeybee. I did most of honeybee with my friend Brenda and Art did Honeybee and ridgeline / wild Burro loop with a group of friends. Both rides were just over 30 miles, but Art's loop had a bit more climbing. I did not have the energy to do all that climbing, and in addition to that, Art's loop burned last year. It would have been sad to see the damage. I am ok to miss it, and hope that it recovers a bit before I get back up there again. Even with the lesser loop that It did, I was wiped out afterwards. Four days later, and I am still a bit tired. I guess it has been awhile since I have done a ride that long.

Warm weather has finally arrived. It has been in the 80's for several days and we were able to eat dinner on the patio the last few days. The dry heat is comfortable, yet the sun is very strong. Mid day naps in the sun have shifted to the shade. ... retirement has it's perks.

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Countertops are looking good! Is that floor stained concrete?

 

[pixychick]

Yes, floors are stained concrete. We have developed a major crack, so we are getting them repaired and re stained in a week.

 

[pixychick]

 

[pixychick]

Yesterday was a big day. We spotted our first gila monster of the season (not pictured), first hedgehog cactus bloom of the season and a tortoise all on our early morning local ride. I can't say I had a lot of energy on my ride, but it was a beautiful day with much to see. Later that afternoon we got our second vaccine which is another step in trying to get back to spending some more time with friends and family.

Today we are taking it easy. I don't have a thermometer, but I do not think I have a high fever yet. Slight fever could be possible, but no way to know. I do feel a bit tired and achy and my arm is sore. I have nothing planned for today and did all my yard work early before the aches set in. Hopefully feeling better tomorrow.

We did have a slight break from the hot weather today and it looks like it will be back down to 80 as a high for as long as I can see on the forecast. The last few days got up to the low 90's, and while dry heat is comfortable in the shade, the sun is brutal. Sunday we transplanted our "herbs" and the black plastic pots that were sitting in the late afternoon sun, were too hot to touch. You can imagine what that does to the roots. I also had to run the water for 10 minutes to cool it down. The plants are now in white pots and will eventually be placed in partial shade or in "Thunderdome" with 10% shade cloth on the east and 40% shade cloth on the top and west side. The super shade cloth come out when it get over 95 every day. I am learning as I go.

I have a few tomatoes starting on my new plants and have already harvested squash blossoms to make stuffed squash blossoms. They were delicious!

So, even with the drought this year, many cactus are forming buds. It is really exciting to see all the blooms. I have a few trees that I feared were dead, and much to my surprise, they are showing signs of life as in leaves and flower buds. ... and so begins a short and much appreciated green season in Tucson!

 

[pixychick]

Cactus are blooming and seasonal wildlife come through our yard on a regular basis. Today I was seated on the patio and I noticed a bobcat stroll across the patio and lay down in the shade about 30 feet away. I quietly got up and took some pictures and managed to go around quietly on the the lower walkway and get Art. We do not see them in our yard that often, so it was quite a thrill. It was a good sized bobcat. He did not seem to be bothered by us. He rested for about 30 minutes and then moved on. Mr and Mrs oriole are regulars, multiple times a day. I think it is nesting season. A few days ago I spotted a baby hummingbird taking a first flight and it was windy that day. There is some really cool stuff happening every day.

 

[pixychick]

The contractors have been at our place all week working the kitchen floor and they are not done yet. It was supposed to be a 3 day job and things are taking longer. They have the crack fixed and have laid down a skim coat. They hope to buff, color and seal coat tomorrow. Probably do take out dinner tonight as we are out of pre cooked food and have no cook top or oven.

Next picture is a trellis that Art made for the shed. It gets late afternoon sun and could use some shade from vines. If the vines take, I will do an after picture in a year or so.

Bikes: This has been a big year for saying good bye to some bikes. In the fall I found a home for my Titus. It was a sweet bike and only ridden hard for a year when I switched to 29er. It has been serving as a spare and loaner out here. The bike shop owner wanted it for his 9 year old daughter so we did a trade. Recently Art put up his Salsa and cross bike for sale at bike shop. They have a used section since new bikes have been hard to get. He felt it was time, so now we have some more space in the bike room. We have no plans to buy any bikes, but have space for winter visitors. Speaking of visitors, a bike arrived today for our first vaccinated visitor this year.

Things are winding down here and before I know it, I will be on my back back to NY. Hoping to get out of here the first week of May. We had considered staying an extra week, but with friends and family all getting their vaccines, I look forward to spending some time with them. I may try to get home in time to spend mothers day with my mom. We'll see how things go.

 

[serviceguy]

The contractors have been at our place all week working the kitchen floor and they are not done yet. It was supposed to be a 3 day job and things are taking longer. They have the crack fixed and have laid down a skim coat. They hope to buff, color and seal coat tomorrow. Probably do take out dinner tonight as we are out of pre cooked food and have no cook top or oven.

Next picture is a trellis that Art made for the shed. It gets late afternoon sun and could use some shade from vines. If the vines take, I will do an after picture in a year or so.

Bikes: This has been a big year for saying good bye to some bikes. In the fall I found a home for my Titus. It was a sweet bike and only ridden hard for a year when I switched to 29er. It has been serving as a spare and loaner out here. The bike shop owner wanted it for his 9 year old daughter so we did a trade. Recently Art put up his Salsa and cross bike for sale at bike shop. They have a used section since new bikes have been hard to get. He felt it was time, so now we have some more space in the bike room. We have no plans to buy any bikes, but have space for winter visitors. Speaking of visitors, a bike arrived today for our first vaccinated visitor this year.

Things are winding down here and before I know it, I will be on my back back to NY. Hoping to get out of here the first week of May. We had considered staying an extra week, but with friends and family all getting their vaccines, I look forward to spending some time with them. I may try to get home in time to spend mothers day with my mom. We'll see how things go.

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That looks like a whole lot of awesome right there!

 

[ChrisG]

Just getting caught up. Enjoying the photos and stories, as usual.

Y’all are doing it right!