Looking east.

Looking south.

Looking south.

Looking southwest.

The view from the dining room window.

It's Saturday evening and Mom is faithfully doing her Relief Society duty and fixing/serving dinner to the folks taking part in the regional single adult conference. Mom is a hard worker and a faithful person. We would all be better people if we followed her example more closely.

You can see above the results of our new lawn project. Jake provided much (but not all) of the labor and I provided the consulting services of design, sprinklers, equipment operation and seed selection.

The seed seemed to take a long time to sprout but I think I have come to the conclusion that I planted a week or two early and the bermuda grass seed I selected would have liked slightly warmer nights. But now it's beginning to grow more quickly and fill in nicely.

I ordered a state-of-the art lawn mower that is among the most pollution-free and energy saving models -- mostly because it has no engine. Just a good ol' fashioned push reel mower. I'm sure that thrills Jake's heart. It will certainly be good for mine.

It should be here within the next four or five days. I may need to mow it before then, however, which means borrowing a neighbor's. We left our Fruit Heights mower behind when we moved thinking that we would have no grass in Arizona. But we soon realized that grandkids needed a place to roll around on (besides the piles of sand and gravel). And it also provides a bit of an oasis in the desert. We can't afford a swimming pool so this is our green, organic "pool" to cool us off in the heat of the summer.

Jake seems to be having a good experience in Utah although I hear precious little from or about him -- just a bit here and there that Jan learns from her Mom and relatives in Mapleton. I understand Jake is hiking this weekend at the exact same spot where Mom did her solo experience during her wilderness survival hike before we were married. That seems fitting -- completing the circle from mother to youngest son. I don't know whether Jake realizes the significance of the place.

Life is chugging along fairly well right now for Mom and I. I am just "waking up" from my annual bicycle hibernation and getting back into regular morning rides. My bike season is getting a late start this year mostly because of the labor (and exercise) I was putting into the new lawn project. Now that that's behind us (mostly) the bike is back in the picture.

I replaced several parts on my Waterford trying to make it a bit more comfortable for this aging body of mine. So far it seems to be working except for the new saddle. I installed a leather Brooks saddle made in merry old England. It is supposed to be the most comfortable bike saddle made -- except for the first five or six hours of break-in time. In short, my butt hurts like heck. I'm not sure if it's the saddle I must break in or my back parts. It seems like the latter right now. Gratefully, I have been noticing some improvement in comfort this last little while.

We have been enjoying unseasonably cool weather. It's mid-June and, save a couple of hot days in May, haven't had any extreme temperatures yet. Days are in the mid-9os, humidity very low and nights in the low 60s with only slight amounts of wind for a couple of hours in the afternoons. It's been just about perfect.

Well, thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment so I know you've been here.

Love,

Dad