Col de Teakwood

Summer is rapidly approaching an end.  I only have two more weeks until I have to go back to work (but I guess I shouldn't complain about not having to work for the next 14 days :-)  Bode and I have been hanging out.  The other day, we went for an 11.54-mile bike ride.  This was Bode's first ride at altitude since returning from Florida, so it's understandable if he didn't have his mountain lungs. Over the summer, Bode has successfully ridden his bike the whole way up Teakwood Terrace.  The total distance is only 0.25 miles, but the elevation gain is 95 feet.  This equates to an average elevation of 4%, but the last 0.08 of a mile are killer--a 7% grade.  Little man is in shape.  Plus, on the last day of summer swim practice, Coach Eriko told Bode he is going to try out for Class 2 when practice resumes.  If successful, Bode will be swimming with the bigger kids.  And not to brag on Bode, but he also just finished reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Yes, I'm sure there are much younger kids who have read the whole Potter series, but getting Bode to read is a lot like getting Ashley into the pool when the weather isn't so warm: all but impossible.  Thus, we're proud of how hard he has been working, and I have to continue to tell myself he's only nine :-)  No real pictures of Bode.  Ashley has some of him while at Disney this summer on her phone, but getting Ashley to get me those pictures is a lot like trying to get Ashley into the pool... :-)

I played golf the other day with my Mom.  I failed to get a group shot, but I did capture the perfect golf swing in action.

We had a lovely day on the course--I even had an eagle putt (ended up with a par...so sad).  The dogs are doing great--Barkley, while still much smaller than Joey, is starting to get taller and thicken up.  She really seems to like playing with (tormenting) Joey.

She's pretty spunky and won't take any flack from her big brother.

But she's also very sweet and won't hesitate to beg for a belly rub.

And now for a garden/back yard update.  Recall, back in the summer of 2014, I started to redo our backyard.  Here is what we started with.

Not much there.  Now, we have a great garden that has produced a ton of lettuce, lots of peas, carrots, and beans, four or five cup-fulls of raspberries, and plenty of potatoes.  We've also had the occasional strawberry or two :-)  We have successfully planted six trees (despite all of the efforts from Barkley who was trying to dig them up):  two peach, two apple, a pear, and a plum.  Finally, this summer we added some sprinkler system zones and about 300 square feet of sod.  It's really nice back there, especially since we've had so much rain this month.

Not much else to report.  Ashley continues to be the bread winner of the family, and wishes she had a time machine so she could go back and nip the woman's liberation movement in the bud :-)  Pleasant week to all.