Chris and I have been taking nice little bike rides on the weekend. By the way, congratulations to Cherie, for completing her fabulous bike ride. She's putting us all to shame. Our ride yesterday was on a (much) smaller scale; we rode around Newport Bay, which is quite a lovely trail, albeit busy. Today, Chris did the Santiago Canyon loop while Bailey and I did our cell phone tower hike (below).
We spotted a variety of critters, including this guy (Click on photo to enlarge, it's worth seeing his pollen-dusted shell):
He wasn't too thrilled to have been disturbed
He wasn't too thrilled to have been disturbed
And quickly retreated...
It looks like fall here, doesn't it? Rain would be helpful...
Hey, you're blocking my shot.
Our beloved mud hole has disappeared.
But it's pretty clear which areas the water last inhabited. 
It feels rather strange to walk on a dried lake bottom. Like the natural order of things is out of whack.
It feels rather strange to walk on a dried lake bottom. Like the natural order of things is out of whack.
Fuzzy, un-identified plant.
Poor Chris is having back troubles at night. He tried sleeping on a camp mattress on the floor, just to see if the hard surface would be more comfortable. Bailey was thrilled with the floor-level company and squeezed himself between Chris and the bed. Either the floor was too hard or Bailey snored too loudly because Chris fled the arrangement for the relative comfort of the bed partway through the night. We've slowly been shopping around for a new mattress.
Have you guys been seeing more smart cars on the road these days? A former coworker of mine just purchased one and I've spotted them on the freeway (a death wish, in my opinion) a few times.
My worms are currently in heaven. I picked up all the fallen apricots after the harvest and deposited them in the wormbin. It's the best smelling compost I've ever made.
Chris and I headed north for the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, sponsored by Rock Racing. It made for a fun afternoon.
In other exciting news, Chris got a new bike! He is thrilled. We've taken a couple shake-down rides and have had a lovely time.
Clearly, this bike needs a name; it's got character. Any suggestions? How about the aqua-marine rocket or the Bianchi torpedo? Awesome Aquamobile?
Getting it out of the box.
We had our second garden harvest this weekend (rosemary was the first): Lettuce! The tomatoes are almost ripe too. Hooray for the moveable veggie garden.
The parrots have been driving me nuts lately. They seem to be particularly noisy in the mornings. I love birds, but I will never get a talkative parrot.
Well, that wraps up our month. Hope you are having a warm and relaxing summer.
