It's That Time...

 

With the heat rolling in early this season, it's time to put up some umbrellas to keep things cooler on the patio.  Murph and I were out there to enjoy the sun coming up over South Mountain...

 The big furry boy enjoys our outdoor time... and his fur glows in the sunlight.

I put up two of the umbrellas...

 Spent some time checking the water in the hot tub, then followed Murph for a potty stop.  Joan came out and asked if I wanted the covers off the patio furniture - "We can sit out here for a while."  I got the stroller out of the shed, and Joan brought Stella out.  We took that cover off the furniture and put out the chair pads on the tall chairs, rocker, and bench.  It's quiet and private in the courtyard.

Joan made our morning smoothies and brought them out.  It was in the 60s and very comfortable in just shirt sleeves.  The high today is supposed to be 92º, but the 100s are coming by Wednesday.  At that point, early morning is the only time you want to be outside.  The pergola and umbrellas (up to 4 now) really make it more comfortable.

A bit of web-surfing this morning - love this quote...

 

 

Beware...

 

... The Ides of March.

If you said, "A warning given to Julius Caesar as a portent of calamity - in this case, the day he was assassinated in 44 BC.  The 'ides' refers to the middle, thus the middle of March.  The ancient Romans considered this a date to settle debts," you get 20 bonus points.

If you said, "The name of the band that did the song Vehicle, released in 1970," you get 30 bonus points, and you are my people. 

I have nothing else to do with that - just the observation that this is "the ides of March," as I changed the daily calendar today.  For much of the country, this is the hope that spring is coming.  Looking at our former home in South Dakota, there is a Winter Storm Warning for most of the state, with blizzard conditions.  At our other former home in the Tropical Tip of Texas, there are Gale Warnings, with winds SSE @ 25 to 35 mph, and a high of 80º.  Just another windy day in south Texas.  And here in the desert - we are coming into a week of potentially record-breaking high temperature...

 107º?  That is way too early for this kind of heat.  It causes me concern for what this upcoming summer may be.  Maybe the warning should be: Beware the Whole Freakin' Summer!

On the bright side...

 These two made it through the night with no fuss.

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2 x 2...

Two rides on two different two wheel conveyances today.

This morning, I took Joan's Xmax out for a ride.  I generally avoid the fun twisty roads on a Sunday, but with the upcoming heat (see above), I figured I should get out while the gettin' is good.  And, it was good.  72º when I pulled out of the driveway.

Nobody tried to run me off the road on the way to the mountain.  Plenty of traffic on the first 1/3 of the ride up the mountain; way more bicycles than usual... it didn't look like an organized ride, but a lot of other people wanting to get out while it was cool.  When I got to the first turn off from the main road, there was no other traffic in front of me.  Good riding.

And, of course, I have to comment on that Xmax: a fun ride, between the CTX and the Burgman in terms of weight, power, and handling.

Later this afternoon (90º by that time), I took my Lectric XP4 out for a ride.  I like to ride to and around the city park (Caesar Chavez Park) that is reasonably close to us.  Families were winding down, having spent some time enjoying the park this afternoon.  Sadly, people don't pick up their trash - I don't get that.

Another good ride, very different from this morning.  Although, I did have some tunes playing on both rides.  No photos, no video.  Just enjoying the rides.

 

Survived Friday the 13th...

 

I am not particularly superstitious by nature.  I dumb-ass driver almost made me think otherwise yesterday.  I took the Burgman out for a ride - another warm one, with an afternoon high of 93º.  I was not in my typical "all the gear, all the time" due to the heat.  I had on riding pants and boots, armored mesh pants, and my Schuberth modular (full face) helmet... just couldn't bring myself to put on an armored jacket.  I did put some "sleeves" (pull-on) with my t-shirt, to keep my arms from getting fried.

On the way to the good riding, a dumb-ass driving an old minivan pulled out from the left side of the road, causing a car in that lane to have to slam on the brakes, and making me swerve almost to the curb on the right side of the road.  Shortly after 2:00, so I don't know if he was drunk, high, texting, or just plain stoopid.  "Stoopid" with two oo's is even worse than regular stupid.

With that out of the way, the riding on the twisty roads was good.  Only two vehicles over the center line - you want to stay away from that line in the blind curves.  Even though the temp was in the low 90s, it was reasonably comfortable on the scoot.

I did shoot some video with the Insta360 Go3s, and edited it down to less than 3 minutes.  Enough to make me smile when I watch it - hope you enjoy the ride, too...

 

This image made me chuckle...

 

Stella and Murphy are on the top of the cat tower...

 Murph is laying down with his back to the camera, Stella is sitting up with her little head framed between his ears.  Together on that same platform.

It didn't end there.  After Murphy got his morning walk, and they both got treats - sharing the chair with the patio view...

 No fuss.  No tussle.  No biting.  Until Murphy flicked his big furry tail in Stella's face... and she pulled a tuft of fur out of that big furry tail.  They are doing good... until one of them decides to start something.  Despite the size difference, it isn't one-sided.

Then, we're back to the two-chair solution...

 

 

 

Flies through the air with the greatest of ease...

 

If you said, "That daring young man on the flying trapeze - a traditional song in the public domain," you get 20 bonus points.

If you asked: "Are you planning to join the circus, Jim?"... no.  And for the record, I am neither young nor daring.

It is an every day challenge to keep Murphy off the kitchen counters.  There is no reason for him to be up there - no food on the counter; both of the cat towers have a higher vantage point.  We have tried scolding, spraying water, "time out"... none of that has been effective.

He was a good boy this morning: no counter jumping.  While I was preparing cat breakfasts, a silver and gray streak flew by my peripheral vision.  Silver and gray?  Yep, little Stella leapt up onto the counter... with "the greatest of ease."  I told her no and put her down on the floor.  Twelve seconds later, she flew up there again, from a different angle.  She has discovered one of her cat superpowers: the effortless leap.

Research reveals that cats can jump 5 to 6 times their own height.  Stella is skinny but long in leg and body.  She is built for jumping.  And now, 2 1/2 months after bringing her into the family, she is exercising this ability.

I don't think I have the energy or patience for this.  Joan gave them both new catnip toys just now... no idea if it will calm them or get them hepped up.

Our friend and neighbor Pam is the editor of a magazine for independent pet store owners.  She will occasionally give us "cat stuff" to try out (stuff that she gets sent for free - she is a dog owner; doesn't have a cat).  Yesterday, she texted me "How many cats do you have now?"

I texted back "I'm counting..."

A minute later: "I'm still counting..."

Another minute later:  "Two, seems like 114."

She brought over a "swag bag" full of cat stuff: treats, food, toys, a couple harnesses.  It was also the first she has seen Stella.  And the first time Stella has encountered another human in the house, besides us, Steph, and Dan.  She was wary.  Stella, not Pam.  Pam is friendly; doesn't seem to be a cat-killer.

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In other news: a birthday celebration today.  That's right - on this day mumble-mumble years ago, a crying bundle of joy came into our lives.  I knew my life would never be the same.  Yep, Stephanie's birthday today.  She and Dan are taking the day off work.  I am told it will be a "low key" celebratory day, with the 4 of us doing lunch out.

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To keep cats off the counter, Joan set up two chairs by the patio door...

"That's my chair!"  "Mom said I could sit here."  "Mom, make her get off my chair!"  "I was here first!"

(sigh)

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We had a nice birthday celebration afternoon with Steph and Dan.  Steph wanted to do lunch at the new Chili's just a couple miles from our place.  The food was good, the service excellent, and the deserts were better than birthday cake.  Then back to Steph and Dan's place for opening gifts and cards...

 Murphy was invited to come to their house (Stella hasn't been introduced to their cats, yet), but he chose to stay home with his sister.

 

Let's cut to the video...

 

From my motorcycle ride yesterday - it was a gorgeous afternoon!  The high for the day was 78º.  Enjoy it while you can - the highs are going up from here: 80s today and tomorrow; 90s for the weekend; and into triple digit temperatures next week.  Assuming that plays out, it will be the earliest 100º day(s) here since records have been kept.

But, I digress.  Enjoying the ride and ranting about gas prices...

 

Off to make some music with Mark and the guys.

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A good day of music with Mark, Danny, Carl, Gil, and Tom.  Ron had his second surgery for cataracts yesterday, so he got the day off.  Everybody got to toss in a suggestion or six for what songs to play.  No new ones, but we did pull a couple of songs out that we haven't played for over a year.

It was my turn for lunch; I brought a couple Oregano's pizzas - plenty of food for 6 guys.  Alas, no "cookie break" today... I thought Mark was responsible for the cookies, but found out it was Cindy, and she is doggy-sitting in NYC.

Traffic sucked there and back.  And to add insult to that: gas on I-10 was $4.29 on the way there... and $4.35 on the way back.  Yes, dirty thieving bastards.

No photos or video of the music; but, really, it was fun.

 

Sharing...

 

Sharing is caring.  Murphy is being a good big brother.  As part of our morning routine, after Murph and I get some outdoor time, he likes to sit on one of the kitchen bar stools by the patio door.  That is his space.  This morning, Stella wanted to get up there, too.  I waited to see if there would be a smack-down, with the winner getting that coveted view...

 Murph granted her access.

 Some interaction...

 And, check this out: Murphy moved down to the floor, where Stella usually sits while Murphy occupies the chair...

 Joan is ready for a "togetherness test" - we plan to go out for a quick lunch, with no one of the feline persuasion locked inside the catio.  We'll see if both cats are still in good shape when we get back.

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Lunch was tasty - we made it a short time out to the nearby In & Out.  Back home, both kitties were in fine condition and napping.  I had concerns, but these kitties are doing good.  Until one or the other decides to pounce.  Not sure how much of that is for us.

I got out on the CTX this afternoon.  Besides the need for a ride, I wanted to try downloaded and working on video on the iPad Mini.  The ride was great (mental floss).  I shot the video with the DJI Action 4 camera and DJI Mic 2, looking to do as little editing as possible.  One camera, keep the shots tight to eliminate trimming.  One camera.  It worked as planned.

You'll see the video tomorrow.