I had to talk myself into getting on Tilda-Hilda this morning. I had great excuses. It's too hot. It's too hot. It's too hot.  And, it wasn't yet 7:30 a.m. Tilda-Hilda and I made a breeze for ourselves so it was actually pleasant. Now, stopping. That's a different story. We did a bit over 11 miles today in 64 minutes. Surprisingly, after two days away, I wasn't gasping as much as I pedaled Tilda-Hilda and me up the hills. I think it helped that the Husband and I walked under an umbrella of redwood trees on Sunday. All that wonderful oxygen. Marilyn Monroe's "We're Having a Heat Wave" was going through my head on much of the ride. At one point, Neil Young tried to come through but Marilyn overpowered him. I couldn't figure what he was singing. While looking for a video of Marilyn singing "We're Having a Heat Wave", I came across a rendition by Ella Fitzgerald. I like it far more.

The Asian pear tree Back in May, Molly the Cat suggested I keep tabs on how certain parts of the Mama's garden are progressing throughout the summer. Here's the original post .  And, here are what those spots look like seven weeks later. Bean vines are climbing up the wires. The Mama has harvested a hand full already. Other kind of beans are growing in the middle boxes. See how well the morning glories have grown. Because it's not being watered as much (drought, you know), the apple tree hasn't many leaves. A few apples are growing though. You can see one near the top right hand corner of the picture. Mama planted four eggplant plants at the end of May. I'm impressed at how they're bursting with fruit in simply four weeks. We ate one eggplant last week. It looks like we'll be eating more soon.

The Husband and I are wandering around today celebrating his birthday. Whoot! Whoot! Whoot! This song is is for him. My answer, of course, is: Yup. Always!

The butterflies cheered Tilda-Hilda and me on as we slooooooowly pedaled up the long inclines. They flitted alongside us, weaving among the wild mustard flowers on the side of the road. A couple of the crazy butterflies played chicken with us, flying at us and swerving away at the last second. At one point, two ground squirrels popped in front of Tilda-Hilda and me, and ran, ran, ran. "Hurry up, hurry up," I called, nearly catching up with them. A vehicle passed Tilda-Hilda and me. The squirrels dived into the brush. An old guy (probably a bit younger than me) was taking photos of birds in a faraway tree with a camera with a humongous lens. I stopped to talk to him, thinking he was one of the photographers who posted their amazing photos at a Facebook group I pop in now and then. As we chatted, a woman in a red SUV pulled up beside us. "There's a wonderful picture around the curve to take. A deer is sitting beneath a bush. It's so cute." "Tha

When I was very young, I imagined that giants lived on the hills and mountains. Have I finally spotted one? It's time for The Weekend in Black and White , hosted by Dragonstar. Click here to find other participants.