Gloating

 

The leaks are fixed. The hot water is back on. The plumber left three valves in the event that we spring a leak in any of the other three feed-lines.

I took a shower. While I did not dally beneath the wonderful stream of hot water, I did enjoy it immensely.

Three minutes from turning on the shower until grabbing my towel at the end of it.

Mowing Southern Belle's orchard

Before/After

Before/After

Lots of goldenrod still trying to over-top the grass. Many blackberry bushes popping up. The key seems to be to mow them while the stems are juicy and before they get woody.

Random pictures of Southern Belle's garden

'Taters

Second planting of sweet corn

Third planting of sweet corn

Broccoli ready to harvest

Socializing

I spent a couple of hours socializing with some guys I used to work with in the 1982-1992 time-frame.

It was a great time to be alive. We were worker-bees and (mostly) oblivious to the company politics that swirled around us. We were young, courting and starting families.

The guy sitting next to me was conversing with the guy across the table. They were both back-packers and they both took their kids back-packing. One of the stories was when one family hiked the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim. One half started on the South Rim while the other half drove around to the North Rim (4-1/2 hour drive) and started hiking from there. When the two halves met, the keys to the vehicle were handed over to the north-bound party...and they just kept walking. 

The elevation change for the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hike is approximately 6,000 feet, as you descend from the North Rim to the Colorado River and then ascend back up to the South Rim. The hike typically involves a descent of about 14.3 miles and a climb of 9.6 miles back out    -AI content

They did it in one day! Oh, to be young again. 

P.S. Both of those guys still mow their lawns with (powered) push mowers.