 I mean...what are the odds???? I brought AZ weather to Ohio. I've noticed on weather radar that most storms enter western Ohio and soon, dissipate or break up, denying us needed rain. The plants are looking very sad and the trees have begun to drop their leaves prematurely. Curious, I typed, "Ohio drought" and....  ....yep, the first drought of its kind since the late 90's! The healthy soybean and corn fields are looking kinda sad too.  I'm making progress splitting wood at my daughter's as I noticed I was being watched by a deer.  Three layers, 6' high and growing in length.  I hopped in with Al Hanes' group ride on a Friday as we went to Granville from Westerville. Good turnout.
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 I continue to enjoy the morning, group rides. Most weeks, I get in 120-130 miles, riding 3 days a week.  Upon returning to the parking lot, I found a variety of small cars parked nearby. The morning rides put me home by 12:30pm so plenty of time to be outdoor active but in this case....  ...I met daughters Olivia and Stephanie for a late afternoon wine tasting. I visited the Fesss Parker winery last year and having signed for the wine club, am shipped 2 bottles every 6 months.  The wine tasting was followed by work in Steps's back yard. They had accumulated 3 large piles of branches so Anthony and I fed a fire until all was eliminated...other than Anthony, of course.  At last, I began splitting 4 rows of mostly cherry but with some ash and osage mixed in too.  My two bosses, Stephanie and Anthony came out to check on me. It's rare for Anthony to walk away. Usually he and I play soccer, badminton, golf and other games around the yard. Then, disaster struck! I placed a log in the splitter. As I pulled my right hand away from the back of the log, my glove caught as I activated the wedge. Dang!!! When it stopped hurting, it felt really good, a couple of days later.  Rather than show the ugly side, I'll only show the other, purple side. It became more gruesome looking thereafter. It will heal eventually and will certainly lose a nail but it doesn't impede me much so onwards and upwards!
 I joined the Monday morning group ride out of New Albany, headed to Granville. I bugged out just before entering Granville so I could check out the new roundabout at the end of New Burg. Progress! Were it not for the workers prohibiting entry during their working hours, it is good to go after hours for cyclists.  And so, as we took a too long break, in rode Farmer Mike. He good naturally cursed me because since I bestowed that nickname on him, that's how everybody references him, lol.  I was gifted this pair of Ohio State cycling shoes...GO BUCKS!!!  I picked up grandson Anthony and headed to the Bio Reserve for a hike. The unmoved areas have extraordinary growth. Well above 7' are the weeds.  We headed for a 1.5 mile loop which included a creek where....  ....I convinced him to walk across a log, over the creek.  Beautiful and as I have stated many times, in those woods are some of the most mature oaks, beech and maple trees I have ever seen.  Closing on the end of our hike, we passed this scummy looking pond. Fun time with "The Kid" as I call him.
 See, the problem with only participating in group rides is, I can't pause to take any pics. That's the only downside I can think of. Mike A took this one of our merry band as we proceeded east on Concorde Road. My smile would quickly evaporate as we were soon doing the hills on Stone Quarry.  I was at my son's house when a family of turkeys trotted through his neighbors yard. I rarely see turkeys around here and when I do, they're always single so this was unusual for me.  The drive to many off the group rides takes me over Hoover Reservoir and there is always a lot of activity, especially when the day is windy.  The corn and....  ...soybean fields are certainly healthy looking as we departed Johnstown during a group ride. The route was to be 50 miles but I saw an opportunity to lop off about 4 miles so it gave me the rare opportunity to ride solo and take a couple of pics.  Someone informed me my SUV was kind of dirty so I visited my first "Moo Moo" car wash. Seemed like a good deal!
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