 I forgot to post this pic from our visit to Old Tucson. A participant of the "scare team" offered to include himself in the group pic.  Amy and I rode out of Oro Valley on a 35 mile route that included the community of Saddlebrook and this unusual display.  The higher elevation of Saddlebrook provides some awesome views of....  ....the Catalinas. For the week, I rode 100 miles but that needs to be the bare minimum moving forward since the weather is perfect now. That evening.....  ....our front was flooded. I have no experience with an irrigation system. In Ohio, a hose was all that I ever needed in the rare instance a plant needed water, lol. Looks complicated so we called an irrigation contractor who surprisingly came out a couple of days later. The fix was quick and simple.
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 A small group of us visited "Old Tucson" which was hosting a sprawling Halloween event with numerous skits and walk throughs. I haven't been screamed at this often since I was caught doing bad things as a child.  Old Tucson usually is visited by people wanting to walk through the studio sets of old westerns. Many movies and TV shows were partially filmed here and in the surrounding desert.  I was sent to pick up carry-out and had this beautiful view. Next morning, we got back on our bikes and had to....  ...once again route ourselves through 49er development to see if any new displays had been set up.  I talked to a home owner and inquired about the amount of people who....  ...walk through and he said last year, he gave out 15 packages of candy, each with 125 pieces!  Most scenes are very....  ....creative, especially the above, Pickleball one.  They even hang items on street signs.  How bout that! a fool front moved through and we received 0.60" of rain and some hail.
 I had some time on my hands before an afternoon flight so drove around the Granville area. So beautiful this time of year.  I turned on Thornwood and as I always do during my visits, marvel at the awesome network of roads in the region. As I drove around, each new road I encountered would bring back memories of group riding experiences on those roads. Alas, the climate, even in the summer, is not so desirable, ha, ha. And so, I was glad to board the plane and....  ...return to beautiful southern AZ, Amy & Jack. We got out for a short ride that included the 49er development where there is....  ....the.....  ....largest concentration.....  ....of Halloween displays I've ever seen.  I really missed this woman. Life with her is so much fun.  Where do people store all these items in the other 11 months?  We exit the development and pass one fine display.
 Grandson Anthony, at 7, plays in a 10 & under soccer league. The kid is really fast and loves soccer. A cold, windy, raw day and next morning....  ...more of the same but it matters little for outdoor work. And then, I see this! What you likely wonder. An oak of about 8' but not one that I planted. It's been growing within a thicket I cleared this day, from an acorn dropped years ago. Weird but this discovery thrilled me.  More soccer tournament games and more cloudy skies.  Being 7 years old in a 10& under league means you'll find some physical mismatches, lol.  One evening I was at my daughters house and admired this supply of cherry. Would have loved to take a maul and begin splitting but no time.
 More cutting and stacking, which I enjoy.  I discovered that if I run around growling like a monster, the grandchildren never tire of the activity. I tire of it of course but they love being chased.  My first 3 days in Ohio, the weather was great with sun and daily highs in the mid 70's. I've noticed that most of the ash trees died above ground from the emerald ash borers wreaking their damage but below ground, the roots remain and so from the stumps, new growth occurs.  The tools of my daily trade.  On one edge of the woods, long ago I planted white pine trees so they create a nice barrier now.  And then, the 4th day arrived and with it, rain, lots of rain. I drove to a soccer game and more to come on that and other Ohio days.
 In the Dallas airport, minding my own business and this guy walks up to ask if he can have his picture taken with the world famous blogger so I.....  ...agreed. I then gave him numerous policy changes he ought to make. He scribbled on his notepad and thanked me.  And then, a visit to my woods. How magnificent to see them in all their leafed glory, lol.  Planted as two-year seedlings, they are monsters now. The work I put in to watering them when needed (it's Ohio so not often required), sprinkling fertilizer around each of them, keeping weeds at bay so the trees could thrive, trimming lower branches, etc... was so worth it.  Still many dead ash trees to be cut so I fired up the Stihl chainsaw and got to work.  Part of the routine is also burning branches and clearing brush.  The main reason though for my Ohio visit was to see children and grandchildren so soon I headed to a soccer game. Doing so, I passed a gas station having gas at $2.99. I'm paying over $4 in AZ. What the heck!
 Out to pick up a pizza and the timing of the drive permitted great views of the sunset.  Sabino Canyon Road, a nice, 4 mile climb with great views. Kind of a mini, "Going to the Sun Road" climb. Not sure why I have not done the climb since 2014, especially since it was repaved last year.  Always interesting rock walls as I coast down.   Hmmmm, since it is encroaching on the sidewalk, better trim it back before the HOA comes after us. If you've never cut one of these.....  ....they are surprisingly soft and cuts easily.  Summer has fled and with it, the 100 degree days. Despite the clouds, no rain in the foreseeable future but.....  ....the air cooled enough after sunset that I was able to get a fire going in our outdoor fireplace. In one year, we have gone from firewood poor to firewood rich with all my chainsaw activity.  We walked about a mile to a development that has several lakes and fine views of the mountains.  Jack loves chasing toys in the water and never seems to tire of it.
 We drove Jack 22 miles up Mount Lemmon and began a short, 2 mile hike. We had ridden a fairly hilly, 40 mile ride the day before so didn't want to stress our legs much.  Relatively flat routes are difficult to find up here but Amy got us a flat to rolling one.  We crossed under Catalina Highway and along the way....  ....saw where they have made numerous piles of logs and brush as good forest management efforts. Well, summer is finally over and I saw a long range forecast that suggests we'll have another wet and slightly cooler winter. I'd so much prefer summers be cooler and wetter than normal but that never seems to be the case.
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