Update on the goats :O), gardening and something so fun! 

A super fun thing, honeyman and I got bikes! It started out I figured I could take up cycling to make up for some of the running I have not been able to do because of the back issue. It is better but still working on getting myself back where I can just go out and run daily. I am still limited right now quite a bit .  Just got the name of a Dr who does ART therapy over in Dallas and hoping that might help. But in the meantime I thought okay I will get a bike, I have always thought that seemed like it would be fun. Well before it was over the honeyman and I both decided we would like bikes and since our anniversary is Monday 27 yrs married and 29 if you count the two years we co habitated before we tied the knot lol ... Yep we got ourselves some bikes, helmets etc. and a rack to take them places to go ride etc... I am so excited I could bust, yes over the bike but also that honeyman got one as well! Honeyman is a gym guy, he works out at the gym several times a week and at home on the EFX (elliptical machine) inside. He used to be a runner as well quite a few years back but back surgery changed that for him. The back surgery was not related to running, but never the less it ended that for him.  He tried out a bike at the bike shop and was impressed with how lite weight and great these bikes are to ride. Nothing like the old heavy metal bodied bikes you think of that if you can get around the block on it your lucky LOL. Nope these babies ride like butter... ewwwww nice :O)... 

Mine is the silver one and his is the black one.. We got Trek FX 7.3 2012. These are what they call hybrids, not a full road bike that has the skinny tires and curved under handles but not a mountain bike either. For where we live and our roads we felt these were a good choice. We were told this type bike is something you could use for up to a 50-60 mile ride. The bike will do it when you can ROFL. It has more speed ability to it than a mountain bike but less than a road bike. Its is amazing just how much speed you can pick up easily on these though. Its very fun! We have a lot to learn we are certainly beginners!
I did look on craiglist for a bike but since I knew nothing about bikes and didn't have a friend who is a cyclist it was like reading greek. I did see a couple of the bikes on craiglist that we were shown but the price difference was not as great as one would have hoped. In the end we felt as beginners we needed the knowledge and information on what we were buying. You also want to be sure you buy the right size bike. We were very pleased with the no pressure help we got at the Richardson Bike shop in Dallas. Very nice guy about our age helped us. He spent a lot of time with us and they were swamped with customers. But he took his time and answered our questions. We did test rides in the parking lot on bikes. etc.
We did go to one other shop that we didn't feel comfortable buying at.
So honeyman and I will be learning the ropes of cycling together!

The garden is coming along nicely. I still have a few things to get planted. But I have a lot of it in and its doing pretty well. I have already put the shade covers up on the frames. I am happy to report those metal frames didn't move a 1/4" inch in the storms we got! Woowhoooooo and my covers held up well also. I was so glad we didn't get the baseball sized hail here as I am quite sure the covers would be full of holes if we had, not to mention what it would have done to the plants!

The herbs I over wintered in pots ... they have all come back very nicely! I am going to put most of these in herb bed, as they come back every year and in the long run I think that will be better than pots. The mints I will put out in an area they can just go do their thing since they spread so much. 

 Cabbages that got off to a very slow start but are doing much better now. I am hoping they make huge heads as I am really wanting to put up a lot of Sauerkraut!

 Tomatoes and a trellis for cucumbers. this picture is dark for some reason LOL

 Tomatoes and peppers.

 Peppers and yes more tomatoes

 Eggplants. I put in a  lot of eggplants this year. We just love eggplant and I have found it dehydrates very well for later use. The Tapanade (spelling) that Patty gave me the canning recipe for is to die for and we ate what I canned last year before we could turn around so will be canning a lot more this year. Its also excellent grilled on the grill and many other fresh uses. 

 Spaghetti Squash by the trellis

 Squash

Some of my seeds are not up yet for  other stuff so nothing to show there :O)

 My blackberries that I put in last year are doing very well this year. Although something is eating on the leaves lol not sure what yet.

Hi its me Skittles, I am doing great! I am still very small but I am the new boss of this farm! 

 Sunny and Gary growing fast. Sunny is closest to the gate. 

Gary, he is so sweet. Gary looks after Skittles he has from day one.  If Skittles squeaks Gary is right there to check him out and assure him all is well. He is a very good big brother.

Gary again because how often do you get to get two pictures of a kid standing this still ROFL

The whole family

 

Last but not least, some  of my Iris that are blooming

This next week is going to be over the top busy, so this very long post is going to cover me for several days!