The hummer takes flight!!!!!!

Saturday morning we notice the baby out on the edge of the nest trying on it's new "flight suit". Spreading it's wings, do a systems check, you get the picture. Saturday night we noticed that the baby hummer nor the mother were to be found. They must have packed their wings and left "Chino Beach". Sunday morning, as we were getting ready to leave for some mountain biking, I was buzzed by a hummingbird that must have just gotten it's permit. Yes, it was the baby, clumsily flying through the air and missing the front stoop by a mile. The mother cuts through the air like a knife and directs the little one to land on our patio chair for a much needed "time out" session. So, there it sat, waiting patiently until we left (it didn't like the crowd watching). This afternoon, again, no sign of the them. Tuesday morning we will be leaving for Colorado and this might be the last time we see them. Sort of a bummer, it's been interesting watching this whole process unfold. Take care if we don't see you again.

A/B

Our "Dinosaur Tooth"

Some of you may have noticed this at our house sitting on the mantle.  We unearthed this jem of a tooth while do some landscaping with a backhoe in the front yard.  It's definately not your typical "rock".  The rough upper part looks as if it were part of a jaw bone broken off.  Who knows, if we would've stopped the landscaping maybe we could've had a full blown archealogical dig here at the house.  

Update: Hummingbird Nest

Since we saw a beak and tail feathers popping out of the nest, I thought I'd climb the ladder and see what is happening with our hummer.  It's almost time to take flight for the first time.  I know that the males have more color than the females, but don't know if they look the same at birth or if the colors develop later on. It looks like a female.  

Training resumes

No, not for Jessi.  She's a good dog.

Monday Brooke and I went out for a little ride in the Preserve by our house and took the dogs with us.  Jessi LOVES going on the trails when we bike and was getting cabin fever.  It was time to take them out for cruise.  We also did some R and D on our bikes since we are running different equipment these days.  Brooke just purchased some Tubeless Mavic CrossMax wheels w/new tubeless tires and I swapped out my forks and threw on a Chris King headset and a 180mm rotor/HOPE caliper that I am borrowing from Steve of the STICKI clan. Everything felt great, which is a good thing, since we leave for Colorado in a week.  We both trail tested our tires out at 20psi since they are tubeless, and they worked great in the dry trail condition we had.

Then on to the park, where there is soft grass, where I had Brooke practice her wheelies, manuals and "static balance stops". She is getting better in every sense.  She now can pop a wheelie for 1-2 pedal strokes.  Not bad for a "rookie".  

Note to self:  Keep an eye on this one.......Andy

Tuesday, we took Jessi out by herself to the Williamson Valley T/H.  The plan was to do WV-TH Tech side then up Mint Wash T345, then to T351, back over to T347 "the whoops" and back to the WV-TH. (12 miles total)  Mother nature had other plans.  It started to sprinkle just as we're getting ready to go, no big deal,  a little rain is always fun.  Trail is good, hookin' up real nice (we're still at 20 psi)  and then comes the rain, a little harder now.  Hit some rock gardens and some technical slabs.  My "gription" was off the hook!!  Game on!  Mud, rain, sand get outta my way, oh and Brooke's too!!  Brooke made it up some sections she previously could not, and yelled "bring it" to the bike gods in triumph.  We had to cut our trip short though, the rain did not cooperate and made the trail into mortar on our tires and frames. SEE PICS. So we had to loop around.  Jessi made the mistake of running behind us a couple of times and was sprayed by rooster tails of muddy water.  Usually she is out front like a Matador. All in all, a fun ride.  

The Aftermath

Micki's B-Day weekend

So, we went down to Phoenix to celebrate our friend Micki's 24th birthday.  We went for a movie on Saturday (Land of the Lost) and then back to "Sticki's" place for some laughs. I almost bought a cone for Chaka but bailed at the last minute.  Sunday, we went to Sunsplash Waterpark in Mesa.  Lots of tube rides and the famous sidewinder. 

 Had a great time.  See video.   http://www.vimeo.com/5162113

Brooke is published

Yes, that is correct. In June's copy of SWEAT Magazine, Brooke is listed in there for placing second overall for the women in the Whiskey Off-Road Bike Race.  Way to go Brooke. 

Note to self:  I better step it up a notch........  Andy

Backyard-DONE!!!!!!

This is a little late, but we finished the backyard about 2 weeks ago and thank heavens, it was killing us.  Grass done, fire pit done, rip-rap done, final sprinkler tweaking done.  It still needs a little somethin-somethin to finish it off but this is the final product.

 

UPDATE: Hummingbird Nest

        
Have you ever seen a baby hummingbird?  Me neither.  I climbed the ladder today to see what's going on in hummingbird land.  To my suprise, one has hatched and the other is "emo" and won't come out of the shell.  They are bald, dark grey in color and have stubby beeks and one row of feathers on its back like a mohawk.  Hard to tell from the pics, but I didn't really want to disturb them.