We awoke to a cool morning with high clouds curling themselves around the peaks like hair tendrils curling about the ears of a Hassidic Jew. Undeterred by the cool weather, we continued with plan A. First, we enjoyed a typical breakfast of oatmeal covered with raisins and walnuts, a couple of steaming hot cups of coffee prepared in costa Rican fashion, and an orange cut into segments. During breakfast, the Wiley Cager beat me like a tired rug. She's managed to skunk me two days in a row. (If this continues, I may have to return to my gentlemanly tricks). After breakfast we practiced the form, which felt good. We haven't done the form for four days because my back was strained from shoveling snow. It's better now. We then took our first hike, which was a 2.2 mile loop called the Canyon Loop. It rolled itself up and over easily terrain, crossing the seasonal stream about six times. We managed to keep our feet dry the whole time. It was bliss. The desert was quiet, except for the gurgling of the stream, occasional bird whistles, and our greetings of "Good Morning" to fellow travelers. The hike took us about two hours because it was really more of a stroll where we soaked up the natural world like sponges. After a light lunch, we drove to the winter home of our good friends, David and Ginny Kral, to watch the Seattle Seahawks playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons. Sadly, the Hawks were soundly drubbed. It didn't stop us from enjoying our friends, which reiterates an early comment I made about the joy of sharing life with people you love. We've already made three dates while we're here. We'll go to church with them in the morning. We'll share a buffet lunch at an Indian restaurant that Kathleen Friesen recommended, and on the 26th we'll go to a star party at the Kitt Mountain Observatory. That should be excellent since it's as close to a new moon as we could arrange. Of course, we enjoyed a simple but exquisite dinner with the Kral's. Accomplished gardeners (And cooks and canners, et. al), it was a simple feast of home made goods. Beyond that, I'm sure we'll find other reasons to get together while we're here. But tonight, we'll cheer on the Zags against St Mary's. I hope the fare better than I and the Seahawks did, but regardless a day like this one once again assures me that life is good, especially today.
Selfie of the day.
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