Hills and the Garden

It's been really windy here the last couple of days... strong west wind off the ocean. And that means it's also been cooler than usual... getting into the 70's here in Antioch, but staying in the low to mid 60's closer to the coast. As a result, it was really clear and windy, not to mention a bit chilly, for my run in the hills at 7:30 this morning with Randy and another guy named Phil Murphy.

Now, for those who know us, our niece, Jamie, is married to a great guy (does that make him our nephew-in-law?) named Phillip Murphy, but the guy I ran with is not him. First, this PM has about 35 years on Phillip. Also, Phillip has recently relocated to American Samoa as a vocational missionary. Here's his blog, in case you're interested in his adventures there while waiting on his family to make the move.

Anyway, Phil is a "serious" runner... trains daily, runs races, is lean and fast... some of you will remember what that is like. So, I was having to push it a bit to keep up with him and Randy this morning. Then it happened... my left calf started feeling as if it would pull. I slowed down and turned around early, but it still yanked on me a bit. I managed to finish in a slow jog... I mean really slow... but it'll be a few days before I can run again. Virginia and I are going to the mountains Sunday afternoon and Monday (Murphys, CA), so I should get in some therapeutic hiking. And, no, I don't think either Phil Murphy or Phillip Murphy are from Murphys, CA. Now that that's cleared up... here's a link and some pics of the Murphy's Historic Hotel, built in 1856, and host to Mark Twain, President US Grant, and, as of tomorrow, R&VJ. I think we'll try to hit one of the caverns in the area and do some hiking in Calaveras Big Trees State Park for sure.

OK, we spent most of the rest of the day working in the yard... primarily in the vegetable garden out back. We hoed and watered... we planted some flowers... we also planted a couple of guava trees that we had brought as seedlings from VJ's folks old place down in Carlsbad when we moved here. They had been existing in pots in the mean time. We did some stuff out front as well.

I didn't get to the irrigation system for the veggies... decided I was too tired after about 6 hours in the dirt. We'll manage with watering by hand for a few more days until I can get to it. Who knows, maybe I can find a guy named Murphy to help.