Looks like spring is finally here

We had a cold spell last week. Really cold. So I was beginning to wonder whether spring was ever going to come. It has. It's warmed up nicely. The trees are all leafing out, and many of them still have blossoms. The air smells so good! The tulips and daffodils I planted last year are blooming, too. All the bushes are putting out new leaves. We're going to have to get out there and cut them back. Alan did the sage bushes, which were out of control, but we have to get to the rest of them. It's unbelievable how quickly they grow. Last night I found the picture above (top) taken just after we put the landscaping in. The picture on the bottom was taken just three years later. Crazy, huh? All that beautiful bark dust is long gone. We're down to fabric in some places. Guess we'll get a load weekend after next so we can cover it up again. The yard is looking rather pathetic.

Alan and I went for a long walk last night. We have a beautiful paved trail just a block from our house. The other night when we walked we headed east, but last night we decided to head west, toward a little park about 3/4 mile down the trail. We got about half a mile and saw that the trail had detours in two directions. The whole area is all dug up. We got very upset at first, thinking they were putting a development in that great open space. But they aren't. Apparently they're digging to lay down new water pipes and other utilities because they're expanding the parks in that area and making improvements to the open space. We took a detour off to the south and ended up on a road we didn't recognize. Very nice area; houses all on very large lots and hidden back behind the main road. It looks like it's in the country. We finally ended up coming out on Taft Hill Road and walked about 1/2 block down to where the eastern part of the trail that we walked the other night picked up. We ended up walking for about an hour at a very good clip. We're going to try to walk every evening--no matter what. Alan never gets any exercise, and I'm getting worried about his health. I need all the exercise I can get, too. I've been trying to exercise every day by riding the trainer and working out to my DVDs, but I really like to walk, too, and think it's a good form of exercise. I'd sure like to get in better shape before we take our big motorcycle trip in July.

It seems like Alan is still in high demand as an analog circuit designer. He told me last night that he's had interest from two other companies just this week. I don't think he'll make a change, not right now, anyway. But it's nice to know that he has options. Wish I had some! I wish someone would hire me to travel the world. Wouldn't that be nice?