I survived yesterday. At different points I was wondering if I would. The literal sugar coma and exhaustion thingy. Hate it! Managed to head out at 5:30 AMish for my desert hike with Scout. Summer is on the downswing, even though it’s exceptionally warm tonight and it’s 10PM – she said with absolute knowledge. A few weeks ago the sky was beginning to lighten at 4:30, now it’s still dark until after 5.

My cantaloupe, winter squash, and watermelon vines are on the downswing. I had Dan set up a few spots on the front side of the property (where I wanted lots of green short term) and planted seeds. They went bonkerville. I now have too many cantaloupe to eat so I’m gifting some of them. The watermelons were small and seed filled but sweet and tasty — next year it will be seedless watermelon seeds that are planted. The green vines spreading out across the ground have been pretty damned neat though, now most have been cut away or are turning yellow brown and they are all headed for the compost pile. The winter squash is incredible but the upside to it is they cure out so there’s no need to eat them within a few days like the others…they will last a few months.

Back in the day when Bellagio was going through the struggles of shipping us all over the planet for employee parking, we were bussed (or we could walk) to the parking area that is now City Center. I worked swing shift with Sharon Bolinger (longtime friend since the Montana days) and one night when the wind and rain had had a field day with Las Vegas, we hit the parking lot after our shift to find tree limbs, branches, human clutter/debris, and a number of assorted things strewn across the lot. We also found two red Bellagio Horticulture Parking signs that had blown at least a half a block from where they originated. They were temporary signs and we were both intrigued and nervous about taking them home with us. Finally we decided we wouldn’t be fired over it so she took one and I snagged the other. I packed it with me for years (14 years this winter) and this is where it ended up.

That’s the side of my storage shed (which has a loft BTW) and a newly planted Spanish Broom and some of the cantaloupe and squash vines just starting to take off. Fun!

I finally managed to squeak out a few wins at the WSOP.com. Phew! For a while there I was wondering. Any time you can beat a poker game, life is good.

Catch up with me tomorrow.