Safe As Milk

Long-time readers may remember when I was an enthusiastic strength sport athlete. I’ve taken a turn to playing more tennis over the last 18 months and my time at the gym has been sporadic, at best.

Over the last month or so, I’ve started dabbling back with the Iron Arts, in an early a.m. window. I don’t love getting up early, but I really love lifting weights.

I am not in this photo, but I took it. There wasn’t any way in hell I was getting at all involved in this damn thing.

We had a park day through work and my youngest is in this photo. She’s nuts.

I did ride a couple of coasters. I hadn’t been on one in probably 15 years, but I was feeling spry and got bullied into it by my kid. It was a mistake.

I didn’t barf, but I was definitely wobbly after a couple of them. I am going back into Roller Coaster Retirement.

I’m relieved to see some signs of life after chopping this azalea down a couple of weeks ago. I was worried I waited too long after the spring bloom and it wouldn’t react well in the heat of the summer.

This smells suspiciously like a lesson in patience. Hmmmm.

I’ve been meaning to use one of the million maple seeds that sprout in my yard every Spring as a bonsai starter, and this year I finally did it.

In classic Mike Mode, I planted it and then did some reading on the process. Turns out that the silver maple is a very challenging tree to bonsai, and it 100% shouldn’t be out in direct diligent all day, even in the mild Spring we’ve been having.

So tonight I’ll move the little fella into a shadier spot and then maybe find a thick-trunked azalea to hack down for bonsai-ing this weekend.

h/t to Mike Short for the bonsai scoop