Take a little break to celebrate

I will miss the Friday workout today and maybe Monday. Fran and I are going away for a few days to celebrate out 20th year of marriage. Not sure when we will be coming back but knowing us it will not be long. I am sure I will pay for it on my next workout day.
I did pick a few Cherokee Purple tomatoes last night. I am sure a coon would get them or the heat would ruin them. Not as good as vine ripe but good, good eatin'.

And the rains came

So glad to hear the rain falling every time I woke up during the night. We ended up with more than an inch with more possible today. Much cooler today and all the earth seems to be refreshed. Even with the rain, it is and will be dry until much more moisture soaks into the ground. Maybe this helped with the wild fire in the forest just to our south.
Wednesday workout was the Wall for half hour and the the hour Pump. The Pump is getting better for me and I can even add weight to my bar. Lunges are a problem and I continue to get cramps. I will not give up this class but modify this one routine. Even squats are much improved.
This will be my last class for the week. Fran and I are going to get away for a few days to celebrate 20 years. I doubt that we are gone that long since neither of us can be gone many days. Heading to the hill country.
I am sure all gardens will benefit from the rain. Bet the tomatoes grow tons in the next few days. We have lots that will be ready soon. Hope the coons stay away while we are gone.

Good News - Bad News

Got going early this morning as I was to meet Dave and family for some blueberries picking. Got there and saw lots of berries. Of course I had to sample and found them to not only not be sweet but almost bitter. Very small berries this year. Many still not ripe and with some rain these may be better. Good news is it began to rain a light rain while there and heavier as we drove back home. Raining hard at HOPE. Getting home I see it has rained but not that much. Hope we get more today and tomorrow as forecasters say we will. At least the tomatoes got some rain which is better than tap water.

A little sore today but not that bad.

Wild Fire

The national forest and other land just south of here is burning. The area is about 15,000 acres and mostly contained now. It is so hot and dry that any little thing can spark a fire. Same is true for here. Weather forecast give us a little chance of rain this week, which is better than many weeks. Hopefully we can get some as many of the trees are suffering now. The tomatoes, because we water everyday, are still looking good but too hot to produce much fruit.
Monday workout was tougher than many days. First Kris really put us through it in the Wall. Several new exercises that really tested you. Body Pump was a killer. I got a bad cramp during the lunges section. I did not stop but just switched over to squats for a portion of that session. I did feel good about adding a little weight to the bar for most areas. Wore my " Raise the Bar" shirt so figured I had to add something. Heidi pushes hard and allows very little down time between exercises. Made it anyway but will hurt a bit, per usual.
First time ever even Frank said it was tough. That makes it true in my book.

Work day or Workout...

Today was a work day at the Demo Garden and also my Friday class workout. Compromise was to go about 7:30 to the Demo and then by 9:30 to gym for class. Turns out that Dave and I were the only guys and we had a large trailer of mulch to wheel around to all of the gardens. The women would help with distributing it into the beds. Even at 8:00 it was hot and most were about to give it up. We all managed to keep the pace and finish our chores by 9:15. Dave and a few stayed to finish things up but I was off to the gym. Very hot, sweaty and I knew that I had used some of the functional strength. Barely got changed, watered down and set up for the class. Good thing was Heidi had a sub as our teacher. Hard but not quite the killer that Heidi take us through. Glad I was able to make it through both activities.
Tomatoes still growing but too hot for many of the blooms to set fruit. Maybe the coons and others have found another eating place. Hope so.
Tired out and ready for a short nap.

Hot, hot, hot...

Every day the temps are near or over 100 degrees. This is normal for August but being it's only June I wonder about how brutal this summer will be. I have 2 large trees down in the back yard. I am not sure if it was wind or the dry soil that caused or helped this. I will need to get someone to come cut them down as they are too big for me.
Wednesday's workout was what has become my normal workout for now. Seems like the Express or Wall is more intense now. Summer has brought in a good many new members to join our classes. This has made Kris add more stations to allow for the extra members. I feel for them just starting out. Many are teachers and just rejoining for the summer. The Pump has a few of the exercise changes. The squats and lunges are still my killers and will always be since my legs are so skinny. I can and did add weight to my bar for the other exercises. Seems like upper body and core are a bit easier for me. Of course I am sore all over which is the sign of a good workout.
Must get on the road as I am helping with the Demo garden chores this week. Watering and harvesting the veggies must be done early in the morning because of the heat. If we do not get rain soon I fear that most of the veggies will stop producing. Smoking hot out there but not smoking.

Master Gardener meeting

Today was the Master Gardner's meeting. Enjoyed it and some of us did lunch afterwards. Dave was big dog as he and family won 3 blue ribbons at Tomato Fest, largest, best plate of 3- heirloom, best child's plate of 3.
I started the day discovering that a "coon" had been in the tomato garden. Many of the largest and almost ripe tomatoes were gone are chewed up. You could see just where they climbed the cages and took the tomatoes. Dang it.
Work out was cut short so I could attend the meeting. I did my routine and then the Express or wall. This made me skip the Pump so I know I will pay on Wednesday. Funny but my routine is not even a good warm up now. WOW !

I must be getting better as many of the Master Gardeners gave me very nice positive comments on my progress.

So glad I am a non smoker.