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First Harvest

We planted our "Winter Veggies" in late september and we had our first harvest last weekend, the ratishes really did well and they we very good.

Our "Winter" garden consist of cold weather veggies which include Spinich, Lettuce (romain and grazing mix), Kale, Cabbage and herbs like dill and cilantro. We also planted some faster growing veggies like the radishes and green beans so we could get a harvest in before our first frost which won't happen till december.

Signs of Life

We planted our garden last week and we already have sprouts...cool huh. I am really excited for some fresh winter veggies.

Playtime with Velvet

We have been spending a lot of time with our little lady Velvet. We love her so much and she brings so much joy into our home. She loves her playtime, treats, snuggling and getting her nose scratched. Here are some photos of her over the last week. We love you our little Velveteen Rabbit!

Enjoying her favorite treat: carrot tops.

Running in her room.

Outdoor shots.

Me and my little princess.

I decided to try to do a few semi-professional shots of my little girl.

She was very interested in the material backdrop.

Striking a pose.

What's up doc?

Velvet as she enjoys her bedtime story, the Velveteen Rabbit.

She loves the pictures.

Lately she loves to snuggle under my elbow. I think it reminds her of a cave and she loves to sit while I scratch her back or her ears.

My little cuddle bug.

Enjoying a tasty treat from Aaron!

Gardner Canyon - Kentucky Camp

Yesterday we went mountain biking in Southern Arizona with a group from Raytheon. We had a great time and enjoyed the scenery and the weather. Here is my sexy mountain biker at the beginning of the AZ Trail.

Aaron doing a track stand.

Here I am after the top of a climb. I did pretty well on this ride and was pretty much able to ride the whole thing.

This was an old mining area and it was great to see some of the old dams and mining tools along our route.

Aaron near one of the dams.

One of the many creek crossings. It doesn't look very difficult, but there was a lot of soft sand and rocks and only a couple guys were able to ride through it. Aaron was one of them. Good job!

There were water holes throughout our ride. I thought they were very pretty and had to stop for a picture. This is my bike taking a rest.

Look at that handsome man!

Taking a break near one of the water holes. We had a pretty big group so we would stop at certain spots along the way to let everyone regroup and make sure no one missed a turn.

The Santa Rita mountains.

Aaron at the top of a very long and rocky climb. The post behind him is where we began a very gnarly and rocky descent, but it was fun!

Here I am coming down one of the Rocky descents. The loose rocks were scary as your bike would slide under you as you descended. This one wasn't too bad compared to the longer rockier descent earlier in the ride.

I made it!

There were two loops to our ride. A lot of people left after the first loop. Aaron and I decided to continue on for the second loop.

Great single track on the AZ Trail.

One of the buildings at Kentucky camp where we stopped to refuel and get more water. Thank goodness there was water. I hardly had any left by the time we got here.

Some of the mining artifacts.

This is the porch of the overseers home. It was very pretty out here.

Me at the last leg of the ride. I had a great time and so did Aaron. We did 18 miles and enjoyed the group we rode with. The ride ended on a steep and rocky switchback descent. Aaron cleared it without a problem and he said I could walk it if I wanted to. I walked a little bit and then decided to give it a try. I made it! There were people watching from the bottom and said I did a great job. I was very nervous because if you make a mistake you end up on some sharp rocks or go off the side of the hill. A little scary, but very rewarding.

Tombstone

I have never been to Tombstone even though I am a native Arizonan. Aaron took me there yesterday for Labor Day and we had a great time. Here is Aaron on the historic Allen Street in Tombstone.

I really enjoyed the wild west atmosphere in Tombstone. A lot of it is not original, but we sought out the original sites and had a great time.

Tombstone was founded on silver mining. We decided to take a tour of the mine that goes under the town of Tombstone. It was a great tour and our guide was very knowledgeable. Aaron was very excited to go see the mine.

Aaron inside the mine. You could still see the tool marks, dynamite blasts, tin cans, boards from a dynamite box, and even a fuse for the dynamite inside the mine. It was neat to see original items left in the mine.

Aaron and I after the tour. I was laughing pretty hard because our tour guide couldn't get the camera to work. I forgot to turn it on before I handed it over to him and felt so bad because I said he only had to point and shoot. Our camera is a little intimidating and I usually have it ready for others to take a photo of us.

My handsome hubby at the end of the tour.

We also visited the Tombstone Courthouse. It had a lot of artifacts and the building was an original which we really like.

Some items from Wyatt Earp. They don't have very many of his belongings because he wasn't famous for awhile after he left the town. There is a theory that his wife Maddie sold all of their belongings after he left her for Josie in order to move from Tombstone.

The Courtroom.

I thought the gallows were fascinating. Hangings were town events that people would bring picnics to and watch. I guess we get the same fascination and amusement from our movies today. I just don't think I would want to see it in real life.

An original poker table. Gambling, drinking and brothels were very popular in Tombstone.

This was interesting. Someone lost their sheers and the tree grew around it.

The Bird Cage was the "theater" and "brothel" of the town. No respectable woman would enter here or even walk in front of it. The women that worked the brothels were known as the Shady Ladies because they could only walk on their side of the street which was shaded. This building was very interesting. It had been boarded up for years and when they opened it up to renovate it looked like everyone had been shooed out of the structure and the building was closed. There were drinking glasses, whiskey barrels, poker tables, mirrors, poker chips looked like they had been left behind in a hurry and they are still in their same spot as if frozen in time. They even have a female ghost that is regularly sited in the building. They think she came in with the hearse because she is dressed very properly and no proper women would have been at the Bird Cage.

Aaron at the bar talking to the tour guide. There were so many artifacts from the town in this building and it was very interesting to tour.

The stage was smaller than I thought, but it was interesting to see how large we have buildings and rooms today.

There was a wealthy Russian that paid $25 a night for this theater box. This was very expensive since the normal wage made a day was $1-$5.

Poker tables, chips, whiskey barrel and mirrors in their original spot. It was kind of an eerie feeling to see it in that state.

One of the brothel rooms. I didn't realize that Josie was a prostitute. I thought she was only an actress. This is believed to be her room that she and Wyatt Earp had their liaisons. The prostitutes had to pay a monthly fee and have a valid business license with the town. They were also inspected monthly by doctors to make sure they were not pregnant or had visible STDs. Their business taxes went to pay for the schools, hospitals and help the needy. Wyatt Earp was the one that signed for Josie's business license.

Aaron with Wyatt Earp's statue in front of his house. Wyatt's house only had 2 rooms and it did not have a bathroom or a kitchen. It was a place to sleep and have shelter from the elements. It provided the necessities.

We also went to the Boot Hill cemetery. Here are the graves of the men killed in the OK Corral gunfight. A lot of people were shot, hung or committed suicide or even killed by Indians (according to the Tombstones).