Irrigation night

George gets flood irrigation in his backyard, which used to make more of a difference to us when we are flying, but not anymore. We used to have to cancel or modify practice if he was getting irrigation because it would get the sidewalk and the python (the lines pulling rope) wet. George has since modified the yard so there's a berm around the sidewalk to keep it dry. I thought the yard looked so cool tonight while the sun as setting--the water, the pool with its color changing lights....it was just a small group tonight, which sometimes make for the best nights!

Flashback to June 2014 when we had another irrigation night that interfered with practice. Back then, the entire yard got flooded, and I didn't yet have any tricks out of safety lines. It was a night just like this that I first did a split out of lines (not to the net, just the position). It was a big day! One of my favorite pictures of myself at trapeze was taken that night while I was climbing the ladder. The smile on my face is the look of someone who is extremely happy. When I think about how long I've been doing trapeze, it's quite amazing. What a ride it's been!

Look Ma, no safety lines!

Wednesday night was an interesting night at trapeze. George and Terri live on a county island, which means they do their irrigation a bit differently. I'm not sure how often, but whenever it's their turn to get water, they have to open the ports on their property to let the water in. They don't have any control over when it comes, and it follows a rotating schedule. Sometimes it comes at 2 am, and other times its at 5 pm, like it was on Wednesday. Since they put in the pool, the irrigation has flooded over the sidewalks too. I put on a safety belt and did one trick in lines, and George knew right away that we couldn't use the lines. The sidewalk was too slippery and the python (the rope) was soaking wet. Here's what it looked like...

So, that meant we couldn't do any tricks that required safety lines, and for me, that meant all I could do was swing. I was a little frustrated at first because it was going to be my last practice before I was headed to ND (missing 2 nights of flying). My swing is getting better though, so it was good to get some practice in. 

I finally got brave enough to ask George if I could try something different, and he said yes without hesitation. I did this trick when I went to fly in California, but hadn't done it yet at home. I know George is very cautious about people doing anything out of lines, so I just never asked. This seemed like as good of time as any though! I did this split quite a few times before I decided my hands had had enough for the night. I'm so glad that I will have another option when I'm out of lines. Check it out!

There were only a couple of us there that night, so really it was just April and I going up over and over. I brought my phone up towards the end and got some cool videos and photos from the board. I love this one! This will give you an idea of what the view is like from up here. 

This might be one of my new favorites. I love the lighting and of course, my big trapeze smile. Do you think this makes me happy at all? If you're not sure, just look at my face....

I'll miss my flying friends while I'm in ND, but will be back in the air again soon enough.

Building a garden

Dave is at it again, homeschooling! Over the years, I've mentioned a few times that I think it would be fun to have a garden. Dave mostly smiles and nods, knowing I'm not very good at keeping plants alive. I'm sure he figured that I'd start the garden and then let die when I lost interest or forgot about it. He's probably right, honestly. But, desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess! I mentioned the idea again, and off he went to Lowe's to get some wood to build a raised garden bed! Isn't he just the best? I think so. 

He got Ava involved in the project too. Tyler isn't as interested in stuff like this, especially when he's working on his own projects, but Ava is always up for something new and she's a great helper. Dave told her what to do, and she did most of the work. She measured and helped figure out the dimensions and ran the drill.  

 They put a layer of wire on the bottom, on top of boards to support the weight of the dirt.

We debated a little bit as to where to place the garden once it was done, and actually had it over against that wall for a few days. Both of my parents suggested that it might not get enough sunlight if it was up against the wall, so we moved it out here into the sun. Dave tapped into the irrigation system that runs into our planter so the garden would get consistent water. Karen gave me a helpful list of what plants to grow at different times of the year here in the desert, so we used that to decide what to plant. I sent Dave a list when he was at the store, and he came back with a few different options. At first he just planted seeds, but we probably should have planted all established plants to start with. We planted green beans, cucumber, peppers, and onions to start, and then Dave did go back to Lowe's and got some basil plants, a jalapeno plant and a tomato plant. The beans popped up in just a few days, and then a few cucumbers and a few of the onions. The peppers haven't popped through, so we might need to put something else in there. We definitely have a lot to learn, but I think this is a good start! 

A fun night of trapeze

Trapeze is fun every night, but sometimes it's just extra great. Last night was one of those nights. I took quite a few pictures because things just looked a little different. They do flood irrigation at George's place, and every couple weeks, their yard gets flooded. It usually happens at night though, so I'd never seen it like this before. It made it a little strange to look down and see water all around the yard. 

Here is Ashley after one of her swings. This is such a cool angle for a picture!

JT and April....

 My trapeze smile!

 See what I mean about the view?! The whole yard was flooded....

I thought this was a cool reflection of DJ and George....

 And to top it all off, this was the sunset that closed out a perfect night of flying!

Our fall garden

I wish I could take some credit for this great garden box, but I cannot. Dave built it, set up the irrigation, and planted the seeds. He added a second layer since this summer so we could have deeper soil for growing carrots. This time around, Dave planted Brussel sprouts, snap peas, romaine lettuce, spinach, and carrots. I'm excited to see what happens with the Brussel sprouts. Have you ever seen how they grow? Click on that link to see it if you haven't. They're growing really well, and look very healthy. I hope they end up being edible. Honestly, we haven't actually eaten much out of our garden box. I'm also really excited about the peas. I have great memories of eating peas out of my Grandma Vivian's garden. She always had the best garden--still does! This picture is a little old--the peas are now taller than the stakes of the trellis. 

Thanks to Dave for building this garden for us! I hope we can get good at growing things we can actually eat. I know it's all a learning experience!