We know that Colby really loves the water, but up until now he had been hesitant to go in the water beyond where he could touch the bottom. We’ve mostly been to the beach, and the waves can be kind of intimidating.  I’ve always known he can swim – I mean, come on,  he’s got webbed feet like a duck!  I just don’t think he’s realized it yet.

This time was different – the moment we let him off leash, he jumped into the water and started swimming – just like he had been doing it for years!

The second video is about the 30th time he had swam out to retrieve a ball or stick. He was pretty pooped, but

People always ask us what kind of dog Colby is. We’ve been 99% sure of the australian cattle dog portion. Its the “other” part we’re not sure of. My guess has always been black lab, initially based on what his siblings looked like, as well as his size & shape.  His drive to fetch & retrieve plus affinity for the water now makes me more convinced that Colby is our little “Cattle Retreiver”

I don’t know that these photos really does it justice, but the tomato plants are quickly taking over our yard.

These are the tomato plants in our above ground planter box, which measures about 4′ x 6′. Not really sure how many plants there are in there, but it could be as little as two. The cherry tomato plant has taken over almost half of the planter!

Josh in the jungle:

Here’s the yield from one night’s collection last week.  Oh, and that’s a purple pepper!

After several weeks of indecision (mostly on my part) and visits to about a half-dozen different bike shops, Josh and I finally committed to our respective two-wheel rides.  Who knew choosing a bike would be so complicated!?  I kept changing my mind from hybrid to cruiser to mountain bike and back to hybrid.  In the end, I chose a Trek hybrid with should be quite versatile and has a more upright stance, and Josh chose a hardtail mountain bike with all disc brakes.

So on Saturday we set out on our first bike ride in many years.  We live a few blocks from the end of the Stevens Creek Trail, a nice paved bike path that runs though Mountain View, with nicely done overpasses and bridges.  It meets up with the Bay Trail, a series of trails that extend along the San Francisco Bay, running though wildlife habitats that include a plethora of birds and small furry creatures. The little furry ones seem to make a game out of scurrying out in front of you just as you ride by. Remember Frogger?

I plan on starting the commute to work via bike on Caltrain next week, after my butt has recovered from the initial shock (and after my helmet & lights arrive from Amazon).

The old cashmere sweater is now a permanent fixture at the foot of our bed, and every night you can watch the same ritual being perfomed – Kneading the sweater, with eyes closed or sometime partially opened, her eyeballs rolling back in her head, and purring at full volume.  Sometimes she stretches herself out along a single arm of the sweater.  Sometimes she circles a few times and plants herself in the center, with the arms encircling. A few times we’ve offered to open the body of the sweater, and she climbs inside, and sticks her head outside the neck hole, as if she were wearing it.  All in all, its pretty cute. There will be no getting rid of this sweater anytime soon.