this time of year is quite busy; there is still ground to work, planting, transplanting, rotary hoeing, and by this time next week we'll be cultivating too. still rocks to pick, constant monitoring of drip tape...oh man there is work out there.
anyway, one may wonder; is there still time or energy for cycle obsessions? yes.
i have been experimenting with a few shifter combinations for the A.Eisentraut and i came across this old campagnolo shifter clamp, on ebay, from an italian seller, and i said to myself, self, i bet my
c-record shifters would mount on that clamp, and indeed they do. they shift famously and look perfect on the bike.

Watermelon has a rather humble start.
The three narrow center trays represent 3 varieties, 150 plants and, hopefully, about 300 watermelon. enough for a week to 10 days.
they require really warm soil to germinate so i start them on a heat mat, then transplant them.
my mouth waters just thinking about them.

i was biking home from a job around noon today, and a woman in a black suburban stopped me; i thought she was asking for directions...she said, i want to give you this. it was a little wad of money. i asked, what for?. she- i just feel like i should give it to you. i - i'm not poor, i'm riding my bike because i want to ride my bike. i didnt take the money. it was a wierd feeling. i was wonderfully dirty, and in work cloths as i had helped with some chain saw work south of delano, and brought my bike as a means of escape since i'm very handy with a saw and i knew they would try to keep me much longer than i desired, and i do have my own work to do even if rain is inevetable. and they did try to keep me longer, and i did manage to escape...
so i was dirty, very, and i had been on the end of a saw for a few hours, and i was biking into quite a wind and it was past noon so i was about as hungry as a bear, so i can kind of understand her conclusion and i only wish i had gone into marketing mode; for example; if you want to help me, buy produce just up the road at Peterson produce.
or; if you want to help someone, google artandes and click on communidad, then paypal.
maybe next time.
and maybe i should ride around more in my work clothes.

yesterday, 5/5, the sweet corn began to emerge.
this spring seems really early and warm, however, that's only a few days ahead of last year.