No Camelback hike today after all; Alex discovered that he has a 10:00 meeting scheduled.  Instead I decided I'd take Brownie for a lengthy walk along the wash after I woke up early, shortly after 5.  (I admit that I was somewhat surprised to find Tom already up, drinking coffee in his recliner.)

Maybe mowing the yard is on his agenda?  Neither Alex nor I are "allowed" to do that, and it's way overdue!  Marcela is planning a visit this weekend, and with temperatures predicted to "plummet" (into the high 90s) we should be able to enjoy time out in the yard.  Would be wonderful if the lawn was tamed into submission by then!  

And once the yard is mowed, I'd love to get the hot tub drained/cleaned/refilled so she and I could also enjoy a soak this weekend!

Brownie and I enjoyed our wash walk (all the shade there is greatly appreciated) and I lost count of the number of dogs doing the same thing with their people.   I was pleasantly surprised when Brownie was not aggressive toward this large dog, also a rescue, that we met on our way there.  

Chatting with his person I learned that when they were on their way home from the downtown animal shelter he decided he didn't like the name the dog had been given and wanted a more Arizona one.  Driving up I-17 he passed the sign for Cactus Road - and voila, the dog had his new name.  

That story does ring a bell, right Mom?!

When we got home I worked out front until 9:00, pulling more weeds, trimming more bushes, raking more, etc. in preparation for the impending mow.  By then it was getting rather warm so I came in to hydrate and decide what to do next.  Around then Pokey decided she needed to rearrange things on the patio.

Alerted by the resulting racket I went out to un-lounge her, but (as I 'may' have mentioned before) she's not the sharpest tool in the box.

As soon as I lifted the chaise off of her 

she turned and headed in the wrong direction.