Opened to mark Queen Victoria's 60th Jubilee, the Esplanade Gardens include a large duck pond, a cherry drive and an avenue of phoenix palms.  We won't be here to enjoy the famous Dugald Mackenzie Rose Gardens.

Spring is coming.  I won't say it's here, because it's still going down to 2 degrees at night (mid 30s).    Actually, spring here starts on September 1; summer on December 1.  The days are getting longer, and it is nice to not be doing the morning walks in the dark anymore.  For those that had difficulty figuring out when to call us when we were 18 hours ahead of Mountain Time in Albuquerque: in October, Palmy will be 19 hours ahead, and then 20 hours ahead after the US falls back in November.  We enjoyed the cherry trees in the Esplanade today, but the ground is still quite spongy.  There, and at dog club last night, gum boots would have made walking more pleasant.  Getting through the last week is hard.  We are happy to be going home, but saying good-bye is difficult, and is making me sad.  We are keeping busy with moving arrangement details, thinking about packing, and going away dinners.