Slow down and smell the...saguaro

It's Sunday. I wanted a day of rest from the bike theme so decided to post a picture of something Arizona tourists love to see -- the stately saguaro.

I "made" this picture (as my photographer friends like to say) yesterday while on a hike with a girlfriend. We had gone off-trail and were fooling around with our cell phone cameras, taking pictures of each other, the saguaro, and other scenery. We were getting in some exercise and taking advantage of what might be the last of the cool mornings here in Phoenix. When the Arizona summer sun heats up and takes over, it'll be too hot to hike the desert trails -- at least at the time we were out there, 7-ish. We'll have to get out at 5 a.m., or earlier, and we'll want to get our hike done quickly. But this morning, we had time to dawdle.

When you have time to slow down, what do you like to do? Can't think of anything? I found some websites to help you out:

• Daily Dawdle  Just some fun stuff that will surely waste your time, like learning how to feed your dogs their drugs. I don't know about you, but I always used peanut butter. Anyway, I kind of like these different staircase designs. Warning: Visit this site ONLY when you have enough time on your hands. 

• Boone Dawdle  Who knew?! An event that celebrates the idea of taking one's time, and, okay, it involves a bike ride. But darn it, you know how obsessed (see link above) I am with bikes!

• Article on toddlers and dawdling  It appears we start this habit at a young age. Too bad parents can't appreciate slowing down like toddlers can. Seems to me we can learn a lot from a 2-year-old.

• A how-to site  So you're saying you don't know how to pronounce the word, dawdle? No problem. There's a site for that -- and more. Just type in a word and click on the audio arrow at the top of the page. Great for your non-English speaking friends.

• Pointless Sites  A site by any other name...You'll definitely waste a lot of time here. I spent about an hour here trying to create sand designs or alter the flow of sand at Falling Sand, learn a llama song, getting dizzy watching a can of Heinz baked beans about to explode (I couldn't wait long enough to see if it did), and more. My favorite game was Avoiding Tangerines. Too funny. 

You're welcome.