I know the calendar says January 19 and in the northern parts there’s still a long way to go before the word “Spring” is even whispered. And here in the Valley of the Sun it has been a colder winter thus far than usual, to the point where I’m actually beginning long myself for some heat. (No worries there, it’ll be here before I know it.) But you cannot deny that, while the mornings are still painfully dark and slow to come around, the afternoons are starting to push back against the sun, the days are starting to get longer.

The first hint of Spring around here comes with the mourning doves. The other day I say the first congregation of doves on a neighbor’s rooftop, and this morning was the first in a long time where I can actually hear the familiar cooing of a dove casting about for a mate. You can be sure the Richard household has the welcome sign out full for the doves, and we’ve got a lemon and a lime tree just begging for a nest. We’ll see what happens.

I haven’t officially opened the 2016 golf season yet but dragged the clubs to the driving range for the first time this year to start shaking the rust off. Now that the PGA Tour has left Hawaii and set sail for California, we’re only two weeks away from the Waste Management Open, and it’s right around then I usually plan my first round of golf.

I checked the feathery acacia out back just the other day – that’s the first bush that blooms around here, in the same yellow that my folks and Goodboys friends see when the forsythia blooms up north – but all seems quiet.

Otherwise, there’s not much to do around here – the pool has enough chlorine in it to choke a horse – not that it stops the sparrows and foo-foo birds from regular visits throughout the day. The lawns on both the front and east sides have taken nicely, the dichondra in the back is about 70% there. With not much going on outside the focus is on inside the house and cleaning and doing one room every weekend from top to bottom while the getting is good.

The gym is packed with all the newbies trying to shed weight for the start of the New Year, but most of them will be gone by the time Valentine’s Day rolls around. I’m two weeks into my four-week liver detox – no caffeine, no alcohol – but could easily see this being extended out for another month, we’ll see.

Exotica tune of the day: Tikiyaki Orchestra – Hawai’i Nocturne.