Friday Morning Sky

Bike rides have been few and far between lately, but I got out about 7:30 this morning for a short ride. It was a little foggy, but plenty warm enough and it was a nice enough ride. The photo was taken looking east towards the sunrise over Pine Creek Bay. I was looking for a nice photo of the morning sky. The idea came from an Auckland blog, here, that has a regular theme on Fridays called Skywatch. I like the idea, and it is Friday -- though I admit that there isn't a lot of sky in the photo.

This photo is posted as a special request from the girl Center of the Universe, for her Uncle who is referred to in blogs as GZMooHoo. Mr. MooHoo, this is for you.

One Down

So far, so good. He's had lunch and has taken the compulsory nap. It took longer than I had expected, but apparently everything went as planned.

According to TOPWLH, they only did surgeries on right eyes today. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Bicycle Therapy

There is another biker in my office -- he has commuted in to work fairly regularly on his recumbent bicycle since gas hit $3.00 a gallon. He only rides for a 'purpose' and he regularly chides me for 'riding around in circles.' He sent me an email on Saturday, saying that he'd just gone for a bike ride and 'rode around in circles' for 25 miles. Therapeutic biking, he called it. I was beating my head against the wall in my office today, trying to get ready for the first day of classes tomorrow. Recumbent biker (RB) suggested that I go home and take a therapeutic bike ride. So I did. Sunny but not too warm, breezy but not nasty. A hint of fall in the air. North towards the Pigeon River, past (puny) corn fields, alongside blueberry fields where the leaves are starting to turn red, and through some shady woods. About 17 miles, but I didn't see anything that caught my attention for a photo until I got within a few miles of home. Pine Ridge farms has something attached to their barns/silos that I do not recognize. So this is one of those 'what's the deal with.....' photos.

The Wind in the Willow Tree

It was warm and windy this morning, but otherwise a good time for a ride. I stayed in the shelter of the beech woods for a while, mostly along the shore of Lake Mac where I took this photo. It wasn't a long ride by any standard, but enough to shake some of the cobwebs out of my brain. I ventured over to Lakeshore where the moron family was out in force, so I headed inland and took 160th back south. With a brisk south wind, 160th is my secret weapon. It is slightly downhill heading south from about Quincy most of the way to the lake. A cool front is supposed to roll through here later today. I'm not much of a fan of warm weather, so that is fine with me.

Reflections

I will likely post to this blog only sporadically for a while. Bike rides along familiar routes give too much time for reflecting on the events of the last two weeks. This is a watercolor of Ted's that has been hanging over our couch at the Bay for probably 15 years. It was one of his favorites. I have spent some time in the office every day this week, and it seems probable that I will be ready for classes when they begin on Tuesday. Eventually, a 'new normal' will emerge.

21 Miles

GZ and I took a ride to the north today, up along 160th where the Cardinal flowers have grown in great profusion in prior years. There were not as many this year, but their color was as vibrant as ever.

Coping

Surrounded by our family and friends, for which we are deeply grateful.

One more day, one more setting sun.

Rest In Peace

As most of you know, we lost a member of our family this week in a motorcycle accident. The father of the Centers of the Universe, the husband of our dear daughter, and a dear, dear son to us. Theodore Friedgen, 1964 to 2008. He would have been 44 later this month. We are so very sad.

29

These two were 29 yesterday. Still cute in their matching shorts. She used to be beautiful. Good legs are forever.

Not So Quiet Times

There was no rain today on this side of the big water. OSLO (TT has dubbed her Domestic Goddess, or DG) and the SLO's added their unique personalities to the mix here today. TOPWLH walked into the house around noon and declared that there are 7 billion people in the world, and half of them were at Tunnel Park today. You would have thought that one of us would have gone to check that out -- and eventually, all of those pictured below headed north up the beach to join half the population of the earth. I hope they don't get lost in the crush. It was only about 62 degrees when I left the house this morning a little after 8, and I thought that I had made a mistake, dressing in shorts and a short sleeve jersey. By the time I got to Keppel Forest, I was quite warm enough and it was never an issue again. It was 73 degrees when I returned about 10:00 am, after 19 miles of riding.

Keppel Forest has the same relationship to a real forest as the Kiwanis Rest Stop does to Kirk Park. Only a few of you will get that, I know. When you visit, I will invite you to ride with me to all three places, so you will know what I mean.

Sunsets and SLO's

This sunset photo is from last night -- sunset is about 9:00 p.m. here at this point. Lots of cloud action, though the rain all seemed to miss us this time around. The SLO's arrived today to spend some time with 'the family.' They spent an hour or so jumping in the waves with Unkie Herb, followed by pizza and chocolate cake. It should have been enough to tire them out, but they were still up for a trip to Tunnel Park, and a few runs down the sand dune.

It is a small group, but it is a great group. Before you know it, it will be time for another sunset. There is not a cloud in the sky, so it will look quite different from last night.

Eaters of Blues

There was a group ride today -- though it was a little too sunny by the time we rode for my fussy tastes. We rode to Bauerman's first and picked up a quart of Blue Crops. The front brake on Jimi's bike (the Bianchi Boardwalk) was squeaking, so we continued on to the bike shop for a repair before heading back to the ranch. Jim and Adam at Tunnel Park. The photo below is my contribution to theme day. The table is a metal table, thus satisfying the requirement of 'metal.' It also, oddly enough, looks like Jimi is standing on top of the table. It was a little bit cloudy, and it threatened to rain, but never did.

This little beauty is a butterfly milkweed, according to TT and Herb. It is my entry for plant of the week. We have tons of them growing on our bank, and they are beginning to attract the occasional Monarch butterfly.

I hear that they are a favorite of the Prairie Princess.