Turkeys Out In Force

And yes, that is a metaphor. It was late when I left the house, and the radar said rain was coming across the lake. I looked at the radar when I got back, and the rain must have been about 50 feet behind me on my way home. I stayed dry on what was necessarily a short ride. It was pretty dreary during the entire time I was out there. I also took a short ride with OSLO yesterday, but she and I agreed that we both looked -- well, not beautiful -- in the photos I took. If we don't run out of fall weather, we still hope to get out on a family ride with the SLO's.

Red Berries

It was a shorter ride than I'd hoped, mostly because I was a bit more tired than I expected. A rest day might have been a better plan. Or a nap. But it was an unusually warm day for this late in September, and it turned out to be a pretty nice ride. Some dogwoods have berries that look like the ones in yesterday's photo, and some have berries that look like the ones in this photo. Yesterday's berries were from a bush called a kousa dogwood. (Thanks to Google images.) The weekend is upon us, with a promise of a visit from OSLO and the SLO's, after Totally Jammin's soccer game. We look forward to hearing more about progress in their karate skills.

Images

We had dinner with OSLO and the SLO's last night, about half way between Holland and Gd Haven. It seemed like a good idea on a nice summer like evening. The SLO's talked about having taken a couple of Karate lessons this past week, and they seem to be enjoying it so far. Going forward, it will be two or three nights a week for about an hour for each session -- they assure me that they 'spar' with punching bags, so no human beings are hurt. Added to soccer practice and schoolwork, it will make for a busy week for them. There has been a lot going on at work this week for me as well, but I have taken a few bike rides here and there. The photo above is of the railroad station in downtown Holland. Amtrak arrives about 9:30 every evening from Chicago, and goes the other direction about 8:30 every morning.

I've seen this plant on campus, and I don't know what it is. I don't carry a camera around campus, so I took this photo at Quincy Park today, when I ran into it again. Very prickly looking berry.

Signs of Fall

Sunrise, 7:30. Sunset 7:39. Normal high for today's date is 69. Today's high will be 78 or higher. I never would have considered spray painting a bale of hay orange and black. The one behind it is green and black. The building in the background on the right is the PSPS.

I finally found the sunflowers. I knew I'd seen them somewhere.

The $5 pumpkins look a lot like the $6 pumpkins and the $7 pumpkins to me. Pie, anyone? I rode 'the loop' today -- up Butternut to the PSPS, back on Lakeshore, east through the woods. There was a fair amount of breeze, fairly typical for fall.

Green Team

Nearly Fall

It seemed as though everyone in the office today was stressed out. The computers were running slow, the copy machine wasn't working and on and on. I left early to take TOPWLH in to the doctor to have his post surgical check on his left eye. Yesterday's surgery was a bit more complicated than the previous one, so the doc added yet one more eye drop to the list. Everything is fine, but the healing process will be a bit longer on this one. So after fixing lunch and medicating TOPWLH, I took advantage of the nice weather on a mid September afternoon, and took a bike ride. The autumn harvest here includes pears. These look like they are getting close to being ready to pick.

This is sedum, according to Peggy. Thanks. (Late edit.) This mass planting was attractive. It was sunny, 72 degrees, with a WSW wind at about 12. Biking remains good therapy for stressful times.

Noah

So it only seemed like it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. The remnants of Ike followed on the heels of the remnants of Gustav, with some plain old rain in between. Today the sun came out occasionally. I pointed Ruby north this afternoon, passing this odd looking bird house perched on a pole entwined in morning glories. (I think.) I'd stopped to take a picture of the apples on the trees, since apple picking season has begun. Most of the real orchards are south of us a bit. The buzz in the office this morning was that the honey crisps are ready. They have a very short season, I'm told. The turnaround point of the ride was Pigeon Lake. The water levels were higher than normal, but not as much as I'd expected given the 6 to 10+ inches of rain we got this weekend. It was only a bit over 20 miles, and even with a favorable wind, I was a bit knackered by the time I got home. Sigh.

I've concluded that the biking season is over here for this year, and has been for a while. Too much fitness has slipped away over the past weeks. 'Over' doesn't really mean 'over', of course. There will be lots of post season rides, merging into pre-season rides in '09. On a family related note, TOPWLH will have more eye surgery tomorrow. We're hoping it goes as well as the last one. OSLO and the SLO's were here over the weekend. Much of it was spent filling out what seems to be an endless parade of forms. Some were for insurance, and some were for the county's Prosecuting Attorney's office. Victim's impact statements, they are called. The driver of the other car has been charged with negligent homicide. We are about to learn more than we wanted to know about our criminal justice system, I think.

GOINFS

I left for work in the pre-dawn hours this morning. Just before sunrise the bay looked like this. Partly because I work most weekday mornings, and partly because it has been cold overnight here lately, I have been trying to make the shift from mornings to riding in the afternoon. Sometimes that means that the day gets away from me and I just don't take a bike ride. Today I managed to suck it up and get on my bike, even though teaching for three hours seems to sap the motivation right out of me. I am glad I did, as it was a nice early fall day. I did the Lake Mac ride with a stop at the State Park where I sat along the channel and watched a boat come into the harbor.

I'm hoping to spend some time with the SLO's and their Mom this weekend, and if the weather cooperates a group bike ride might materialize. There's a nice playground in the fairgrounds, and that's close enough for a family ride.

Haven't Seen These Before

Can you believe that there is a frost advisory tonight -- it seems too early. It wasn't that cold this afternoon, more like 65. A fairly brisk breeze made it feel cooler, and though I thought I had overdressed for the ride, I was just barely comfortable. My turn around spot was Quincy Park. I rode to the back side of it, where it backs up against a farmer's field. I've been there before, but this was the first time there were goats in the field. I was looking for sunflowers, I found goats. Is that a metaphor for something?

Biking and Bowling

It was an odd looking morning when I first looked out my window. The haze lifting off the water usually means that the water is warmer than the air, and it is giving up its heat into the air in the form of water vapor. TOPWLH told me this, so it must be true. The SLO's and their Mom had other plans this afternoon -- one of Ted's friends, who had been in their wedding -- asked the SLO's if they would like to go bowling with him and his daughter today. Their Mom was also invited, as was cousin Leslie who is a good friend of his daughter. The grief counselor had suggested that some physical activity would be good for the kids to help them work through their 'anger issues.' She suggested Karate, but I think bowling works just as well. Since the house here was empty, except for TOPWLH who was napping, I took a bike ride.

I didn't have much enthusiasm for biking when I left home, though it was a cool and sunny day, perfect for a ride. My plan was to ride up the new dune street that goes between Spyglass Condos and the State Park, west towards the lake. I rode part of it this spring, but it seemed too hilly then. My legs aren't in much better shape now than they were then, given the extended time off the bike lately. But a hilly ride seemed like a good way to get some exercise without much of a time commitment. Lake Street is narrow and densely wooded, and today it was wet from last night's rain. It has a couple of serious hills through the dunes, including one that I chose to walk down. Yes, down. Wet leaves and acorns combined with a steep road made me nervous, okay? The photo above is the view from the end of the road -- not spectacular, but it does go through almost to the big lake. I was a bit energized from my mini adventure and eventually ended up riding further than expected. Not a bad ride.

Gray Skies

The remnants of Hurricane Gustav blew through here last night, dumping more than 3 inches of rain. It also cooled things off considerably. The roads dried up -- mostly -- by 11 or so, so I took a bike ride. The theme for Fridays, until I decide to do something different, is skies. The trick with sky photos is to first find something on the ground that is interesting. Failing that, take a picture of a big pile of sand. TOPWLH and I went to Gd Haven for Friday night pizza. The kids had grief counseling this afternoon, and TJ reported that he got to talk about Karate with the counselor. ??? The girl talked about her new 'health' class (read sex ed) and a new friend she's made in school. New normal is beginning to take shape, a little bit at a time. Ted's cousin Patti and her family were there when we left, and they were making a list of all the things Ted used to do around the house and to help out his extended family. It is part of a letter that the insurance company asked for describing Ted, and they were working on page 3 when we left. It seemed to be a therapeutic exercise. (Nancy left a comment on the previous blog entry for cousins and other family members.)

A Few Rides Here and There

I started back to work last week, the same week TOPWLH had his first eye surgery for cataracts. No problems to report in either area, I am pleased to say. There were no political conventions in town that I noticed, and the anarchists seem to be keeping a low profile here for the moment. It was 92 degrees yesterday, the hottest temperature of the season. This morning was cloudy, and the roads a little damp, but I rode to the PSPS without getting wet. It is a familiar route, but the wind was from the NW -- and signs of fall are changing the landscape enough to keep it interesting. I also rode a couple of times over the weekend.

Our fairgrounds were quiet Saturday morning, and I checked out the new dog park that has been added on the grounds. It smelled like a dog park, but at least that means it is being used. Sunday morning I rode the Elite, and passed by an outdoor church service. The vocalists were practicing when I went by the first time, and church services were underway on my return trip, so I guess you could say I went to church twice this past Sunday.

This week is the first week of school for the SLO's. TJ had a half day yesterday, and he said school was 'fine.' Nikki had a full day, and it was a little rockier, but she said she made it through the day without having what she calls a 'meltdown.' The two of them are amazing. They will be going in for their second grief counseling session on Friday. Time marches on.