…for spacious skies…

It was a wonderful summer morning for a bike ride here in Hoosierville…

Peaceful….not too many cars.

Several SUV’s pass me with canoes attached. …every single one of them was in a hurry to go….canoeing.  Something of an oxymoron, isn’t it?  I mean, canoeing is about the most peaceful, slow-paced thing you can do, and here they were speeding around this bicyclist to get where they can take a lazy ride on the wonderful river….(if you have never been canoeing, I highly recommend it.  It will blow you away.)

Biologists say that if you see many different species within a certain area, it’s an indication of the health of that area–the more diverse, the better the ability to sustain life.  For instance, I’ve seen many cranes flying overhead, in addition to the usual Blue Jays, Robins, Turtle Doves, Redwing Blackbirds, buzzards, deer, ground hogs, coyotes, etc.  Today, I got to see two beautiful birds that must be related by their similar black wings…but they had different colored bellies–one had a striking yellow, and the other had a striking blue.  They flew the same, too, with quick flutters.  They reminded me of finches, but when I tried to find them, the stupid search engine was showing blue birds from the search words of “yellow bellied birds”.  (Um, yeah, computer geeks, your search engine sucks.)

I got to see an old spot that I loved when here last—a quiet spot over the river, with a small country bridge spanning  it.  I hopped off my bike and just stood there, watching the river flow quietly.  I see a leaf from a tree slowly follow the river currants.   Birds sing in the overhanging trees.

After awhile, I switch to the other side of the bridge, and there a huge tree has fallen from the bank and hangs there on an improvised mini-island where mud and branches and leaves have gathered.  I noticed something on the mini-island….is it a snake?  Yes, it is, coiled up to get warm in the sun.    I think this may be it–hard to tell since I was twenty feet above, but it looks very similar.   I continue to survey the island and see two more snakes close by, sunning themselves.  As my eyes follow the fallen tree, I notice it has become a host for renewal, as plants have begun to sprout from its decaying trunk….out of death, comes life….I looked more closely at the plants and see yet another snake hidden among the greenery.  I look back at the first snake, and…it’s gone.  I keep looking in the area, thinking I missed it….but no snake.  It had silently slipped into the water…

As I ride along the country road, I see where three poor baby frogs have met their demise.  Gees–o-pete, they have deer crossing signs, and duck crossing signs….why not frog crossing signs?  Yeah, I know, people aren’t likely to slow down for them, either….but at least you can see deer coming at you….froggies…eh, not so much.

Continuing the nice ride, I go past houses that have been torn down.  I wonder what happened to the former owners.  One is just a crawl space…..a shell of what once was.  Another is a platform that formerly housed a mobile home.  A hibiscus still stands as a testament of someone whom once lived there that loved flowers.

Dogs bark, but fortunately are tethered….well, except a pair of huge hounds that barked at me and started to come towards me as I peddled past, but stopped at the property line.

I figured I was safe….must have one of those electric fences.

Ha.

When I turned around to go past again, this time I had two things against me—I was getting tired and I had to pedal up a small hill to get past the dogs.

First rule of bike riding–never get so tired that you can’t out pedal a fast dog.

So….I’m only slightly apprehensive as I’m beginning to pedal faster to get up the hill and not antagonize the dogs.

They were waiting for me on the porch this time….

And, yeah, they weren’t as restrained…as one came out of the yard and barked and got right next to my exposed leg….I’m waiting for it to try to take a bite…

Fortunately, today wasn’t my day to see how good their homeowners insurance was…:p

He got right up to me, but didn’t take that fateful bite.

Whew.

The nice thing about being on a bike versus walking or jogging past is that you can reasonably pedal fast enough to get away.  I did this with a white german shepherd once, too.  Talk about your heart in your throat….

Wonderful morning.  I feel closer to the Great One when I’m out riding bikes or just walking…connecting to something bigger than me…

Hope you’re all having a good day, too.