The dorkiest thing on two wheels is a middle-aged man in a sweatshirt and jeans riding his bike uphill with a bright sun that makes it feel like eighty degrees beating down on him.
I swear, it was sixty degrees when I set out.
Oh well. It was only three miles out and back to the bagel place and the road is all along the river and the river was the bright blue of the reflected sky and there was a great blue heron on a rock out in the water and the roadsides were blue and purple with chickory and New York asters except where they were yellow too with goldenrod and the bagels at the bagel place are always big and fresh and a small bottle of orange juice works wonders and I'm home now on the front porch with a fresh cup of coffee on the table beside me, admiring the play of light and shadow on the petals of the black-eyed Susans while I'm waiting for my cranberry bagel to cool, and I've recovered enough and am in a good enough mood that I hardly mind the noise from the neighbobor's lawn mower even though it's awful early on a Sunday morning to be out disturbing the peace just to lower the height of the grass in your front yard half an inch but knowing how hot the sun is already I can't say I blame him for wanting to get it done before the day really heats up and anyway his yard's not that close and his mower's not that loud and I can still hear the cicadas and the broken-bed spring squeak-squawk of some blue jays who are annoyed at something going on in the maple trees across the way and I'm rested and content and have half-forgiven myself for having been such a dork earlier and for being a dork now because if the dorkiest thing on two wheels was me huffing and puffling and sweating like a field hand on my bike, the dorkiest thing at a keyboard is the same dork describing his dorkiness on his blog in a string of run-on sentences and expecting people to read the whole post with interest and without getting really, really annoyed.
How's the weather where you are this morning?
the weather is like this most of the time here.
Posted by: minstrel hussain boy | Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 01:59 PM
the weather is like this most of the time here.
Posted by: minstrel hussain boy | Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 02:00 PM
Beautiful, and the extent of my exercise so far has been picking up a little surprise my 16-year-old dog left on the carpet because she doesn't bark to let me know she needs to go outside so even before I turned on the coffeemaker I had to go find toilet paper and a baggie and the SpotShot(tm) to ensure the carpet wouldn't be permanently stained but other than that I've just sat in front of my computer reading blogs and listening to the Dodgers game on the television in the other room.
Sorry, what did you say?
Posted by: Linkmeister | Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 05:05 PM
It's actually Monday morning in Australia right now, but I am reading this in the morning, so I figure it still kind of counts. Man, it's cold.
I mean, I'm happy about that. Summer in Queensland is a sort of seven month long endurance trial for me -- the humidity, the constant sweating, the lack of AC here at the house -- and so every winter is a relief so sweet that even now, sitting wrapped in a blanket at the computer with my hands pretty much numb, I'm pretty damn happy.
There was a nice frost this morning, as close to snow as southeast Queensland's ever gonna get, but it'll be pleasant by afternoon. The blue-faced honeyeaters and the miner birds are quarreling outside my window; my brown tabby's sleeping oblivious on the carport roof. And hey, it's overcast! (Growing up in the Pacific Northwest with all its rain, overcast skies make me think of being a kid these days.) It's nice having the computer in front of a window. I think it keeps me in the right frame of mind.
Great entry, too.
Posted by: Falstaff | Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 07:27 PM
This is what I love about the internets. Eye-witness weather reports from Australia, Hawaii, and Arizona delivered to my front porch in upstate New York! Thanks, guys.
Minstrel, great shot! My blue heron was too far out on the river for a good picture.
Posted by: Lance | Monday, August 18, 2008 at 09:10 AM
It's still only about 18°C here at 10 AM on Monday morning but the oppression of the heat to come smothers any sense of relief for the present. I decided not to ride my bike in to work this morning for the reasons expressed above in run-on sentences. In fact, just thinking about it, I may have to take a stroll over to the walk-in fridge just to restore my thermal equilibrium. The weather is supposed to improve in a few days, which will be nice, but it'll be a few weeks before we see any frost in the morning (massive envy for Falstaff's current weather, but not for the 7 months of Queensland hell that is on its way).
Posted by: Ken Muldrew | Monday, August 18, 2008 at 12:16 PM
Wisconsin, once we sent all the flooding downstream, has really been beautiful this year. We've had a few forays up into the upper 80s, but for the most part the days have been dry, the humidity lower than usual, and the temps not as high. I've had many good opportunities to ride my bike to work and other places, enjoying Madison's lakes.
And I've gotten to keep the AC off and save energy/money. Not looking forward to next winter on that account.
Posted by: Vir Modestus | Monday, August 18, 2008 at 03:13 PM