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judifilksign Today, at eight-thirty, I set out for my daily ride. I asked my daughter whether she would like to come, but she said it was too dark. It was, in fact, mostly blue sky, with a few gray clouds. It looked quite nice as I tooled out of the driveway, and while it was humid, it was pleasantly cool. It seemed like the perfect start and timing for a lovely ride.
Half-way down the block, I pulled over and got a stick and got a big spider off my gearshifts. A bad omen. I dislike spiders intensely. I'm glad I didn't crash when I noticed the horrid thing. It attached itself to the stick, I put the stick on the ground, and it can now kill insects far, far away from me.
Riding over to the park trail, I saw a collarless small cute dog trotting in a businesslike manner down the road. I hope he isn't just dumped here, but is someone's here in town. He was completely unfazed by my bike with the tandem wheel bouncing noisily behind.
I rode up the trail, and before the first road, I saw three pairs of birds sitting on the fence rails, each consisting of a little brown bird and a little bright blue bird. Having gotten a very close look this time, with both boy and girl together, I can confirm that they are in fact Indigo Buntings. In addition, identify.whatbird.com also had recordings of the buntings singing, and they sounded just the same: "sweet-sweet, sweeter-sweeter, here-here." They, and other birds all up and down the trail were catching little bright green grasshoppers. There are new insects along this trail all of the time; I have never seen these insects along here before.
I went over the first road, smelling fresh farm smells. Soybean fields smell nice. I rode over the bridge, and the trees alongside opened up a bit, and I saw clouds overhead circling, blowing strongly both ways over my head, although there was no wind at my level. The clouds to the north and west were dark, with a band of red light glowing through breaks here and there. I heard the rumble of thunder. I swerved around at the second road, and not pausing for my usual drink, started pedaling briskly toward home.
The clouds boiled toward one another. It was odd. To my right, going home, there was a huge clear span in the sky through which the moon shone strongly, with a ramming column of black cloud coming up from behind, and yet also toward the left. To the left and rear, gaining fast were dark stormy clouds, with a swirling clear gap showing blue sky, but that circular gap had clouds twisting around it, and the light shining through was blood red, making the dark gray clouds look ominous indeed.
Lighting began to flicker in those clouds, and I became frightened, and pedaled very hard. The clouds gained on me, and I could feel large drops of water splatter on me. I could not tell if they were from the trees wet from earlier rain, or new rain coming in. The thunder rumbled louder, and I could see lightning bolts off in the distance.
I was over the first road in hardly any time, and flew down the path, legs burning with the effort, but breathing well. The air blew me now from both the right and front, and also the left and rear, and my skirt flapped in both directions, alarming me as the storm winds collided. As I approached town, a lightning bolt struck the rail road tracks to my left, and I was blinded, and my arm hairs stuck up, and I was terrified I was going to die because I'm on a metal bike and I'll be next. I think I screamed.
Then I was off the path on the road, (and the distance between where the lightning struck and that fence gap is missing in my memory,) blew through the stop sign (no one was coming) and down our hill and around the corner pedaling and concentrating on breathing in for a count of three and out a count of three to counter the hyperventilating I'd started. The dark trees were dark and comforting - wouldn't lightning hit them before me? And I was at my driveway before I expected to be. The sunset was just below the storm clouds, and the whole town was drenched in that red light, making all the white houses seem like they were blood-red, and the vegetation brown, and the shadows blacker. My heart was pounding from exertion, and fright, and the atmosphere had me well and truly freaked out. I was so glad Sparkle had not come with me.
My bike tire was in the garage before I could stop. I parked, and ran inside, and just crawled up my husband's back as he sat at the computer, and held him hard. I was so scared still!
I'm okay now, although the thunder outside still bugs me tonight. Sparkle is unfazed. My smart girl for not coming.
Half-way down the block, I pulled over and got a stick and got a big spider off my gearshifts. A bad omen. I dislike spiders intensely. I'm glad I didn't crash when I noticed the horrid thing. It attached itself to the stick, I put the stick on the ground, and it can now kill insects far, far away from me.
Riding over to the park trail, I saw a collarless small cute dog trotting in a businesslike manner down the road. I hope he isn't just dumped here, but is someone's here in town. He was completely unfazed by my bike with the tandem wheel bouncing noisily behind.
I rode up the trail, and before the first road, I saw three pairs of birds sitting on the fence rails, each consisting of a little brown bird and a little bright blue bird. Having gotten a very close look this time, with both boy and girl together, I can confirm that they are in fact Indigo Buntings. In addition, identify.whatbird.com also had recordings of the buntings singing, and they sounded just the same: "sweet-sweet, sweeter-sweeter, here-here." They, and other birds all up and down the trail were catching little bright green grasshoppers. There are new insects along this trail all of the time; I have never seen these insects along here before.
I went over the first road, smelling fresh farm smells. Soybean fields smell nice. I rode over the bridge, and the trees alongside opened up a bit, and I saw clouds overhead circling, blowing strongly both ways over my head, although there was no wind at my level. The clouds to the north and west were dark, with a band of red light glowing through breaks here and there. I heard the rumble of thunder. I swerved around at the second road, and not pausing for my usual drink, started pedaling briskly toward home.
The clouds boiled toward one another. It was odd. To my right, going home, there was a huge clear span in the sky through which the moon shone strongly, with a ramming column of black cloud coming up from behind, and yet also toward the left. To the left and rear, gaining fast were dark stormy clouds, with a swirling clear gap showing blue sky, but that circular gap had clouds twisting around it, and the light shining through was blood red, making the dark gray clouds look ominous indeed.
Lighting began to flicker in those clouds, and I became frightened, and pedaled very hard. The clouds gained on me, and I could feel large drops of water splatter on me. I could not tell if they were from the trees wet from earlier rain, or new rain coming in. The thunder rumbled louder, and I could see lightning bolts off in the distance.
I was over the first road in hardly any time, and flew down the path, legs burning with the effort, but breathing well. The air blew me now from both the right and front, and also the left and rear, and my skirt flapped in both directions, alarming me as the storm winds collided. As I approached town, a lightning bolt struck the rail road tracks to my left, and I was blinded, and my arm hairs stuck up, and I was terrified I was going to die because I'm on a metal bike and I'll be next. I think I screamed.
Then I was off the path on the road, (and the distance between where the lightning struck and that fence gap is missing in my memory,) blew through the stop sign (no one was coming) and down our hill and around the corner pedaling and concentrating on breathing in for a count of three and out a count of three to counter the hyperventilating I'd started. The dark trees were dark and comforting - wouldn't lightning hit them before me? And I was at my driveway before I expected to be. The sunset was just below the storm clouds, and the whole town was drenched in that red light, making all the white houses seem like they were blood-red, and the vegetation brown, and the shadows blacker. My heart was pounding from exertion, and fright, and the atmosphere had me well and truly freaked out. I was so glad Sparkle had not come with me.
My bike tire was in the garage before I could stop. I parked, and ran inside, and just crawled up my husband's back as he sat at the computer, and held him hard. I was so scared still!
I'm okay now, although the thunder outside still bugs me tonight. Sparkle is unfazed. My smart girl for not coming.
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no subject
Date: 2011-07-12 02:42 am (UTC)Very vivid description, btw; it conveyed the ominous quality to the clouds and the light quite expressively.
*hug*
no subject
Date: 2011-07-12 02:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-12 03:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-12 03:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-12 04:03 am (UTC)May next time be better weather!
no subject
Date: 2011-07-12 05:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-12 12:46 pm (UTC)errrr maybe next time we just swim more?
no subject
Date: 2011-07-12 01:48 pm (UTC)