Month: June 2008

Some shots of the garden:

People say the #1 advantage of bicycle commuting is that you get to notice things more. Scenery rolls by, not flashes away in a blur; people waiting at bus stops come to recognize you and wave; smells like grass and honeysuckle, swimming pools, and grazing cows and horses materialize.

Take yesterday morning, while riding through a park with a “lake” in the middle, on the shore stood a heron. Just out for a morning fishing trip in the middle of the city. Totally unperturbed by the neighboring apartments and traffic noise. What a send-off for a work day!

And then in the afternoon, a car fire. Not such a tranquil sight; rather, exciting to witness (although that may be because I’ve spent the past year and a half editing fire reference materials). Here was a car in a parking lot sprouting flames from the hood, black smoke belching upward, a policeman calmly diverting customers to park on the other side of the blacktop. A group of employess stood around, smoking on their bonus break, chatting, as if this is something that regularly happens at the bank. The approaching fire truck seemed to be the only one taking the incident seriously.

Which brings me to my #1 good thing about riding a bicycle: It will never catch fire in a parking lot.

It’s my very first day as a bicycle commuter! Are you watching, Daddy?

This past weekend, after much research and conversation, I walked into our local bike shop, test drove some bicycles, and plunked down the cash for this Trek hybrid bike.*

And so this morning at 6:15 Bill packed me up on my bike to escort me the 8.5 miles to work. I’ve spent the past week poring over street maps and park district maps and greenway maps, and with a Bill-approved route,** we tootled our way past cows and through neighborhoods to get me to work. Yes, I was actually on time!

I’m taking things slow: only two days a week right now. I figure, since I’m in this for the long haul, I should do anything I can to ensure I enjoy it. This includes giving my bum time to recover between rides. I’ll let you know when I hit my next milestone of three times per week!

*A very very special thank you goes out to the mystery stranger who helped me load my bicycle in the car! You’re a super-hero to me, Mr. Muscley Man.
**Only one major street crossing without a 4-way stop or streetlight. Thumbs up on O’Mally Alley behind (what I thought might be) the sketchy apartment complex. No dirt road next to the pig farm, even though it would cut out about half a mile.

We had a very fruitful weekend. Literally. We started on Friday by picking mulberries in the backyard. 8 cups makes enough for one batch of jam. Check. 8 cups of mulberries. Mush em up; cook em down; pack em in; and voila:

Mulberry jam. Easy as . . . well, easy as jam.

Then on Sunday morning we went cherry picking at an organic farm a couple miles away. About 13 cups of tart red pie cherries. Half are in the freezer. The other half are in our tummies. Hey, cherry pie for dessert one night, cherry pie for breakfast the next morning, and you barely have any left!

I’d say this is a good start to the summer!

This weekend we were out in the garden doing some weeding and watering and harvesting. There were some clouds in the sky. “Maybe it might rain and we won’t have to use the hose.” There was some thunder. “Oh boy, thunder storms are exciting. Very romantic.” There was a stiff breeze. “The storm’s coming! Better get those fruits of our labor inside fast, before we get soaked!”

“Cccrraaccccckkkk kawhooooshsh”