A quiet riding week

In spite of it being the first full week of summer, a combination of needing a rest day after my weekend away and predicted (and some actual) rain later in the week prevented me from riding to work this week.

Yesterday afternoon looked promising for an after-work spin but the downpour that surprised me on the way home convinced me that the time wasn't right. It was a good day for walking... Today was another story. I allowed the forecast of a 30% chance of rain stop me from commuting by bike. It was a day that I should have believed the 70%. Bright sunshine and warmth called out to me as I arrived home after work, a good afternoon for a ride (accompanied by a camera, of course!).

Beautiful lavender blooms lit by late afternoon sunlight

Daisy-like flowers too. No, not daisies, but the name escapes me right now!

The rubber duck has babies!

Funny... I first noticed a rubber duck swimming in the reflecting pool on the Merrimack College campus about two weeks ago. It tickled my fancy then - but things have changed. I rambled through the campus earlier this afternoon, and I noticed that the rubber duck has multiplied. She now has babies!

My first visit with the rubber duck, back on June 15th.

And today, mama (rubber) duck with 4 babies! The babies don't seem to be too good at swimming yet...

...and look! Mama duck and two of the babies have hopped out of the pool for a rest.

In hope of dry roads

I've been checking the weather, checking it again, and hoping when the forecast says 40% chance of rain that the 60% wins out!

I'm heading to Downeast Maine for a long weekend with my bicycle and my camera. My plans are for 3 days of riding and one day of visiting puffins. And rather than a spur-of-the-moment trip, I planned this one with a reservation to visit the puffins on Machias Seal Island, and with bed & breakfast reservations too. So, I'm leaving for Maine this afternoon, and I'm hoping to dodge some of the raindrops that inevitably will fall during my time there.

Luckily, the all day rains that are supposed to hit the Boston area over the weekend are not currently forecast to track that far north and east - so maybe I'll be lucky. And maybe not. But I'm going!

If you want to keep up with my biking and wandering this weekend, click to view my journal.

Solstice musings

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. It's also referred to as the first day of summer.

Tell me, why is it that after the first day of summer the days start getting shorter, starting the march towards autumn? Why isn't this day known as the middle of the summer? Oh, look - it is also known as Midsummer in some places. That makes much more sense to me.

Riding in spite of a severe thunderstorm watch

The forecast for today wasn't one to make my bicycles happy - it included a prediction of thunderstorms starting mid-afternoon, so driving to work seemed to be the right choice. By the time I arrived home in the early evening, there was a severe thunderstorm watch. Hmmm, probably not a good idea to ride tonight either.

What about a walk? Somehow dealing with wet walking shoes is less annoying to me than dealing with a wet and very dirty bicycle, since wet roads kick up grime that just sticks to the bike. I convinced myself to walk, but when I headed outside and looked at the cloudy sky that still sported some blue spots, I decided that my bike was calling me. A quick change into riding gear, and I was rolling down the road.

It was a good ride, loops within loops relatively close to home just in case the sky turned threatening. And the weather wizard was kind to me - my early evening wander was on totally dry roads. The rain came later...

Sunny, getting hotter...

It was still a reasonable temperature when my bike and I headed out this morning. The heat caught up with me though, and I was dripping wet by the time I rolled home.

I thought about riding along the coast today, dreaming that it might be a little cooler next to the ocean. I quickly changed my mind though when I looked at the weather forecast and saw that the New Hampshire coast was covered by an "Air Stagnation Advisory". Hmmm... heat plus unhealthy air quality. All of a sudden riding a (relatively) short loop near home sounded good to me. And after all, there was a ladybug waiting for me; I apparently needed to ride by her home!

This ladybug thought she would come along for the ride. And yes, she was trying to hang out on my sunglasses! Actually, I'm pretty amazed that I was able to get this photo.

A mystery ride, an evening stroll

Ah, a mystery ride! I joined Robyn & Steve on a ride starting from their home in Concord and wandering through Carlisle, Westford, Chelmsford, and... well, I have to admit I really don't know what towns we passed through. It was a mystery ride for me, and sometimes for them too! Beautiful roads, warm, but with trees sheltering us from the sun.

Home again, relaxing, thinking about next weekend's (somewhat planned) quick escape to Downeast Maine. Time unfolded into early evening, and my feet decided to wander. A camera jumped into my hand as I walked out of the house...

Iris are beautiful flowers. I expect to see them in gardens, but this beauty was popping up in a wooded area - definitely not a garden. To my mind that makes the flower even more beautiful!

...not open yet, still a beautiful image

A weather switch

Earlier this week it was cool and very wet. The temperature started inching up yesterday - into the 80s, but still fairly comfortable. I just saw the forecast for tomorrow though:

Hey weather wizard - can we skip the high 90s? My request is for you to keep the temperature in the 70s; that would be perfect. And yes, I do realize that you're not listening!

Photographic details

A beautiful garden in a neighborhood near home jumped out at me as I rode home from work. I didn't have a camera with me, but it was close enough to home to warrant a quick visit to that garden accompanied by camera and macro lens.

I'm still amazed at the level of detail that the macro lens can capture...

...including a bee happily feeding on the nectar of spring (early summer?) flowers

Morning attire

The temperature was close to a summer riding temperature as I left the house this morning, but it wasn't quite there. The general rule of thumb is to keep your knees covered (when cycling, that is) if the temperature is below 65 degrees. It was in the 50s when I left home this morning, so my biking attire was supplemented by knee warmers and a wind jacket. After about 20 minutes, the jacket was too much, so I stashed it in my pannier. The knee warmers stayed though.

I saw two other early morning cyclists along my route, and I find it interesting that each of us had very different ways of dealing with the cool but warming morning temperatures. I was wearing shorts, knee warmers, and a sleeveless jersey. Another cyclist was wearing a sleeveless tri suit (so shorts, with bare knees) along with arm warmers. That meant he had a gap of bare skin between his shoulder and the middle of his upper arms. And then there was the woman in shorts, a short-sleeved jersey, and arm warmers. Funny that we all found very different solutions to the cool morning. Whatever works...