An End-of-Summer Sunday Ride

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Silver-topped silos reflecting the sun
Farm wagon bearing bundles of summer
Song of tractors hurrying to harvest

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It's a comfortable day - temps are in the 70s - and a steady warm wind is blowing from the southwest. This is the last Sunday of the summer; next week I'll be riding in autumn. (Not sure how I feel about that.) I'm tired from a long and stressful week, and less than enthusiastic about hitting the road today - but the end of the riding season is near. There will be time enough to sit at home when the snow flies.

All around are hints of the changing season. Dry rustling trees, spots of red in the ditch, golden soybeans, and buff-coloured corn, all tell the tale of passing summer.

Down one of my favourite roads, a line of pines has been cut down. The stumps look like fenceposts:

The felled trunks are piled nearby, scenting the air with balsamy warmth.

Hay bales dot an impossibly green field:

I like this lovely stand of trees:

The bare trunks over the green field make me think of cliffs standing watch over the sea.

Virginia creeper hangs in scarlet festoons from a bare branch. What a glorious colour:

Here are the silver-topped silos catching the sun...

...forming a sort of farming skyline.

Just ahead, a tractor passes into view, gathering a harvest of soybeans (and dust).

Here's a section of newly-paved road, with fresh gravel on the shoulder. Earlier in the year, this shoulder was lined with tiny chamomile-like daisies. The new paving is nice to ride on, but I miss the flowers.

A favourite barn peeks out from the trees.

Another tractor comes down the road towards me, pulling a wagonful of summer:

Everywhere I ride today, I can hear the harvest song of tractors. Rain and patchy frost are in the forecast this week, so the farmers are making hay while the sun shines.

It's time for a break and a snack. Iris leans against a handy bank, and I lean on Iris while I eat my energy bar (and take a shadow shot).

This Bobcat drives by, looking as though it's going backwards. A funny little vehicle.

Colours of autumn - red and gold:

Miles later, I'm about to cross some railroad tracks when I hear a whistle from down the line. I'm always hearing trains when I ride, but rarely get a photo op. I decide to wait for this one. The headlights appear first, then the train comes up quickly:

It's the westbound Amtrak, right on schedule today.

One last shot of the rising gate.

Some miles on, I pass a mailbox flying dual flags. Wisconsin was settled in part by Norwegians, many of whose descendants still celebrate their cultural heritage:

This barn sits right up to the road. I like the weathered red against the backdrop of blue sky:

A few miles more, and it's time for another break. This time Iris gets parked against a bridge. Looking through the bike frame, I see another bridge: a tree trunk has fallen across the stream.

View of stream (with Iris):

Just the stream this time:

Today's ride is a late one. It's nearly 6 o'clock, and time to be heading home.

I make one last stop to snap these flowers:

Though the blossoms are white, I think they're a species of goldenrod. The individual blooms are incredibly tiny and dainty:

And one very last photo (snapped from the saddle) of a mourning dove on a wire:

Just a few miles more, and I'm home. Lamburgers for supper, with fresh sweet corn, and tomatoes-and-cukes topped with fresh basil. Life is pretty good.

Goodbye, summer. See you next year.

35.4 miles

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