Friday, March 27, 2015

Riding the Weather Rollercoaster

Dear me, nearly the end of March, and I haven't posted any walk or ride photos for weeks.

(Ride? Did she say ride? She DID!) :D

The weather has been up and down. And up. And down again. We've soared into the 50s and 60s (oh what a glorious week that was), dropped back into the 30s, flirted briefly with the 40s, and tonight are headed into the teens. We've had sun and rain and ice and snow - pretty typical for March in Wisconsin.

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A few Sundays ago, as we were heading into the thaw, I took a walk on a new-to-me trail. The snow was melting rapidly, and the soon-to-be-spring sky was full of scudding clouds behind the bare tree branches:


As always, the dried flowers caught my eye:




A fallen tree trimmed with mushrooms:


Pine needles like brushstrokes on the snow:


A turtle at the end of the trail, saying goodbye to winter:


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A week later I and Tallulah are out again - this time on two wheels:


"Hooray!" sings Tallulah, nose to the wind. "We're on the road again!"

Other creatures are singing too. We pass a tree full of blackbirds calling "Spring! This way!"


While we're taking blackbird photos, someone pulls up behind us. It's Mr. M on Basil the Motorbike, also taking a First Ride of the Year. You can see Mr. M in the upper left corner of the photo, with yours truly in the center:


We exchange a few friendly words, then go our separate ways.

Up the road, the sheep are out. They seem to be enjoying the weather as much as I am:


Shadow shot:


Up hill and down, and around a corner to where this soft-eyed creature watches me through a screen of mullein:


It's great to be on the road again, passing favourite spots like this one:


A good start to the cycling year.

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Our next ride is two days later. Clouds are massing, and a sharp wind blows, so photos are kept to a minimum.

The marshes are radiant with red-twig dogwood that glows against the grey sky:


Tallulah poses in the crook of a branch:


The dogwood's tiny leaf-buds remind us that this mostly-brown world will soon be green again.


On our last mile, the sun comes out - a happy ending to a cloudy ride.


~ ~ ~

Tallulah and I took three rides in all before the mercury plunged downwards. But we know that in a week or two we'll be out on the road again. Winter's back is broken, and there's a whole year of riding to look forward to.

Continuing with the weather metaphor, this post is being written in the eye of a crochet storm. The yarn I was waiting for a few weeks back began to show up the day after my blog post on that theme. Two out of four projects are now out the door, two patterns written and emailed off, and I'm still waiting for yarn to complete the other two. Perhaps writing about it tonight will cause it to show up tomorrow....

How are you?

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25 comments:

  1. What lovely outings! And so nice of you to include sweet Tallulah.
    We are having horrible weather - very hot, very dry, very windy. Bring back the rain!
    Amalia
    xo

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  2. Oh you wild biker girl, you! I wish I was as thin and athletic as you are, I might ride a bike too! But I'm not.. so I'll still with flopping around in the pool back and forth. :-) I look forward to seeing what you'll make with that yarn. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  3. Wonderful. We did our first ride of the year a couple of weeks ago too. It was pretty cold still, but lovely to get out. Gloves were definitely needed though. You're right, in a couple of weeks' time things will be feeling different. I hope! CJ xx

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  4. Good to see your rides. I have been missing my early morning walks with my Flip. We will be back home by next Wednesday and ready for a long, hot summer. Never thought I'd look forward to heat. Linda@Wetcreek Blog

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  5. Glad you've been able to get out and about. Our weather has been up and down too. Loads of rain, we'll probably skip spring and jump right into summer dagnabit.

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  6. Good luck with finishing off those projects. So pleased you have managed a couple of bike rides - looking forward to lots more as the weather settles down again. Juliex

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  7. I love riding my bike! I need to go online and look up what to do avout my hands falling asleep, though. About 15 minutes into the ride they're tingling and by 45 minutes I'm in severe discomfort, shaking each one out in turn as I go along.

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  8. Oh you and T . are so brave. It is still too cold to ride much in my book. I do plan to ride in the coming week if the winds behave.

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  9. I like Basil, well, I like all Triumph motorcycles. Which model is it?

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  10. Hooray! You and yours are back on the road :-) I love seeing some of what you saw along the way...those Dogwood branches are so pretty and promising. We had two Dogwood trees at our last home, and I thought they were beautiful year round....blossoms, green leaves, then scarlet leaves then bare branches still colorful and shapely. I'm glad you're making good progress on your stitching projects, and I look forward to seeing the results of your efforts when you can show them. In answer to your question, I finally caught the cold the rest of our household has been sharing and I thought I had escaped and I am feeling cranky-tired-shivery...grumph... I hope you and yours remain hale and hearty and happy!!! :-) xx

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  11. All important wildlife was viewed during these rides...the elusive and much sought after turtle in the wild and the equally elusive Shadow Shot. :) I LOVE the favourite place. I would like to linger there and nibble those lovely willow branches. Sigh.....

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  12. Loved Tallulah's adventures. It was nice that you were able to go along for the rides! The photos look lovely with many promises of spring.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  13. Oh such a fun and lovely outing! I always love seeing your photos. :) I so love that winter's back is broken....I am more of a Spring/Fall type of girl...Yay....Spring....oh just the sound of the word makes me smile. :) Looking forward to all your new designs. Blessings always sweet friend. :)

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  14. That red twig dogwood is a very interesting tree. I don't know that I've ever seen a tree with bark like that. Too cool!

    Glad you and Tallulah had the chance to get outside, at least for a little while.

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  15. Lovely and cold where you are! I would love to live near sheep. I just saw some red dogwood in the garden center here. I wondered about it. What does it look like after it gets out of the "red stick" stage?

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  16. Glad you and Tallulah were able to get out on the bike. Looking forward to lots of photos of Ms. T in all her glory. We have had lovely weather in the 70's all week and yesterday, the bottom fell out. The highs today were only in the upper 30's, low 40's. I want my sun and blue skies back.
    Hugs,
    Sharon

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  17. Very excited for you that you have already been out on your bike. Wisconsin looks beautiful any time of year to me. I hope Tallulah was excited to get back in her little bike basket. Can't wait to see your new patterns, you know you are my favorite designer.
    Meredith

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  18. Beautiful pictures it's great that you and Tallulah can get out riding again. Hope that you have all your yarn by now:) xx

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  19. Hi Sue! It's great to see you back out on your bike. It looks like you and Tallulah had a good ride. I wish I were as confident riding a bike as you seem to be. I hope the weather figures itself out soon so you can enjoy spring for good. Take care and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

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  20. Hey Sue!
    I love those red twigs and your smiling face! Happy bike riding to you and have fun!

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  21. Your photos are spectacular. What beauty surrounds you. I'll bet that it felt so good to be back on your bike. It's good to see Miss T. again. What a character she is.
    xoxo, Ellen.

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  22. One of the most interesting things about blogging is hearing how different things are in other places you read about, but also the same....seeing the comment up above where it is so hot and dry, looking for rain. In our area there has been no snow that actually stuck , which is pretty normal....it is starting to brighten, we have lots of spring flowers in the garden, and sometimes if you stand exactly right its actually warm!

    Love the seedheaded flower against the blue sky, very pretty.....it was lovely to see your surroundings, the dogwood looks so vibrant doesn't it....

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  23. One of the most interesting things about blogging is hearing how different things are in other places you read about, but also the same....seeing the comment up above where it is so hot and dry, looking for rain. In our area there has been no snow that actually stuck , which is pretty normal....it is starting to brighten, we have lots of spring flowers in the garden, and sometimes if you stand exactly right its actually warm!

    Love the seedheaded flower against the blue sky, very pretty.....it was lovely to see your surroundings, the dogwood looks so vibrant doesn't it....

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  24. How this weather can enchant! Or defeat... We're expecting another 6-12 tomorrow, and hard freeze tonight and tomorrow night. Thank you and goodbye, dear hyacinths! But we have been out on two wheels, just like you, and it feels good to have the wind in our face again! (Oops, did I say that out loud? Do you think the wind heard?!?)

    Lovely picture of you and Mr.! It's cool to see it bigger because now I can see the second person in the photo!!!

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  25. Good to see you and Tallulah on the road again ... not so good that you're back in winter again, just as we are here. Here's wishing you a warm, sunny Easter Sue :)

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