Another Rainy Weekend

Another rainy Saturday to contend with, so I decided on a Van Morrison playlist while I cleaned out the garage and danced and sang. My gardening supplies and planters and pots that need sorting and recycling  were cluttering up my space. They are now sorted and the garage is cleaned out for at least another week or so. I think the shed in the back yard needs to be a project to get it into a more useful state.

 The amount of rain we've had is remarkable. May was one of the wettest months in eighty years and June is starting to look the same. I would rather have too much rain rather than a drought though. 

After dropping around 3 inches of rain, the skies cleared up later in the afternoon. I loaded up my bike for an impromptu ride on the Electric Trail with the thought of dinner or ice cream at Samascott's. 

The first of many turtles on the bike path. Now I see just how rough the path was and
how I had no business riding on it. 

The trail was very wet on the way south, but the return trip was much drier only an hour later. A problem appeared at 4 miles into the ride - the trail was closed. I forgot the paving project was underway. The trail didn't look any worse than normal, and so I just decided to continue my ride on the closed trail. Some of it was roughed up in preparation for paving, and a couple areas were already smoothly paved. The turtles were out, along with countless deer, rabbits, woodchucks, and chipmunks. I stopped to say hello to a few. 

Snakes too. This was a baby garter snake.

So cute! All of them were wood turtles.

This one was a bit larger and sassy.

The stream was raging after all the rain.

Horses along the trail enjoying the grass.

The cost of riding on a closed, roughed up trail was a flat tire. Luckily it went flat at the very end of my ride so I didn't have to walk. Lesson learned, yet again.

Sunday morning was gorgeous and my only task was to repair my flat tire. I spent a few minutes pondering whether to learn to do it myself, but in the end I just really didn't want to. The bike shop didn't open up until 11 am, so to pass the time I went for a little kayak down at the lake. I watched a bald eagle fishing, which was amazing, as it dove into the water three times before a successful catch. Then a second eagle started fishing on the other side of the lake. It was a lovely way to pass the morning. 

The lake was like glass and so peaceful at 8 am.

As I wheeled my bike into the shop, a man said "Hey Maureen, how can I help?" I did a double take and recognized Nate, the physics teacher I used to work with. He is an avid biker and took on this job, just on Sundays. We chatted a bit and he had my bike fixed up in just a few minutes. It was well worth paying someone else to do a task I have no interest in learning.

Today I'm getting a cortisone shot in my knee in preparation for the biking trip. My knee has been acting up a bit and I want to make sure I'm ready to bike for 6 days in a row.

Monday has been just another round of showers, downpours, and grim weather. I haven't done much but I did get that cortisone shot and now have to "stay off it" for a day or two. Looks like a movie in the afternoon for me!