Posts tagged ‘old barn’
her old bones
Day after day, year after year, I ride past an old grandmother. She is greying and stooped, her old bones are weathered and tired – yet she is sill beautiful, even sacred. At least to me.
For many years she stood … tall and proud, solid and steadfast, quiet and imposing, yet welcoming and kind. She was a dependable storehouse, a nursery, a warm and fragrant embrace for man and animal. She is a landmark, a sentinel, a piece of the landscape as much as any creek or any mountain. She has seen many years, and she is filled with her own stories.
(2010)
(2010)
(2011)
I have known her for only a small portion of her life. I have tried to listen for her stories. I have touched her bones. I have felt her embrace.
When the tornadoes of April 2011 set upon her quiet valley, it was more than she could bear in her old age; she submitted and bowed down. I confess that I cried when I first saw her afterwards.
Yet still, even in collapse, she sits; her skeletal remains are always a comfort to me when I ride near. I stop. I see her, decaying in her bones and stories, settling gently down in the quilt of her soft field. Slowly, slowly, she sinks into the land, taking her stories with her.
She is an old grandmother. She is most beloved.
(2012)
riding through puddles
The weather continues to mystify me. Heavy rains and severe storms have rolled through the area, and to see tornado destruction in AL and AR in January is mind boggling. I cannot bear the thought of a repeat of last spring – and we’re still in the middle of what is supposed to be winter.
Rain or not, I needed to get out today. It was gusty but warm, and I revisited a road I hadn’t ridden in quite a while. Cows, barns, creeks (overflowing) and plenty of mud. But I still have fun riding through puddles…
evening
Evening ride … one of the last perfect days of summer, the sound of crickets, an old barn in fading light, my bicycle, and the one I love. I need nothing else.
#330daysofbiking Day 79: inside
inside ... old barn
The Patient is recovering nicely. Spent most of the day inside, laundry super fun times. Got outside this evening and took a peaceful road rode, stopping to poke around inside one of my favorite old barns in the neighborhood – I can never seem to resist this place. Had to go in and look around.
The heat and humidity have been smothering. I’ve given up trying to ride mid-day; it’s either get out early in the morning, or wait until evening. Feeling like some sort of insect that crawls under a rock during the heat of the day.
Today I rode in the evening; I love the light, the still air, the crickets. Inside the barn it was cool and filled with that musty smell of old hay. Cobwebs and a pile of animal bones in the corner. Kind of creepy, but fascinating and wonderful at the same time.
The heat of the day always brings sky drama, clouds, the flicker of lightening inside them. Maybe it will rain?
#30daysofbiking Day 29: distracted
Bigsby Creek Road barn
It was a truly beautiful day, weather-wise, but my heart and mind were just not in the ride today. Even though it felt good to pedal, I felt so distracted – thinking of countless things around home that needed to be taken care of, schedules, tennis, upcoming graduation, moving boys back home from college … It’s all piling up and about to converge in a few days of craziness, and I just can’t clear my mind.
I took a few photos today along the way, but found it kind of revealing when I got home and sorted through them – none of the “keepers” included my bike. Perhaps it speaks for the feeling of detachment I had today? Dunno.
A nice set of handlebars on his head
more flowers alongside the road
shebicycles 