Posts tagged ‘rural’
grey-ness
We’ve been flirting with rain. The wintertime landscape is clouds and pale light, the grey skeletons of trees, the dull gold of winter fields. Today the temperatures dropped, and it finally feels a little bit like winter.
It must be the light on days like these, but I love riding home in the late afternoon in the fading grey-ness. It is windless and silent. And I feel like I have fallen into some vintage photo, the colors are so subdued – grey, buff, steel blue and hints of ivory and amber. Almost monochrome. (With the exception of my very red, red bicycle, of course.)
My “good” cameras have been left at home on these rain-risk days … for now, just some of the iPhone snaps.
small change
I leave on my bicycle and often think: same roads, same fences, same old barns, same bike, same me … nothing changes.
And then I open my eyes and realize that nature, the natural world, is changing all around me. Beautifully. From minute, to day, to week, to season.
The same road is different each day in small and subtle ways. It is all the change I need.
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…
same old
Getting out, wandering around, same old, same old … it may be cold, but it sure doesn’t feel like winter.
among the Amish
visiting Pennsylvania
Spent last week in northwestern Pennsylvania, visiting my husband’s family. We took our bikes, hoping for some nice riding on the rural roads with leaves turning and crisp temperatures. Sadly, the weather did not want to cooperate. Gusting winds, rain and temps in the 40’s (F) held little enticement for cycling …
Pennsylvania countryside near the Amish community of Atlantic
My in-laws live in a small community in rural PA; there are lots of Amish and Mennonite families in the area. It’s an odd feeling to pedal along and approach (or be passed by) a horse and buggy. Better than being passed by cars any day.
Toward the end of the week when the skies began to clear, we took a ride to the Conneaut Lake Park – an old amusement park that originated in the 1890’s that became a local area attraction in the mid-1900’s. In it’s steel boom hey-day, it was a big draw to families employed by the railroad, as well as a convenient vacation getaway for people from Pittsburgh. When my husband was growing up in the area, he and his brother and sister all had summer jobs at the Park. Sadly, it has become one of those places largely lost to the past … although it still opens in the summer, it is barely able to survive any more. It was kind of fascinating to walk around the largely deserted grounds, covered in falling leaves.
marshland ride-by
(can you spy my bike?)
along the boardwalk, Conneaut Lake Park
Even though we didn’t get to ride as much as we had hoped to, it was a good visit. Nice to see family, good to feel the chill of the North, and great to have a slice (or two) of my mother in-law’s always-amazing pies. 😀
A few of the other pictures ….
my mother in-law and her famous Shoo Fly pie
adventures in solitude
The first day of September. For some reason, it feels like such a turning point … leaving summer behind, kids back at school, the last week of swimming outside. Awaiting the pungent crunch of leaves, diminishing daylight, cooler temperatures. For me, a time of Adventures in Solitude. By bicycle.
I rode today with only my little Lumix point-and-shoot. It makes me “work” a little harder … and I’ve just been feeling like I need to be challenged. With the first of the month here, I feel like I’ve been slacking off over the past few months, not feeling especially creative. And I find myself looking for some long-term personal “project” to tackle, something to inspire me, to spark some creativity, to prod me in some new (?) direction.
I confess that I am a big proponent of 365 projects. My experiences with ShutterCal and #330daysofbiking were rewarding, challenging, and a “push” to grow, learn and expand my proficiency with my camera and on my bike. I’ve been trying to figure out another 365 avenue to tackle; as much as I loved the photo-a-day, and the ride-a-day, I’m just not feeling an urge to repeat those. A variation on the theme would be fine, but just not a repeat of the same.
Some of the more fascinating 365-projects I’ve come across in my search for inspiration:
- Clouds 365 Project – a daily photo project of a single subject: clouds. Stunning stuff.
- Make a Book A Day – a seriously ambitious undertaking of making a hand-bound book every day. Wow.
- ThreeSixtyFiveBears – the creative undertaking of my (twitter) friend Meghan’s husband, Phil Barbato (artist/designer/web developer), who is drawing a bear each day on his iPhone. Awesome.
Final note: Thank you to everyone who responded to the jersey give-away; I appreciate the interest and the great rom-com suggestions for my Netflix queue. ;-). I will be revealing the random-drawing winner by Monday, 9/5.
365 days of field corn ... ???
pumpkin pie
How to eat pumpkin pie … (with slightly less guilt). 😉
#330daysofbiking update: cycled 219 of past 240 days, 127 days remain.
shebicycles 