Pedaling Along The Sugar River Trail

We loaded our bikes on the back of the Avalanche late this morning and drove to the Sugar River Trail in Brodhead, Wisconsin. The trail is where an old railroad used to run. From Brodhead to the other end of the trail in New Glarus is a stretch of twenty-three miles.

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The sights we observed along the way are self-explanatory except perhaps for the hole in the ground. Gophers ran in and out of their holes all along the trail but they were way too quick for me to catch with my camera, thus the gopher hole entrance photo.

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After we returned to the truck and loaded the bikes back on, we headed back to Beloit. Before we got out of Brodhead, we were tempted by a roadside stand with sweet corn, apples, squash, watermelon and more for sale. Sweet corn and a watermelon were our choices.

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The cute little log cabin across the highway advertised coffee, tea, smoothies and Chicago-style hot dogs for sale.

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In summary of our day, the bike ride started out with cool temperatures but soon we and the air warmed up and the day was ideal for a ride. I didn't stop too many times and for too long for photos because the mosquitos were hungry today. As I look back on their interference, I thank the mosquitos for limiting my picture taking. You know how I normally get carried away.

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I hope you enjoyed your day as well.

A Question of Productivity

I've selected the Lucinda Grand font because it's the only way I can elevate today to a place worthy of recognition. The bike ride I planned to take today fell through the cracks. It was a beautiful day to be out and about but I failed to take advantage of it. I just couldn't muster the motivation to get myself out the door and onto my Trek.

I ventured out on the deck this morning to drink my coffee and found myself intrigued by the bugs moving about in the bushes beside me. That indicates my state of mind. I wandered outside later with a bowl of bing cherries and watched the birds eat at the bird feeder. The coffee hadn't done its job.

I basically wasted the day and now after having a nice dinner at the Texas Roadhouse in Janesville with Lon, I'm wasting the rest of the evening too.

Evenings are meant to be wasted if you ask me, but not an entire day.

Tomorrow will be here soon. I'll try to be more productive although I'm never overly so. Unless blogging is being productive.

What do you think?

Rambling On A Friday Afternoon

Can you believe that in ten days we will be stepping into September? Two-thirds of 2009 will be behind us and in four more months we will be living and breathing in the year 2010.

Such are my thoughts this Friday afternoon, August 21st. My fingers are ready to put down my thoughts but my mind is boggled. Activity in my brain is slow moving like the nearly imperceptible raindrops falling lightly onto the deck boards, grass and everything else outside my windows. Fingers get to do the easy work. They do what they're told (usually). My brain activity is supposed to be at my disposal and obedient to my will too. Not today.

I'm staring off at nothing and still half-asleep this afternoon. I worked this morning and then ran around town to the library, and then to the department store next door, to the bank, and finally in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible. I headed for home and after a lunch of some cottage cheese (right out of the carton), a few Triscuits (right out of the box), a plum and a couple (actually three) fun-size Three Musketeer candy bars, I dropped onto the sofa and simply breathed for thirty minutes. I usually don't take naps but I've found myself plopping down midday every day this week.

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From this afternoon's siesta, I ended up on a stool beside our pub table with my open laptop before me. I'm unsure of what or who lifted me from the sofa and onto my feet. Since I'm the only one here, I must have accomplished that feat all by myself inspite of the fact that my motivation level remains nearly incapable of anything more strenuous than inhaling and exhaling. My love of blogging must have performed the magic that got me moving again.

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I'll blame my lethargy on the rain. Why not? If the weather was nicer, I bet I'd be on my bike with my camera in hand. I took a short ride on Tuesday afternoon that took me about three miles from home. I have a few pictures here that I hope will provide a bit of interest.

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In order of placement, the photos include:

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1. The high school Lon and I attended back in the sixties. Turner High School was brand new when Lon began his sophomore and I began my freshman year.

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2. A field of corn, a common sight around here in the summer months, and a pretty blue sky overhead.

3. Beloit's hospital from the southwest parking lot.

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4 and 5. Windows in the hospital's latest addition.

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6. A view of the hospital from the north side across the cornfield.

7. The front of the hospital facing south.

8. Newly laid road lines on a recently widened section of W. Hart Road in front of the hospital.

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I planned to take more pictures as I continued on my bike ride, but my camera stopped cooperating. Without my reading glasses, I couldn't read the message on the LCD screen. I pushed a bunch of buttons without success. The message kept appearing and since I didn't know what it said, I was out of luck.

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Home with my glasses on, I got the message to remove the memory stick and reinsert it. That seemed pretty stupid but I did it and the camera began functioning again.

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The last three photos show off the purchases we made at Buckeye Lake. Ain't we gonna be sweet when we don our duds from the "All Things Buckeye Lake" shop? May I suggest that you simply nod and say "Yes." I'd like that.

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(Tomorrow promises to be excellent for outdoor activities. I bet my bike and I with my camera slung over my shoulder will find plenty to delight in when I head over the river, west and then and south of here. Last year I rode thirty-six miles the day I went in that direction. I'm not promising to repeat that but who knows...I sure don't. I just try to keep myself happy and afloat, the best I can. It's a tough job, believe me!)

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****If you're wondering about the asterisks, let me explain. Sometimes after I publish my post, this website doesn't put spaces between all of the paragraphs as I typed them. The only way I can be assured of a blank line is to edit the post and insert an asterick where I want a blank line. So that's the rest of the story.

Family, Food and Fun at Buckeye Lake

Saturday, all of my Ohio cousins gathered at the lake. We started out on the lake with the majority of the family on the pontoon boat while Steve and Bailey and Lon and I enjoyed the jet skis. After our fun in the sun and on the water, we made the short walk to Marilyn and Dick's Buckeye Lake summer home on the corner of Island View and Cranberry Lane for the rest of the day.

Marilyn (in the pale blue shirt) is my mother's cousin and Dick (in the white cap) is her husband. Their children are Lynnette (whom you know already), Steve (in blue t-shirt), Scott (in green shirt) and Jolene (in the bright blue top). Jolene is married to Sam (in dark cap and white t-shirt) and their daughter is Bailey (the lovely young lady).

We appreciated the efforts made by everyone to come to spend time with us. Everyone lives in the Columbus area but each drove about an hour to meet at Buckeye Lake (except for Scott who lives on the same block in Buckeye Lake.)

We enjoyed a delicious meal beside the pool. Alice grilled marinated pork tenderloin and Lynnette fixed corn-on-the-cob and a broccoli salad. Marilyn brought deviled eggs, Steve contributed his highly renowned toffee cookies and Bailey brought yummy snickerdoodles she had made.

After dinner, we played an outdoor game called Corn Hole. It's somewhat similar to horseshoes except you attempt to pitch bags of corn through a hole in a target. We had loads of fun with that and before we knew it, the day was behind us. It was hard to say good bye to Marilyn, Dick, Steve, Scott, Jolene, Sam and Bailey but the time had come and so we did.

On Sunday morning, we packed our suitcases and loaded the truck. We drove around the corner to Lynnette and Alice's for breakfast. They're one house away from the corner of Island View and Dockside Drive. We found breakfast laid out for us on the table on the deck. The morning air was balmy, the lake was still quiet and we seemed to be the only people stirring. Our last hour at the lake with Lynnette and Alice was like frosting on a cake. We commented on how fast the time had gone and how fortunate we were to have had such perfect weather the entire time.

With difficulty, we said our good byes to Lynnette and Alice and slowly drove to the corner. We turned at Anchor's Way and passed Scott's house on our way to the highway. After passing the city of Columbus we drove under the arch and left the state of Ohio with hopeful plans to return again.

It's a blessing to have family who are more like good friends than relatives.