Today started off with a little adventure. You may remember my account of a group of ducklings that took a unexpected dip in my pool. That adventure involved fishing them out, one-by-one, and ensuring that they made it safely out of the yard.
Today offered a new type of critter – in this case a baby bunny. I was performing my usual check of the pool and was prepared to clear out the skimmer basket (with its usual accumulation of leaves and assorted debris). Upon opening the cover to the basket, I saw small ball of fur swirling around. Thinking the worst, I expected to pull some sort of dead creature out of the basket (which is not an uncommon thing).
Instead, this bunny was still alive and had manged to keep its head above the water to avoid drowning. In the skimmer basket area, I think he had enough footing to at least try and stay alive – although I’m sure he would have eventually tired and drown.
I fished him out and set him alongside the pool. He had been in the water long enough to get really cold and just simply sat and shivered. It was a pretty sad sight to see a baby bunny, soaked from head to toe, too cold to run away from me. I picked him up, brought him into the garage, grabbed a towel and proceeded to get him as dry as possible. In feeling beneath his coat, he seemed to be fairly warm so I thought he would be able to survive after getting a little time to recover. I set him down near a tree – in the newly emerging sunshine – and wished him the best while I headed off the work.
He was gone when I got back, so I think he survived.
With no more bunnies needing rescue, I decided to hit the road for a follow-up ride to yesterday’s adventure. After three weeks worth of sporadic riding, it wasn’t easy getting back on the bike with yesterday’s effort still aching within my legs. But, no riding on such a nice afternoon would simply be a sin. So, off I went.
Here is Tuesday’s weather details:
- Date: Tuesday, August 11th 2009
- Temp: 78F
- late afternoon sun
- no measurable wind
As I indicated, my body was not happy to be out on the bike and protested the whole trip. Something weird was going on in my right leg and it drove me crazy with aches and lack of power throughout the journey. I was hoping for a longer trip, but decided to keep the ride short and not push my body too hard.
- Start time: 6:30pm
- distance: 19.7 miles
- avg speed: 18.3 mph
- duration: 1:05
- bike odometer: 905
It was really a great evening and I wished I could have enjoyed it more. The sun was shining, the lakes were like glass, and there were few cars on the road. This type of natural environment is exactly what cycling is all about. If only my body wasn’t showing its age.
