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This was a beautiful weekend, and we had another glorious day, today. I spent too much time inside. But anytime you spent inside was too much, that’s how amazing it has been. There should be poems written about these days.
I’m no poet.
But I did take these photographs. Just scroll through them, enjoy, and make a promise to yourself to go out and enjoy the next picture-perfect day that comes to your neighborhood.
Is it possible to forget a day before it is over? I don’t mean that I want to, but that today just didn’t stand out in any prominent way. You wake up, eat food, do things, do some other things, and then the day moves on and you do, too.
One of the favorite parts of my day was sending an email to students to wrap up the week. I was trying to point out the value of thinking of the last two assignments together. And I was illustrating that with some real world context beyond the theoretical. The students will, I’m sure, roll their eyes. But then I ended the email with a short list of things going on campus. And that’s become my favorite part of the week: hey gang, the planetarium is having an open house, there’s laser tag, a beach clean up project, an important Buddhist celebration and so on.
There’s a lot going on, because that’s part of campus life. It’s not for me — the group running it didn’t invite me to laser tag, after all — but there’s always a group of students that might not know about something going on around them. Or, more critically, there might be a student or two stressed by a class or other things. It’s nice for them to know there’s more out there than just this assignment or that grade. So it’s one of the favorite part of my work week, finding those things, and sharing them. And if a few of the students come to think that I’m a prof that knows there’s more to college than classes, all the better.
I need to figure out a system for the plants on days like this. I moved them indoors last week, because the weather is variable enough. I have some grow lights in the basement and water them one day and spray them the next, but which day is which? And why am I bad with houseplants? Why am I trying? They aren’t even ours.
I sprayed them tonight.
Anyway, it was cool today. It will be warmer tomorrow. Work and play will be mixed and I’ll have to water the plants tomorrow night.
I went out for another late afternoon bike ride. I rode into town, setting two Strava PRs on the way. Then I doubled back and my legs disappeared. It was the headwind, I tell ya. And it hit me in the face as I rode in three different directions.
Because it is cool, my shadow was wearing a wind breaker.
It wasn’t necessary at first, so the first 10 or 15 miles it was just holding heat in, but then the sun got low, and I cooled off fairly quickly. By then, at least, the wind was at my back.
And somewhere right in here, I dropped some fuel. I’ll go out and try to find it tomorrow.
It’ll be a bit warmer, and even more remarkable than today.
I spent all day grading things. Well, until about 4 p.m. Then I had lunch. And then I went out for a bike ride, because there was about two hours of light left, and I didn’t want to spend all of the day inside.
It was a day that required a wind jacket and full fingered gloves. But the roads were quiet, and so were my tires. Past a certain point, at a certain speed, the hum of the Continentals takes on a different pitch. It can feel effortless, for a moment, and sound pro. It’s neither of those things, but you’re willing to fool yourself.
Only I didn’t do that today. It was just nice to be out. I did two laps of one of my regular circuits, a route designed to allow me to be within about six or seven miles or so of the house at all times. Just in case the sun set more quickly than anticipated. Because, websites and Farmer’s Almanacs notwithstanding, that great ball of hydrogen may have a mind all it’s own.
But you know what? I got in 25 miles when I somehow thought I’d have to go in after just getting 15 or so, but my lovely bride had a Zoom call, so I wasn’t worried about holding us up for dinner, and so I finished that second lap. It was 25 miles, and still technically daylight when I got back in.
Technically, I say, because I never mounted or turned on my headlight.
I was wearing light clothes, and we’re now suddenly in that time of year where the temperatures change quickly when the sun disappears, and I might not yet be mentally prepared for chilly weather, so I came in with no complaints.
Plus, I still had things to grade.
Still do. So I should get back to that now.
We only had the one night of aurora. That was Thursday. Friday night, the sky looked like it always does.
Which isn’t a knock on the night sky, but everyone would have enjoyed another light show.
The rest of these are just photos, and a video, from weekend bike rides, but don’t think of this as yet another bike riding post … well, I suppose you have to for this video. It was a road worth riding down slowly.
Think of it, instead, as a beautiful Saturday afternoon I got to enjoy. Watching you watering your sod …
Or letting a field sit for the weekend …
Or cutting your hay for winter …
Or imagine you sitting inside, wondering if you’d brought all of your equipment in, or left something out somewhere …
I asked my lovely bride if she’d like to go for a ride, just something easy to get outside for a while to enjoy another beautiful autumn day. She considered it, and agreed to an easy ride. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the steely look in her pretty eyes when she settled onto her aerobars.
It took a Strava segment PR and a second-best time on another near the end of the ride to stay in front of her.
To be fair, it was her THIRD workout of the day.
If you’re here for the day’s bike ride, and evidence of Halloween, that’s below. But, first, a first.
My first aurora borealis. Solar radiation and the magnetosphere in the night sky made for a lovely light show. Electrons collide with atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere and isn’t this lovely? Ten photos below, poetry in essay form is not required.
I got in a late 15-mile ride today, a route I’ve come to think of as the neighborhood route. In truth, it includes at least three neighborhoods and several miles of farmland besides.
People around here love Halloween decorations. And, apparently, Halloween isn’t something you can do a little. To welcome the ghouls and goblins, one must go all out.
Believe me when I say, this is one of the more subdued displays.
I bet they give great candy though. How could they not?
