Need to catch up

WOW, where did the week go?
Monday marked 2 weeks of radiation treatments to go. Some recovery time from the Sunday bike ride.
Was going to wait until later in the week to ride again but Tuesday it was just tooooo nice. Upper 60s when I got home from the Med Center. Changed clothes, grabbed the hybrid for a bike ride.
Wind from the WSW. Headed from the bike shop toward the trail center. From there, on up to the Bob Bridge.

The river has receded back into its banks. The new park between the levee and the river is still very wet. The same for the construction area West of the levee. At least the gravel detour just at I-480 is drier and ridable!
From there, it "coasting? with the wind toward Big Lake. Wanted to ride op to Big Lake to see how construction was taking shape. The North lake actually looks like a lake, now! And, the new "boardwalk" is completed and open.

Good job Council Bluffs. Looking good!
From Big Lake, completed my "tour de bluffs" (first for the season) down N. 8th, and through town. On up Harry Langdon, Woodbury, and to the Mall. Back at the Xtreme Wheels, visited for a while.
Off the bike Wednesday - needing a good rest!

Jack in the Pulpit

We're lucky enough to have more than one type of Jack in the Pulpit growing wild on our property. This is the most common, Arisaema triphyllum spp triphyllum. (Triphyllum = three leaves.)

Technically speaking, the "jack" is the spadix, and the "pulpit" is the spathe.

One of these days I'm going to memorize plant anatomy so I don't have to look it up all the time. I always feel dumb when I ask a question, and the answer involves so many technical terms that I feel like Gilligan, with all the Professor's lofty knowledge floating away right over my head.
At that point I never can decide the best course of action:
1) Nod and act like I understand,
2) Look confused and hope the expert will realize that I don't understand,
3) Admit outright that I don't understand, or
4) Look around frantically for another interesting flower, so I can shout "Ooh pretty!" and run away just as soon as the expert's lips quit moving.
Usually I opt for something between #1 and #2. "Hmm..." combined with a thoughtful look -- neither too confused nor too satisfied. A look that should convey, "Although I'm not a total idiot, I didn't quite catch your meaning, because obviously I'm not as smart as you are."

Here's Arisaema triphyllum ssp quinatum. I could only find one that was in bloom already.

Up close and personal.

There is another type here, but I couldn't find it blooming yet, so I'll write a "part 2" later.
Jacks are easy to confuse with Trilliums sometimes, especially before they bloom. The lighter colored leaves in the lower portion of the photo are Jacks:

In a garden I toured recently, the owner showed us what she called a "Japanese Jack in the Pulpit":

See how long the spadix is? Note my friend's fingers at the top of the picture below. She's holding the tip of the spadix! And that's the spathe way down on the ground, underneath the leaves (that look more like our Green Dragon's leaves).

I believe this variety is either Arisaema urashima or Arisaema thunbergii. (They're similar.)

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More information:
Wildwood Park's look at Jacks.
Primrose Path's page on American Jack varieties.
Paghat's Jack in the Pulpits and Cobra Lilies.
Arisaema Info.
International Aroid Society.

Ozzie is Recovering Courageously!

Oz has been home now for three days. And. She has amazed us by her rapid adjustment to being a tri-pawed kitty. She has not had a super appetite, but we've tried to offer her faves; fresh shrimp, which she's munched on daintily and her Fancy Feast fave, which she's eating here. For the first time today, she tried to escape from our bedroom, where she's been held captive. We're stunned by her continued improvement.
After she ate a bite or two, she headed for Sam's giant bed to relax a bit. She hates her meds (of course), but they help her sleep and keep the infections away. We stopped by the Humane Society today to say thanks to those involved in finding her and to re-license the pups. There were at least five individuals who were interested in what happened to her. We learned little more about what happened to Ozzie, except that instead of that nutty woman keeping her for two days, Oz was apparently held hostage for four days. All the days she was missing. I guess we can thank Dog that she was inside on those cold nights. For those who are squeamish, you may not want to look at the next photo, which shows Ozzie's amputation and stitches. She is in great spirits! We are so encouraged by her courage and backbone! What a winner!

Dawn

Then approximately thirty minutes later





The dawn of a new day, so much beauty, so much potential.

GnomeFest Photos

Photos I took at GnomeFest Nueve (Nine Mile Forest - Wausau, WI) have been posted on my events and race photo site. There are also photos I took that Sunday on the Mountain-Bay trail.

Comment: It is very difficult to contact the folks promoting Gnomefest. i would like to send them the link to my photos. The Gnomefest web site does not include any contact or "about" information. Facebook page is locked down so that visitors cannot post or comment, and the only contact info is the web site.

Link to photos: http://win-photo.photoreflect.com

Enjoy!

Big Burleigh

As of tomorrow, it's five weeks since "The crash", and no, I still can't ride. I have, however, set September 10 as the date for a tentative return. In the meantime, I have been doing quite a bit of walking to try to keep fit (as I simply haven't been able to do anything else). Last Sunday was such a nice day that I decided to set out on an epic walk. I have no idea how many kilometres it was, but I'm guessing it was around 10-12 or so. Basically I headed across to Miami Beach, and then walked south, with the plan of crossing North Burleigh (or Little Burleigh), then walking the loop around Burleigh National Park, and coming home.


The plan also included a detour to Mike's Bikes to see if they had anything that might fit the bill for a replacement bike (they sort of did, but that's another story). Little Burleigh was quite interesting in it's own way, although the development around it was a little too close. There were a few interesting little flowers blooming in the spring sunshine. I crossed the hill and spent some time wandering around the markets, but more than anything else I was just enjoying the feeling of being outside again, after being stuck inside for weeks on end. Today I was appreciating a lot of the little things, like the bird calls in the trees and the scent of the ocean spray. Maybe a near-death experience changes one's perspective after all.




Further along I entered the pocket-handkerchief sized Burleigh National Park. Well, Ok, that description is a slight exaggeration but you get the idea. Still, there seemed to be a bit of wildlife around today, probably enjoying the conditions as much as I was. The amazing thing about this park (especially the rainforest section on the top track) is that it feels a lot further from suburbia than it actually is. Just how it manages that I have no idea, but today I was grateful for it.




Eventually it was time to go and start the walk home. I had intended to take the old track up the back end of Magic Mountain at Miami, but that's apparently been closed off for years. The practical upshot of this is that I ended up walking past the site of "the crash", which was a surprisingly nerve-wracking experience, even though I have no memory of it. One day I'll have to ride through it and I'm not looking forward to that particular task. I also concluded that my desire to buy a touring bike this time around will almost certainly take me to Brisbane, as there doesn't seem to be much fitting that description here on the Coast. For all that, I still managed a great day. Hopefully normal service can be resumed in the near future.

Darkness Be Gone

I thank the blog Gladsome Lights at http://gretchenjoanna.blogspot.com/ for the following George MacDonald poem. It's from A Book of Strife in the Form of The Diary of an Old Soul.
With every morn my life afresh must breakThe crust of self, gathered about me fresh;That thy wind-spirit may rush in and shakeThe darkness out of me, and rend the meshThe spider-devils spin out of the flesh—Eager to net the soul before it wake,That it may slumberous lie, and listen to the snake.
I've finally shaken off the melancholy of the last few weeks and stopped listening to the snake.