What Omen Is The Silent Snake?

End of the day sky looking west on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail north of Hiawatha and Robbins.

The year is slowly closing in, weather wise we are into early fall, and astronomically that season is just hours away.  By the weekend, dark outweighs light in our sky.  Tonight I was feeling a bit tired and overwhelmed.  It’s been a good week, but an exhausting one, and I feel like I have not made enough progress on the mountain of grading that is before me.

So, naturally, I took the long way home.  I rode the trail, and didn’t turn east in Hiawatha, but instead continued north for a few miles.  I probably only went about 4 miles north, just barely into the new paved area of the trail, but it was a peaceful, much-needed midweek break.  New grass if greening along the new paved area, which gives it a less “raw” look, which was nice.

At the edge of twilight, there were still many users on the trail, bikers, walkers, joggers and even roller bladers.  I was running with lights, and glad to, as a slightly cloudy sky made the late afternoon light fade even more quickly.

Looking north at Cedar Valley Nature Trail.

As I passed a flat stretch by a cornfield, I was struck at how pretty the sky was, how like a typically “prairie” it was.  So I will show two views, one looking west and the other north.

Then, I turned to home.  I had some work to do to get ready for a morning class, and after that installed Office on my home office computer—it turned out, surprise, that after all that I didn’t get around to the grading.

Well, poo.  It will be a busy weekend, too.  Four weeks in, and the semester feels like it’s suddenly on overdrive.

I had a Fat Tire tonight, and it helps, a little. But I think the bike ride helped even more.

As I headed home in the twilight, I passed a snake on the trail, and was glad that I didn’t accidentally run over it (as a gardener, I consider Iowa snakes to be friends).  Then, it spit rain, briefly.  Well, I was willing to endure snakes and rain, two good omens in this dry year, in my book.

Here’s hoping for a fine fall weekend soon with less commitments so I can finally take the trail north as far as the new pavement will allow.  I’ll hope my sister is available, but I’ll be happy to ride either way.