In Which The Frost Looks Kind of Pretty

In yard near C Avenue bridge over Dry Creek--frosty cottonwood leaf on Saturday morning in sunrise.

Morning gym ride Oct. 11—it frosted finally in my part of Iowa that morning. There was a coating of ice on the car and grey crystals all over the grass. The TV weather talked about a “hard freeze,” but I struggle with calling it that because it only dropped down to 32—I think of a “hard” freeze as in the 20s.

Still, it was a definite frost. It must have stayed at 32 for some hours. Luckily, on my morning bike ride to exercise at the gym, there was little wind, so even with an air temperature just chilly enough to induce a state change in water, I wasn’t frigid.

And the clear morning sun make the ice sparkle, don’t you think?

It's not the same leaf--there are two here--but it is the same lawn.

I was hoping it was a foretaste of rides to come. I actually like cool, icy bike rides—a frosty morning in the 20s, if it’s also dry and not windy, is both pretty and comfortably ideal for a large man like me who is riding on a bicycle.

Alas, this week it was not to be. It started to rain on Sunday, and this is Tuesday night now—and it has not let up. So I drove for the two days of school this week. Now it’s fall break.

I might have heard a small voice. Did it say "we are here?"

If I’m lucky, I may get some break rides in, although I also have work to do because mid-term grades are due right after break. Anyway, my wife and I plan to visit our youngest son in Ames later this week, and we may bring bikes and try out some trails there.

I hope so. After this rain, I feel the need to hit the peddles again. May it be soon.

And may there be more pretty, frosty, sunshine mornings.

Later Saturday. 1-year-old granddaughter. She has lately become an enthusiastic biking buddy, but we spent our time playing in leaves I had raked. Maybe later this week we will go for a ride--I hope so.