Cormorants, slithering snakes, and two suns

The weather isn't very nice today, but I went for a ride anyway. I stopped to watch some beautiful birds which I think were probably cormorants. I wasn't close enough to see a lot of detail, and I still haven't figured out how to pack my camera which has a decent zoom lens. This photo only shows three little black dots on the far side of the creek. Theyre beautiful black water birds, and when I took the photo, they were tarting it up, as birds do. 

I also came across another snake. I don't know what kind it is. Patternwise, it looks like a common kingsnake, but I don't think they're really supposed to be hanging around in the Denver area....but really, what do I know about snake turf? Nothing. If someone else has a clue, please do share.

On today's ride, I was listening to Bat for Lashes. I bought the album Two Suns, and I'm completely smitten. At times, it reminds me of Kate Bush, Bjork, and/or Tori Amos, but I don't want to give the impression that I like Bat for Lashes because it sounds like someone else. The music is unique, and it stands on its own.

If she knew what she wanted...

I've gone on a few more rides since the last time I posted, and I'm starting to notice the gradual building of muscle in my legs. This is pleasing to me, as I've always been rather waifish, and I relish the idea of having some muscle. I don't need to be completely ripped, but it would be nice to feel a bit less fragile than I always have.

Photo from today's ride. Prairie dogs and blue sky.

Watching... Alternating between Dr. Who and Robin Hood. We also have the Czech film Daisies sitting here, but we haven't watched it yet. I'm thinking it will be this week sometime.

Reading... Finished Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, but I need a break before I tackle the rest of the series. It was feeling a bit sluggish at the end. I just started A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, because it's one of Ich Mag Sie Nicht's favorite novels. She has great taste in literature.

Listening... This week, I've mostly listened to music during my rides. A lot of VNV Nation, Apoptygma Berzerk, and Concrete Blonde.

Wanting... fun in the sun, short-term goals

Trying... to focus on something. Anything, really.

Beauty is never far away.

On Saturday I rode 29 miles. It wasn't planned, as the furthest I'd ridden prior was approximately eight miles. It was just such a beautiful day that I kept on going until I found myself at Confluence Park. C and I stopped at the Starbucks there. I drank a caramel frappaccino, and we shared a croissant. I talked to the pigeons, soaked up the sun, and then turned around and headed back home on my bicycle. 

On my way back, I saw a family of foxes: one adult and three adolescents. Unfortunately, I only managed to capture three of them in the picture, and it's not a very good picture. I need to figure out a way to pack my camera. The cell phone just doesn't do it for me.

On the way home, I was so tired that I wasn't sure I was going to make it, but I did, and it felt like quite an accomplishment. Not bad for a girl who is often described as a china doll.

One thing I did realize though... I listen to very mellow, melancholy music more often than I realized. I grabbed my ipod, and I put it on shuffle. Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, Kristin Hersh, Faun Fables... It's all great, but you just can't ride to it. A lesson learned.

Today, I rode approximately nine miles. It seems so small compared to Saturday's ride, but I think I need to do a lot more in the way of shorter rides to build up my endurance. It rained most of the way, and during the heaviest downpour, C and I stood under an underpass and watched the clouds, geese, river, etc.  When we left, I took a photograph of a beautiful double rainbow. It's still a cell phone picture, but the beauty of it is intact.

Lesson learned, today's ride was accompanied by VNV Nation.