Saturday, August 16, 2008
Another cool, sunny day, so even though I have the Savoy 20 mile trail race tomorrow (OK, there's at least a 50-50 chance I'll only complete one loop and it'll be a 10 mile race for me) I took the bike over to Lock 8 and had an "easy" ride on the bike path between Schenectady and Rotterdam Junction. I lucked out and watched storm clouds blow off to the north. Not much traffic on the path, which is always nice. Thanks to all the rain we've had recently, the river and the old canal were higher than normal, especially for August. And thanks to the storm that slipped by, I got to see yet another rainbow. I think I've seen more of those this summer than every other summer I can remember combined!
At one point I stopped to watch a catbird which was being unusually brave and hanging out on a branch just a couple of feet away from me. While I was watching him, a hummingbird buzzed up and checked out some nearby flowers. Too bad he didn't stick around long enough for me to get a picture...
No beavers visible in the old canal west of Rotterdam Junction, but I did see a beaver-chewed tree only a mile or so from Lock 8 alongside the bike path. Perhaps that means there are beavers living in the river?
On my way out I wondered at the fact that I almost never see herons or egrets in the old canal, when it seems like it would be a great place for them. So naturally there was a heron there on my way back, and I spent a few minutes watching him hunt for his dinner.
For once I finished my ride well before dark, though the sun was dropping low on the horizon when I stopped... the earlier sunset is just another reminder that summer is drawing to an end, and my life of leisure will soon be replaced by that darn working for a living thing... ack.
JMH
