Day 5 of 365

One of the neat things about bike riding is how much more aware you are of what's going on around you. And by that I don't mean cars passing by or dogs chasing you, I mean how things are growing, the lives of bugs and flowers, the sounds of rustling in the grass along the road.

Now, I'm not one to go out into nature and get overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. Sure it looks nice but I'm usually not "struck" by it, if you know what I mean. Still, there's something fascinating about being up close to things I'm completely oblivious to when I'm in a car. How quiet it is-- and then how quiet it isn't-- nature is pretty noisy!

So today I stopped to take a few pictures of some of those things I miss seeing when I'm driving down the road. There were so many butterflies, but I was only able to get shots of two different varieties. Up above on the right is a Silver Spotted Skipper sitting on some alfalfa, at least I think it's alfalfa. There's a japanese beetle there, too. On the left here is an Orange Sulphur with some red clover. Hopefully I'll get some good shots of other butterflies soon.

I tried a new route today. Unfortunately, before I could get to my turn around point (and take some pictures) the sky darkened, it started to sprinkle and I heard thunder. I don't mind riding in the rain, but I definitely don't want to be out in a thunderstorm!

Miles today: 5 Total miles: 19