On Golden Fields

Once more I ride down the dirt road beside the canal to the railway bridge. I look down and see tire tracks in the hardened mud. I smile, for they are my own from last month when I came out just after the rain. I've spent the entire summer out here on my bicycle. If today was the last ride of the season then so be it. Every warm day we get now is a bonus and when it happens to coincide with my day off—fantastic!

It was windy today which makes the ride easier one way or at least that's the theory. Actually it somehow managed to blow against me both ways, a phenomenon I have noticed in the past. Not quite sure how that works--probably just proves the weather gods have a sense of humour. For this time of year though, it was a beautiful day and a great ride.

The skies were once again full of Red-tailed hawks and I was quick enough with the camera to catch a few shots. I have noticed their numbers seem to be on the rise, no doubt a reflection of the increased gopher population. There was enough wind today for them to soar in place as it were.

Where have all those lazy days of summer gone? Into the west, never to return...

As summer gives way to fall, green fades to brown but not all at once. Some crops mature faster than others, producing bands of colour. All summer long the Canola fields lent their bright yellow to the mix. Prairie grasslands have a beauty all their own, one I have come to love. There's something magical about a horizon that just goes on forever.

The cycling has given me a closeup view of the prairie, one far better than what can be seen from a speeding automobile. I have smelled the crops as they grew, heard the birds overhead and felt the winds blow unchecked from horizon to horizon. So into the west goes another day, never to return but it was a good day for all that.