We entered into our seventh state quietly, without fanfare.
There was a section of road towards the end of Kansas that was a bit tired, and worse for wear. It was as if shining for so long exhausted Kansas, so we got to see the rumpled side. We were slipping out the back door there, and entering Missouri through its side door.
The welcome sign was there, but off to the side, unpretentious and casual.
We didn't notice much at first...corn, farmhouses, but something was different.
Bird song. All this time, trees were few and far between, planted around houses as wind shield. Now, as we entered Missouri, the trees became more visible, and then abundant.
But the beauty was the birds. I have a friend who recognizes different bird songs. I wish she were here to tell me what I was hearing. I turned off the music, and listening to the music in the trees.
What a welcome.
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| If only we stopped pedaling for one moment... |
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| ...I might capture the bird. |
Hope Missouri treats you well.
ReplyDeleteJust lovely...
DeleteLove the comments about the sounds you notice while riding. You totally miss that in a car. I tend to focus on the smells while I roll along: the good ones, like the smells of flowering plants in the spring; the bad ones, like the overripe carcass of some too-slow critter on the shoulder of the road; and then others like freshly fertilized fields that make you wonder "How long I can hold my breath while keeping a 20 mph pace?" Hope most of your odors have been good ones so far.
ReplyDeleteRay - that's a blog post in and of itself! Thanks for the nudge...
ReplyDelete