When I Win the Lottery

This week we finally got out on our bikes again. It felt really great. The weather was sunny and warm. The sky was blue. The wind was challenging but not unpleasant.

The reason we had not been out was work: the dreaded spring cleaning and maintenance jobs. February is the month they absolutely must get done. Metal yard furniture repainted. (Done.) Tile and grout floors cleaned. (Done.) Closets straightened. (Done.) Cabinets tidied. (Done.) Dock and deck painted. (Done.) Garage cleaned. (Done.) There are still a handful of small jobs to do, but they can be fit into our regular chore schedule. Now we can get out and ride again.

In the scrub the spanish moss was fluttering in the pines near the creeks, ponds, and areas of wet palmetto prairie. Most of the time spanish moss hangs like scrawny beards on branches.

But I am particularly fond of pines whose trunks have been wrapped in spanish moss. While I know it makes the tree particularly vulnerable to fire, it still has the most charming effect. Like a swirling fur coat wrapping the trunk.

It is great to be back riding my bike and taking pictures of stuff I see while out riding. When I win the lottery, I am not going to buy a new car or a new house. I'm going to hire people to do all the spring cleaning and maintenance. For the rest of my life. So I can just ride my bike.