Sour Dock

May 24, 2011

As I inhaled the scent of damp cedar mulch and rode past Woodchuck Holler, I came upon this lovely image of sour dock.

After talking to this plant at length, I learned that they generally prefer their scientific name of Rumex crispus (and who can blame them, I'm kind of a sourpuss, but prefer not to be referred to as such). They are also generally fond of italicized words, as am I. My conversation also revealed that a thrice-boiled Rumex crispus could be rendered non-toxic and would perhaps serve as a harmonious accompaniment to a lovely meal of gooduckit. Yes, it seems that no matter how I try to resist the siren call of the Great Gooduckit Chase (also known as the Urban Omaha Ultimate Adventure Race of '11 [come on along, you'll be back by the 4th, of June, that is]), I am drawn to it like a triathlete to synthetic fabrics.

Speaking of synthetic fabrics, I just received a Terry cycling catalogue and I was curious to see what their models (bicycle models, of course) looked like. Well, they were classy, well proportioned, with muscular legs, uh, I mean bottom brackets.... There was also a lot of synthetic clothing in tastefully designed styles. The Terry Isis looked like a fine ride, and put me in mind of the Bob Dylan song, which can be heard in this
clip.
http://www.timsah.com/Bob-Dylan-Isis-1975/q0QVrVl6x7x
After I made it back to my safe haven, I immediately set out on a training run in my Neonderthal feet.

I ran through some puddles and got some mud on my face. Then I jumped over a branch and growled to myself. On my way back I noticed a picturesque raised crosswalk along one of our city's many multi-use trails. What a great concept! Looks good, calms traffic and pedestrians alike with its languid allure.

There was also this paleolithic god of balance.

A kind of primitive, Robert Rauschenberg-like reminder of the heavy beauty of stone, supported by the light strength of wood.

Then I went home and picked some rocket (Eruca sativa) from my garden for a nice salad with my dinner. Paleo-terrific!

In Training!

May 18, 2011

Well now there's no retreating, as I have become a wheel on the tricycle known as Team Wheezy. Yes, my friends Rich, Nick and I have dedicated ourselves towards finding, killing, cleaning, combining, possibly cooking somewhat, and eating the three components of a gooduckit - (aka the Urban Omaha - the Ultimate Adventure Race). I am excited about this goal, because now I am "in training," which is a nice break from riding my bicycle. It is somewhat similar to the popular notion of breaking up the rainy weather by getting outside to water our lawns. Although a big goal can be daunting and impressive to others, I find that the smaller goals are really the most important ingredients in implementing a recipe for delicious success, which (when half baked) might taste similar to a gooduckit stew. So with this notion in mind, I set out to kill two birds (and as you may have guessed, those two birds would be a duck and a goose) with one high velocity, sling-shot propelled stone. The first metaphoric bird (the goose) was returning my movies to Blockbuster, while the second bird (the duck) was going for a run, since the Great Gooduckit Chase will most assuredly involve some transporting of oneself by foot in a speedy manner. I am quite fond of combining activities like this in a spontaneous paeon to efficient planning. Here goes!

I snapped photos of various trees on my way to Blockbuster,

and I plan to identify them using my handy-dandy Trees of North America: A Field Guide to the Major Native and Introduced Species North of Mexico (A Golden Field Guide) . If you have not perused this treasure trove of arboreal lore, then you may as well just go climb a tree, because I just don't know what you've been thinking!

My tree identification skills are rusty (kind of like the Hawthorne tree in our front yard was last spring), so I will have to get back to you on the tree types shown here. Please feel free to inform me if you can identify these shady customers. I also noticed a large washed-out portion of the soil supporting this tree. I wondered if this might serve as some type of creature's den.

Which of course led me to thinking about snaring a rabbit with a trap of some sort, rather than the traditional compound bow favored by most Neonderthal hunters.

I trotted over hill and over dale and dropped off my movies, browsed and left. Quite a small success, if I do say so myself (and if I don't, then no one else will)!

It has also come to my attention that this week is Bike to Work week. I hope that you have been enjoying it. I had a nice chat with a fellow bicyclist concerning the possibility of rain later in the week at a local traffic crossing I will henceforth refer to as Chatty Corner (since this is the location where I have been fortunate enough to be able to exchange a few words [of the non-cursing variety] with my fellow travellers).

Although I am wildly enthusiastic (to nearly unsafe proportions, whoa there pardner) about Bike to Work week, I actually prefer to think of it as Bike the Hell Away from Work week (BHAWW Ya!). So ride the hell safely outta there and enjoy some tree viewing!