Signs of Spring

[RoadRaven]

Wow Nanci...

...bison, wild cattle and horses, alligators, wading birds, bald eagles, ospreys...

reminds me that I live two hours from nowhere... I am in awe of some of the creatures that are a part of you gals' every day...

[Nanci]

Florida is a weird state. You'd think it would be highly populated, and I guess in the popular coastal areas it is, but you can have a college town, like I live in, complete with bald eagles landing on the side of the road and alligators holding up traffic and ospreys having special towers built for them, which they _like_, right in the middle of the city, and then do a, say, Century ride, right from town, and so fast be out in the middle of nowhere, like you've gone back to the 1800's with a little cabin on blocks here and there, and _nothing else_, and ride like that for hours and hours, it's unbelievable.

I noticed in the paper today that my county had the lowest percent of population growth out of the whole state. Fine with me. Unless any cyclists want to move down.

Nanci

[Surlygirl]

Okay ladies we are on our way. I did a 20 miler this morning and rode by a swamp and had to stop. The peepers were making so much noise I had to find out if that was actually what I was hearing. The goldfinches are also starting to turn yellow. It was a bit breezy but all in all a great ride. Its so nice to be back outside. Bye Bye coach Troy.

[CorsairMac]

Wooohooo Surly!! That so ROCKSSS!!! I had Forgotten about the finches turning yellow in the spring - there are some things I miss since moving to the desert - not Many you understand - but a few. (high yesterday 70, high right now 62)

[DebW]

The peepers aren't out yet in my neighborhood, and the finches I saw this morning weren't very yellow. But it's 55 degrees now, they better get moving! My favorite sign of spring is peepers in a pond I ride by on my commute from work (it was still frozen a few days ago). As I pass the pond in peeper season at about 16 mph, the doppler effect is unmistakable. It's hard to believe that those little frogs can make such a crescendo of sound, with frequency shift dependent on my speed of course.

[Crankin]

I haven't heard any peepers either, but I bet they'll be out here in Concord by the end of the week. I just got back from a 15 mile ride with my husband. I got home at 3 and at 3:05 he called to say "I'm leaving now, wait!"
Things are back to normal...

[Surlygirl]

Yup definately the peeps are out. I did the Nashua River Rail trail early this morning and those little froggies were singing their hearts out. There were even a few places in the swamp that still had ice. The Trail was virtually empty and they are extending it. So far it is only about a half mile longer than before but a gorgous ride.

www.betweenwaters.com/etc/nrrt/intro.html
This one has pictures. Make sure you click on the 2002 photos.