Bicycle Trail

I used to ride my bike a lot when I lived in Miami - to the pharmacy drive-through, around the neighborhood with friends, to the Post Office (back in the olden days, before Click-N-Ship), and to buy barbeque sandwiches and watermelon soda from the guy who worked a bbq stand from his pickup truck. In the summer, it was way too hot to ride during the day, so we'd go in the evenings, when it was a cool 85 degrees or so. If we wanted to ride on a trail, there was a flat, baking-hot loop of concrete that went through Shark Valley in the Everglades National Park - if you wanted the off-road experience, I guess you could try riding over one of the many alligators that sun themselves along the path.

During Michigan summers, it's rarely too hot for me to ride my bike, and there's definitely a shorter season for it, but there are some really pretty trails, with trees, rivers, and hills. We leave the truck at one of the parks, ride the trail around into the downtown area, get ice cream or visit with friends, then ride through town back to the park. I would say it's perfect if the summer in Michigan lasted longer and I weren't wearing an undershirt, long-sleeved shirt, and cardigan as I type this. In July.

Weekend in June

Over the weekend, we traveled north for my cousin's Open House. My aunt and uncle's home is a picturesque farmhouse with a pond, cute animals, and lots of room to play. My son had his first real horse ride, and he was ecstatic! He has this loud, delighted laugh that sounds like one of David Bowie's goblins from the Labyrinth, and I find it adorable (or annoying if he's laughing at me trying to get him dressed). Someone even brought along a baby raccoon that had been abandoned, and my niece was allowed to feed it from a dropper. I wish I'd thought to take a photo of it; its little hands were so sweet.

During the drive home, my husband and I talked about how the day reminded us why we'd moved to Michigan: to be near family and to give my son the kind of day when the smile never leaves his face, even after his sleepy eyes droop closed before we've even left the driveway.

June in Michigan has been unseasonably cold and it's not really felt much like summer. Also, we've had too much rain and now most of the peonies are lying on the grass like drunken debutantes.