My mind's eye

There's a vast distance between the artistic vision of my mind's eye and the pedestrian reality that results from my creative endeavors. The scarf I'm knitting, the soup I'm cooking, the photos I'm taking--I see a glorious possibility in my mind, and then reality falls short. Why is that? Is that a measure of true artistic talent, if you can realize what you see in your mind's eye? If that's the case, then I fall woefully short. But I keep trying.

This photo I took this morning, of what in my mind's eye was a breathtaking sherbet and a dramatic silhouetted tree. Um, it's just a pic of a tree.

In my mind's eye, I pictured glowing candles reflected in the glass, beacons of light in the autumnal dark. Ok, I took pictures of little blobs of something:

A friend said that sometimes when you don't have your camera, all you can do is remember the moment in your mind's eye. The mind's eye really is the finest camera, paintbrush, pen, and clay. What we see in our minds never fully translates to the work of our hands, but there is joy in trying to duplicate what we envision. It's just that Reality is such a harsh and exacting mistress!

Many moons

Ever wonder what all the full moons for each month are called? We all vaguely know about the Harvest Moon, and maybe some of you geniuses out there have heard of the Hunter's Moon, but there's more! The Farmer's Almanac has a nice list of full moon names, complete with a description, of each month's full moon. The names are poetic and evocative--I love the Pink Moon for April and the Strawberry Moon for June!

I couldn't resist coming up with a list relevant to my world, however:
January: Dead Battery Moon
February: Still Fucking Winter Moon
March: Green Beer Moon
April: Tax Moon
May: Garage Sale Moon
June: Construction Moon
July: Fucking Humidity Moon
August: Allergy Moon
September: Still Fucking Construction Moon
October: Cross-Dressing Moon
November: Two Evils Moon
December: Cold As Hell Moon

Nice rack!

I have a nice rack, if I may say so myself. I don't have too much trouble strapping it in, though sometimes I need someone to help me. Once my rack is adjusted, it's ready to go places!

It holds two bikes when it's strapped onto the trunk, without marring the finish of my car. It's really a nice rack!

Today was one of those perfect October days, with a deep periwinkle sky and bright sunshine. The leaves are starting to turn, and there were ruby-red and pumpkin orange trees brilliant against the clear sky. It was the perfect day for a bike ride! I went to Moraine Hills State Park for the first time in my life, and it was great biking! Moraine Hills, which is on River Rd. just north of Rt. 176 in McHenry, is a little gem of a state park. It has 10 miles of crushed limestone trails which are really packed down well, and you can bike or hike or just meander as you wish. The trails are loosely arranged in concentric loops, with a couple of little side loops here and there. It would be pretty difficult to get lost in Moraine Hills--the trails are clearly marked and most are one way, so just follow the big huge arrows of helpfulness. If you're something of a rebel, the compliant nature of Moraine Hills may not be to your liking. But for you rebels, you can ride around Lake Defiance, which rather defiantly dried up several years ago and is no longer a lake.

The trails are rather hilly--a grueling workout on a bike! Grueling in a good way though, like your heart is about to jump out of your ribcage and run for the nearest park bench. I managed to shift accurately and made all of the hills, an accomplishment for me. I won't be the King of the Mountain Stage in the Tour de France anytime soon, much less the Tour de McHenry. But I was pretty excited about going up and down all those little hills! The scenery is really pretty--lots of forested areas filled with dappled sunshine--my close friends know what a freak I am about dappled sunshine--can't get enough of that dappled sunshine!

I forgot to take my camera, though. I'm irked about that. Oh well. Instead of posting photos here, I'll just offer to mime the whole ride for anyone who asks.