The Unbearable Heat And The Tiniest Of Turtles.

Today we rode our bikes in Muscatine, because running in this "broth" is simply unbearable.   The air is thick with humidity and the sun makes the temps feel 10 degrees hotter than they are.  Today is supposed to be the hottest day of the week.  Tomorrow has a 20 percent chance of rain.   Hopefully cooler weather will follow. 

I suppose 20 percent does not sound like much, but to make sure it would rain, I went out and did a little chalk drawing on the tennis courts.   Nothing brings on the rain better than placing a masterpiece of chalk art on the sidewalk. Or in this case, the tennis courts.   I don't think it will bother anyone as I doubt anyone wanted to play tennis in this heat.   The tennis court was a pretty good canvas for the chalk.  I may have to explore that area later when the heat is not so terrible. 

Keeping things simple, I tried to play around with "perspective".  It is not as easy as you might think.   The main thing is to make the drawing really really long! Then, as you approach the drawing, it looks like it is 3-D.  That is the theory, anyway.   But reality and lack of experience tend to show off a different perspective. 

Perhaps it was not tall enough.   Or the shadow of the sun was a problem.  Or my proportions of the girl were wrong.  Cheryl was not very helpful in this part of the picture taking.  Ah well.   It will all be washed away tomorrow anyway.  Sometimes you have to take a chance. 

Cheryl discovered some pics on her phone we took about a week ago.  There was a small painter turtle on the sidewalk at the Trueblood Trail.   He was VERY small and a rather long distance from the lake.  So,  I decided to help him out and give him a free bike ride to the boat ramp.  It may be the only time he gets to experience flight.  

Cheryl snapped a couple pics of him before I released him.  Wouldn't you know I had left my camera at home.   But we got the pics.   He certainly is colorful.  I'm not certain what his true name is, but he does not have the "Red-eared slider" stripes on his head. 

Yesterday's Moon....  Did I capture the bright orange color?  Um...No!   Even with all the telephoto lenses, it still looks like a white disk in the black sky.   Why do I continue to bother????

Cheryl has finalized her soap display.. for the moment.  I'm sure it will be "improved upon" in the future, but yesterday we spent several hours setting it up in the heat.  Such fun!  I also changed the oil in Subie and repaired my bike's Front Forks. ( water and mud had displaced the seals for the shocks.)  I'm not sure if it is repaired permanently, but it worked today, and that makes me happy.   Cheryl says I will eventually need another bike as this one is getting older and showing signs of use. I'm afraid if I take it to the Bike repair shop, they will quote me a fortune and recommend I purchase a new bike as well.  For now, I will have to continue to patch this one up. 

Hope everyone is staying cool.   The humidity makes it difficult to breathe outside!  ( Well,   perhaps only if you are huffing up a hill with your bike.) And the sweat has no where to go so it makes your skin feel slimy and soaks your clothes.   Perhaps August will be a tad cooler.   OR at least we will be more acclimated to the summer heat.   Thanks for stopping in.