Been on my back for a week. I got a bug that got the best of me. I adhered to all the usual responses: rest, fluids, sleep, quiet. The last few days I have been stretching, and today I walked one mile in the quiet morning air. I think I will survive!

Now I am at the coffee shop, thinking about all the things I have not written about. One observation takes me back to late summer in Wyoming. One of my greatest joys was finding the first few “sprigs” of yellow cottonwood leaves. Cottonwoods leaves in Wyoming  turn colors one little clump at a time, starting around mid August. I began to associate that smattering of yellow with the forthcoming cooler, fly free days. The trees signaled, “Great camping weather ahead”.

Now, all this came up because I was sitting in a patch of cool shade outside the “Affordable Tire Shop”. They have been hunting down slightly used 10-ply tires within my budget. They found a nice set for the front with 85% tread left. For $140, they installed them on Flying Cloud while I sat outside surveying the trees around the heavily wooded lot. Cottonwoods, always like an old friend when I see them! I scanned the branches and there it was: a sprig of yellow cottonwood leaves. My eyes darted to the next cottonwood tree and then the next. Each had the yellow sprig.

WAIT A MINUTE. This is the third week in July, which is three weeks before they start tuning in Wyoming. Besides, this part of Idaho has a longer growing season than Wyoming! The days are longer, the water plentiful, the plants thrive here. I live at the moment in a little Eden in the Northern Rocky Mountains.

I have no idea why trees are turning colors sooner up here. It would make sense in any of the above blue/purple zones. Are the cottonwoods stressed? Diseased? High on WA weed? I have no idea, but I will do my best to find out. In the meantime, the sight of yellow cottonwood leaves once again invokes the sights and sounds of fall. But, this year, I will be going south like the birds (arriving in FL early Sept) and will miss a true fall. In fact, I will enter the steamy midwest and south just in time for their deep summer.

By the way, speaking of tires, I am replacing the 10-ply tires I put on Flying Cloud when I bought it used in 2010. At the time I spent $700 on super good tires. Well, six years later, they have some tread, but are starting to look sad–full of knicks and dings from driving over rocks while adventuring out there in the wild. They were worth every penny–I never had a flat despite the abuse and demand I put on those tires, but I have a 2600 mile trip to FL coming up and people nagging me about safety. My budget is less these days and I stumbled upon a used tire place that picks up tires from totaled cars (the other end that was not totaled) and elsewhere. They deal in volume, with shops in ID and WA. I am quite happy with my new pair!

Onward, post flu is definitely better than the alternative. Stay well!