A healing ride

Yesterday evening, sun rays emanated from the horizon, lighting up flowers and a ladybug in our meadow.R, our jet black running machine, trotted through the mosaic. R's elbow, flawed with dysplasia (osteochondritis dissecans) at birth, was surgically repaired last fall. Despite his high octane lifestyle, his elbow seems durable and strong. We give him a ton of fish oil and monthly Adequan (glucosamine and chondroitin) injections to help stave off joint degeneration. We love seeing him run with no hitch in his stride.
As we returned from our short hike, we spotted one of our flycatcher chicks pointing his beak toward the sky. The chicks still reside in the nest. Last night, mom slept on top of them but it looked tough to snooze on such a lumpy and squirmy bunch! Usually, on the night before the downy chicks fledge, mom lets them sleep alone and perches nearby to watch over them.K and I rolled out into blue skies and sun-warmed air. She seems better each day, as the antibiotics kill the invading leptospirosis. Her energy overflowed, and translated into frenetic explorations of every nook and cranny of the forest. We're relieved to see her do so well.We rolled through a meadow with yellow flowers, members of the aster family, aligned toward the fading sun. Clouds gathered on the Divide already.
Later, after I left K at home, I rolled mellowly through fields of flowers with mountain views. I didn't linger as a stiff wind whooshed through the pine forest on the meadow's edge. The wind blasted off the Divide, signaling thunder storms approaching.This summer, I've noticed how pollinators strongly prefer certain wildflowers. Swallowtail butterflies love Colorado Loco flowers. And, bees swarm to Sulphur flowers. This bee buzzed angrily as I snapped close-up photos.Today, my bike ride spelled the end of my leg muscle cramps, caused by spinal pressure in my neck. Calf muscle aches awakened me this morning but, within 20 minutes of my first pedal stroke, they'd faded to almost nothing. I'm thankful every time I recover from a scare. I fear that one of these exacerbations will lead to surgery, recommended by my docs, to fuse five of my neck vertebrae. For now, keeping moving by pedaling every day seems like a much better option!