More lovely Cambridge scenery! Midsummer Common on your left.The river has been full of action these past few days. A while ago I saw rowing eights full of people in costume: a boat full of pirates, one full of fairies with pink wings, one load of bunnies with big ears. Those wacky undergrads... And they've obviously been practising a lot, and the other day we counted 10 eights and a bunch of fours coming back down the river, looking as if they'd been racing -- or at least working really hard! Those early morning traffic jams under the bridge are all leading up to something!
I took these pictures today on my way to the grocery store on my bike, where I bought a lot of stuff and had to haul it
all home in the bike basket. Usually if I think I'll buy a lot, I take my little wheelie-cart, but today I'd not planned on getting too much. However, a few 500g packages of pasta and a few cans of beans and a few other things, and I've got a lot of weight in that basket. It's like the front wheel has a mind of its own and it's quite hard to manoeuvre, and I was just hoping the wicker basket would make it home in one piece! Sometimes I wish I had a minivan! (No, not really!)
But this is what I get to see on my 
bike on the way to the store! Look at that colour! It's quite amazing when the sun shines on these brown leaves; they're so rich and coppery and shiny! And they go so well with the willows across the river.Our few frosty days seem to have passed, and we are back to our lovely sunshine and 5 degree C days. One can go out in a big sweater, without an actual coat (and one day I'll make myself a hat and mitts and scarf that all at least sort of match)! Perfect winter, if you ask me. The kids are still hoping for snow, but I'm quite happy, thank you!
Does your bike have a rack over the back wheel/fender? If so, you can bungee-cord a plastic milk crate or large basket to it and stay balanced even with heavy loads (as evidenced by all of the grad students I saw toting loads of books that way!). If yours doesn't have a rack, they are relatively inexpensive and might be worth adding if you use your bike to grocery shop a lot. I'm enjoying your leaves. All of ours got blown off in a mid-October blizzard before they had a chance to get much color on them.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pics of Cambridge (I keep trying to work out where they are, but I don't recognise them - the pillar box is particularly bugging me as I'm sure I recognise it!)
ReplyDeleteAre you going to the S'n'B on Tuesday? I'm planning to be brave and go along.