even better

how can it be?
how could today's ride have been even better than yesterday's?
I didn't think it possible, but once again, life has shown me that I am not in charge, and my predictions of future events are far smaller than what the universe knows is possible.

today I celebrated earth day.
and what a celebration.
I drank in sunshine, I touched snow. I felt the intensity of the sun's rays on my skin, and I listened to birds chatter and call and sing. deer crossed the road in front of me and I watched two of them jump through and across the creek, bounding up the hillside with motley coats.
I squished creepy crawlies beneath my tires.
I was pushed and pulled by the warm, gentle breeze.
a butterfly crashed into my left shoulder with the roughest kiss ever, while others floated by with graceful swoops of their monarch orange wings.

as I crested the summit, heart pounding from a brief sprint, my eyes widened with delight as I caught sight of the reservoir, which was a smooth and still reflection of an emerald world. just as the richest emeralds vary in depth and intensity, the water moved from deepest to paler emerald, the hillside surrounding it admiring itself in the steady reflection of the mysterious green depths.
two hawks circled high above my head, playing catch-me-if-you-can with the wind thermals, as I descended from little mountain down to the reservoir, which slowly changed its color to a caribbean blue around the shallower edges as I neared.
I breathed in familiar spring fragrances, from russian olive trees to the dusky scent of mud, to whiffs of nameless plants sending their spring-fresh aromas up into the atmosphere.
emigration creek crashed through its fragile bed, the water thick and fat with earth, stretching its boundaries and seeping through in places. it coursed down hill noisily and with enthusiasm, the brown water jostling and playing as it dashed against rocks and berms and ultimately, itself.
dead tree limbs and feisty green shoots shared space along the edge of the road, and open fields and hillsides are turning greener with each new day of sunshine and warmth. shaded nooks still hang on to miniature glaciers, and water continues to seep out through the north-facing clay slopes.
red rock and brown dirt and umber clay all coexist: what a message.
thank you, earth, for another glorious showing, and thanks for letting me be part of it.