In the news
I'd planned to post more today about our recent art-adventure to beautiful Québec City and its museums, but something happened this morning that I absolutely have to share with you instead!
With an unreasonably hot and humid day in the Montréal forecast, my sweetheart and I headed out on our bicycles at about 0700 this morning to take advantage of the slightly cooler morning temperatures. Although we now have individualized approaches to cycling, it's a sport that we each adore - in large part because our home is situated near the more rural western tip of Montréal Island, so we're almost always cycling along stunning waterfronts or through farms, forests, and nature preserves.
My better and faster half rides a custom-built racing-style roadbike with a carbon frame, at an average speed of about 31 kph (20 mph) on his 100 km rides. On the other hand, I ride a very heavy commuter-style bicycle, with wide stubby tires and saddlebags stuffed with my plein-air painting supplies (and a first aid kit!). Also slowing me down is the fact that I ride mostly with only one hand on the bars, because my right hand and arm have been significantly affected by a rare disease named CRPS - Complex Regional Pain Syndrome - since 2016. Prior to that, I also rode a roadbike and bike-commuted 20 km (each way!) several times a week in good weather.
My average speed now, on my much shorter 30 km to 45 km rides, is only about 21 kph (for my American friends, that's 13.5 mph, for my bike rides of 19 to 28 miles in distance). I also need to stop to rest, even on a 30 km ride, because CRPS causes several other symptoms as bothnan autoimmune and a neuro-inflammatory condition. Instead of complaining about that, though, I use those rest stops as plein-air painting time. My bike-as-easel set up for watercolour painting packs perfectly into my bike's saddlebags, and there are plenty of gorgeous scenes to paint along my routes; two lakes, a pond and a stream where egrets and great blue herons often fish, a river, dilapidated old farms, historic stone buildings from the 1700s and 1800s, and a wide range of forests and meadows.
With such a large variation in our cycling speeds and distances, my sweetheart and I can't ride together anymore, so we've found a way to still feel as though we're enjoying this activity as a couple.
We time our rides and my painting stops so that he can bike over to wherever I've unpacked my bike-as-easel, at about halfway though his 100 km ride, and then we head off together to one of the area's cafés for (iced!) coffee and snacks. At that point in his ride he always needs extra fuel, and the home-style cookies at a nearby Italian trattoria are usually his first choice. We sit outside with our coffee and snacks, chatting about the wildlife or other sights that we've each seen on our rides, or whatever's on our minds. We'll often get so caught up in our conversations than an hour passes before we know it - even after more than 30 years together!
After our coffee break, we'll ride together for a few minutes until he's well warmed-up, then he'll speed up and continue his much longer ride while I do a shorter distance before heading home - sometimes stopping to paint again somewhere else.
Today we met at 0915 at La Trattoria, as I hadn't yet stopped to paint, and after our cappuccino and cookies we headed back out on our bikes together. I'd already decided to paint on the shore of one of the two lakes, at the end of a narrow and secluded trail through a forest, so helped continued along the paved road and I headed for the nature-park.
I was setting up my bike-as-easel, right on the shoreline, when my eye was drawn to a flash of movement over the water. I was absolutely stunned to see an enormous bird flying towards me, along the shore. With its white head, bright yellow beak and talons, and incredible wingspan, I knew immediately that it had to be a Bald eagle - but I didn't think that there were of these majestic birds in our area!
I didn't move an inch - completely enthralled - as it flew past me hugging the shoreline, passing only about 3.5 metres (12 feet) from me. I was so surprised that I just stood there watching it recede into the distance, not even thinking to snap a photo with my camera. When I came to my senses the Bald eagle was long gone, so I snapped this shot of my bike before I finished unpacking my watercolour supplies. I finally decided to skip the painting altogether, and just sit on the shore watching - in case the eagle flew back in my direction.
On my ride back through the nature preserve to a paved road, I spotted one of the birdwatchers I'd met a few weeks earlier in another area of the same park. As she was taking a water break rather than observing, I rode up to ask her whether there really were Bald eagles in our area. Sure enough, a couple of them had been noted since the previous year. My description to her confirmed it - I hadn't been dreaming, I really had seen a Bald eagle! She hurried off to where I'd been - after I gave her directions and pointed her towards the right trail - hoping to catch its return herself, while I headed home to share my surprise sighting with my sweetheart.
I still can't believe my luck, having seen a Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in the wild - and that it flew so close to me. This is definitely something to remember!
I don't usually post anything on weekdays, but exceptionally I will tomorrow - about two fabulous exhibitions I visited at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (Québec Museum of Fine Arts); "Helen McNicoll: An Impressionist Journey", and "Rembrandt - Etchings from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen". That was the piece I wrote yesterday, to post this evening, before my eagle encounter this morning led to a whole new topic.
Stop by tomorrow, for more on Québec City museums!