5,20,2011 Ride: Newly Discovered Planet?

Last night, getting into bed, I was still feeling devastated by Bill's death.  Perhaps a bit odd since not only had I not met him but I hadn't even spoken with him.  Yet, a connection and bond was formed by just arranging to have them stay with John and Patti.  I think much of the strong reaction was brought about because I rode Hwy 16 on my way to Little Rock just a few days before they did.  So, the feeling of vulnerability to the cars, the sense of "that was a close one," was very intense. 
The planned ride today would have been a good distraction.  It was a 22 mile ride down in Ft. Smith where a group of bicyclists were going to go from school to school and highlight safety awareness on the Internet.  In the morning, it looked as if the rain would hold off till at least 11:00 or 12:00.  So, I picked up Pat and we drove down watching the clouds getting darker and darker.  Just as we reached Ft. Smith, the skies opened up.  Back to Fayetteville we went, with almost the entire drive back in torrential rain.

Getting back home, I saw that I had about an hour window of opportunity to get a ride in before the next storm blew in.  It rained part of the ride but nothing like what is about to hit us.  Except for the eerie shot of the early morning sun above during my morning walk, no pictures were taken during the ride as I was eager to get it done.  However, I do have the pictures below of a  Luna moth (taken, coincidentally, during a full moon day).  David discovered the beauty on the hedges he was trimming. 

I can't get over the way the antennae look like delicate leaves and its legs like a small tarantula.

Picture of its wing in the closed position.

Today's Ride:  60mins.  9.5 miles  66 degrees.  Some rain.  Miles YTD: 2,961.99