At 64, I am training a little more seriously for this cross-country journey. I invested in a nice bike, did not make my own bags, and have cell and satellite connections in lieu of the stars and a AAA map. We do get more cautious (or is smarter?) as we get older.
Recently, I’d been hoping for a sign that now is the right time for this trip. I heard a familiar bird call while on a training ride in the Blue Hills in Canton, MA. It was the unmistakable call of an Eastern Wood-Peewee. I learned this bird’s song well on my 1985 cross-country bike trip, especially when I was riding solo from Nashville to Boston. Once I made it to the Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway, I heard the Peewee calling at all times of day, every day, during that earlier journey. It was a companion and a sign that everything was OK. Peewees prefer the woods to settled areas; they love the Blue Hills, just two miles south from my home (as the Peewee flies).
On every training ride though the Blue Hills or in the woods west of Boston for the past two months, I have heard the Peewee singing. Sounds crazy, but I have taken it as the sign I was looking for. I’m guessing there will be other spirit animals to meet out west. I prefer the diurnal ones. If I have a choice, (and I don’t): something other than a grizzly bear or a persistent mosquito, of which there are plenty.
Eastern Wood-Peewee Contopus virens
Here is a link to a variety of their songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B-GnePZWXg
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