One of the things I love about this thread is how I get to experience diverse parts of the world in adjacent posts, especially places I will likely never get to experience in person.
Today we took the tandem out for a spin through rural-ish/suburb-ish towns northwest of the city, inotherwords our usual bike haunts from the old days. 25.8 miles. Had some great conversations with other cyclists at Fern's in Carlisle and in Concord Center. Lots of cyclists out today. Saw several other tandems. Rode through Great Brook State Farm, a.k.a. the State Farm in Carlisle, where they sell great ice cream (which we never consume, alas). From the general scent in the air and this being spring season, several thoughts come to mind. Cows are machines for converting plant matter into one of the raw ingredients of ice cream. The aforementioned plant matter has its own requirements for biochemical ingredients which are generally produced by cows, transported to the fields by tractors pulling trailers from cow places to plant matter places, then distributed to the fields. A rider's nose knows these this things instinctively. Or perhaps I should say in-stink-tively.
A prepared field ready to produce raw materials for ice cream
Investigating a side trail through the woods, walking, not riding