Picnic, Iowa style

We took the bike to Sugar Bottom, where a friend of R's recommended a spot in the woods where one could spread a blanket and picnic. It took us a while to find, as the super-secret picnic spot is a small clearing in the middle of the woods, under a group of pine trees. Very different from central park, as well as from any picnic spot I've ever encountered in Israel.

I heard cicadas for the first time in my life (and had one on my chest for several long seconds until I talked it into moving on). They make a deafening noise, though we got used to it fairly quickly. I also picnicked with R for the first time in my life, and it was absolutely gorgeous and wonderful. We were isolated from anything and anyone, it was a beautiful day, and the scenery around the clearing was completely wild. The only living creature (other than the occasional ant or spider) we encountered was a young doe, who stood no more than 30 feet away and just started at us. Pretty fantastic.

"...let me count the ways"