My 500 Words

I was riding toward home on a level surface at a very comfortable pace when my bicycle seat suddenly fell from below me. Had I not been clipped in I suspect my feet would have slipped off the pedals and I would have experienced the harsh road scrape against my vulnerable flesh. With good fortune smiling upon me during this mishap, my legs immediately responded just as though I had stood on my pedals while climbing a hill. I quickly braked and stepped off of my bicycle, relieved that I had suffered absolutely no bodily harm. A quick gasp of nervous laughter escaped as I assessed my seatless bicycle and I imagined the numerous uncomfortable consequences that could have come my way. Instead, I gently lay the wounded bike and searched for the broken parts. I quickly located the saddle and inspected it; to my relief it remained in fine shape. I now needed the assembly that attached the seat to the post. As I searched the gravel strewn roadside, I was only able to locate the bottom part of...

Some plants and animals thrive in the heat and light of a blazing summer's sun while others need the relief offered by a more mild climate. The challenge of constant heat becomes unbearable in combination with the associated scarcity of water. But where there is water sufficient to sustain life, the presence of heat and persistent light we will discover a bounteous representation of life in both plant and animal life.  For heat alone fails to overcome the primal drive to survive, diversify and thrive. The powers of nature astound me as I observe simple plants, with stems that I can tear with no effort, break through rocks or cement that I would require a jack hammer to break. Yet somehow, these plants find the smallest of fissures to exploit. Fueled by groundwater, they germinate and sprout while they seek the heat of the sun. Little by little they take full advantage of every weakness. Perhaps several plants die before the one that I can see emerges as the conqueror of mountains...