Deus Ex Machina

There was a video I saw once or twice on MTV, way way back in the day. Don't remember the band or the music, but there were a lot of late winter / early spring night scenes, people standing around in the leafless and dripping woods, breath visible but you could tell it was more from damp than cold -- lots of cuts to animals (possums, mice, that kind of thing) scuttling around. The impression I got was the secret life of the woods, moles and roots, trees storing up water and preparing for the energy-burst of spring. A "sap is rising" kind of thing.

Apollo: sun god, and god of prophecy, once god of a mouse-cult... I was riding Friday night on the road, and the air was damp but not too cold; ride was actually a bit hairy on the winter-damaged roads especially downhills, and cars seemed to be a little more confrontational than usual (both of those facts may have been related to poor lighting decisions on my part), but all that made me feel totally pumped for some reason. Hill ride, slow hard climbs, and on two different hills I saw a field mouse scuttling along the side of the road. The January thaw will probably be over soon, winter has barely even started but I can feel spring building.

Listening: Right now it's "Bullrushes" by the Bongos, but just a second ago it was Galaxie 500, "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste." One of my favorite songs, total shoegazer anthem, now I'm pumped again and will be riding offroad this afternoon.

It was a good weekend by the way, more on that later.