The past couple of days have found me a bit in denial. I want to ride my bike. A lot. But I pulled a muscle while riding around on Saturday. I really, really want to be riding my bike, but even walking hurts, so today I faced the music and stayed off my bike. Sort of. Thing is, my car won’t start, and I need to get over to N.’s house to feed and water her sweet dog while she’s out of town, so I just have to ride, just a little bit. Thank goodness. But that’s about all I did today–and will do tomorrow, if I don’t feel better. I rode up Annunciation, which was recently repaved on the Uptown side of Napolean, making it one of my very favorite routes. It is incredibly rare to have smooth asphalt in this city, so it really feels like skating on ice. I stopped at General Taylor to snap a photo of this tree lying dead in this empty lot. It might have been cut down, or fallen in one of the many thunderstorms we’ve had lately. I don’t know how long it has been there, or how long this lot has been empty, and I really don’t know how long the tree will stay here. You’d never see this–abandoned lot, no sidewalk, cars on lawns–just two streets up river. Development in this town is so terrifically uneven. You’ve really got to be on a bike to tell.