It is Memorial Day weekend and we have spent 80 miles of time on the W&OD trail. We are training for a long tour and appreciate the auto-free beauty of the trail for these many miles. We saw a tiny box turtle out near Leesburg, and a pair of chipmunks chased each other on the Reston plateau. Bird song followed us everywhere, and a bluebird darted across in front of us near Ashburn. The wildflowers are 
transitioning to their summer glory. As the multiflora rosa and blackberries fade, the elderberry is near peak. Mountain laurel and goatsbeard are out now, and in the quiet corners you can find the small but perfect Deptford pink and Venus' looking glass. Goatsbeard photo (left) courtesy Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. Box turtle photo courtesy Steven Pinker, Harvard University.Riding home we saw the lively celebration of Viva Vienna, and we thought of the reason for Memorial Day.
