Just getting home from a bike ride. The trail was pretty quiet so all of nature was out on full display.
Saw four deer. The first was crashing loudly through the woods over my right shoulder and I was just hoping it wouldn’t slam into me. A few hundred yards later was another deer hesitantly crossing the bike path. I slowed to let him go. A bit later, another just feeding in the thicket below the path. Finally, the last one, just walking along the trail heading in my direction. I came to a complete stop, put my foot down and watched her walk by not 5 feet from me. She was completely chill. Paused next to me and looked as if to say, ‘hey’, then just kept walking down the path.
For a split instant, saw a fox dash out of the tall grass and then vanish again. Also a bright red cardinal.
I wonder if the deer is telling his kin about the idiot in spandex riding in 92F heat.
On one occasion, I spotted a fawn ( I confess, s/he was already spotted) standing on the edge of the fire road. I stopped to watch and the fawn started to walk towards me, prompting me to stay stock-still. When it was no more than 10 feet away, Mama deer made an appearance. She allowed her baby to get within sniffing distance before nudging it away and back into the woods.
I had a few wildlife sightings on my ride today, too. Saw a duck and a cardinal in my yard before I even started. Saw a swan in a pond near the trail. And I’m not sure what the other critter was. It was about the size of a raccoon, had a similar gait and coloring, but didn’t have the ringed tail and seemed overall fluffier. It may have just been a big housecat. Ran off the trail before I could get a good look at it.
Hey, I’ve gone running there many times. What a great place for a run. We used to ride our mountain bikes there, too, and usually ended up on the “secret, illegal trails” that were outlandishly fun!
I’m okay sharing the path with runners. They can keep a lane. It’s the roller-bladers who are invariably wearing ear-phones and weave dangerously and obliviously.
The trail I ride has enough traffic that even the bladers know what they’re doing for the most part. A quick “on your left” and they hold their line and let bikes get past without worry.
Where do you live that has all these trails and deer?
