While I love on-street transportation cycling, the "off the beaten paths" also have unique charms.
On Friday, 10/23, I spotted a little doe on my ride home.
(Ironically, the I-184 "Connector" passes by perhaps 2 blocks from the very spot, and in the distance I could hear the drone of engines, and tires on the pavement. Well... they've got their climate-control and surround sound and cellphones to take great joy and satisfaction in... and they get to read the bumper stickers on the cars in front of 'em. Even more ironically, many of them were headed for their "country estates" where they live so they can commune with nature... except by the time they get home from the commute, it's after dark.)
Bambi raised her head warily, then went back to grazing as I snapped a couple photos. She couldn't have been more than 15 feet off the bike/pedestrian path.
This afternoon (Monday 10/26) within feet of where I snapped Bambi on Friday, I spotted some nice birds. I recognized the blue heron. Also a kingfisher, which flew off before I could snap... and which was probably out of photo range anyway. Also this white bird - an egret, perhaps? Can anybody identify the species?
I rode on. Took a detour through the cemetery to enjoy the beautiful fall foliage, which the Canada geese were also apparently enjoying. Bunches of 'em. Life is good.
4 comments:
In east Boise just past the warm springs golf course, I have come upon deer on the greenbelt and had them run in front of me for about 20 yards before turning off to jump into the woods. This summer that silly elk that lives by Harris Ranch was standing in the middle of the greebelt. I had to stop and wave my arms to get him to move out of the way. The only critter that concerns me is when they report cougars in the area as I ride in the early morning hours down by the river on my commute, I wouldn't want to become kitty food.
I love spotting the herons along the river. Occasionally I will run into a fox, too.
My commute just involves dodging the squirrels that somebody feeds down the street.
Here in VA, entirely too close to DC for my taste, I run across deer, rabbits, skunks (Who I give a wide berth) turtles, raccoons, and/or possums almost every day I ride. In fact, this time of year, I almost get run over by horny deer at least once a week. It's scary because they're so used to cars that they know to stay on the side of the road when they hear the sound of an engine. My bike freaks them out because they don't hear me coming, and suddenly I'm 15 feet away from them and they go berserk trying to get away from me.
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