So, while I did my workout, she made us homemade meatballs, spaghetti and garlic bread. We loaded it up in the backpack with 2 bottles of water and off we went about 7pm for our 5 mile ride. Claire said it would be a great time to see some deer.
Of course we saw a multitude of birds including redwing blackbirds, cardinal, great blue heron, sparrows, flycatchers and maybe a Carolina chickadee...but the first real wildlife we encountered were spotted by Claire. She spotted an otter next to the bike trail. We saw it run into the tall grass and I knew a stream was just up ahead. We rode to the bridge over the stream and saw one otter swimming in the stream. It then went up the bank and we saw the two of them frollicking in the tall grass above the stream.
We rode on to the first bench and sat down to have dinner. It was near where I saw the fawn yesterday but we never saw any deer. Of course, we saw lots of bunnies.
On the way back, Claire stopped when she saw a small garter snake on the bike trail. It had stopped on the trail and Claire bent down to look at it. She asked if she could touch its tail. I said, "Go ahead, it doesn't look poisonous but just be ready to jump back." She didn't take the bait and bent down and touched it a few times. It then slithered off into the grass.
As we rode on, she stopped again when she spotted something in the low grass next to the trail. She stepped into the grass and a mouse ran across her foot and into the tall grass.
We rode toward home and turned around and saw this view...
It was a great time together, arguments about the helmet notwithstanding. Its only 6 years until she goes off to college and I know this time will fly by. I cherish these times we spend together.
