"Do not approach wild animals they can be dangerous"
Ok I get this rule, however the animals are illiterate and must have different rules. Like the time I was ocean kayaking in Monterey and a sea otter comes out of the quiet ocean and lays on my kayak. $10,000 fine for approaching sea otters. "Go away little sea otter"! After he scared the jeebees out of me. Afterward I had to explain to a park ranger that the otter should be fined for approaching me. Luckily he saw it my way. I recently learned that approaching wild bison can be a frightening experience. You can read that in an earlier blog. Sometimes you happenstance a communion with nature. Like the time I was down-hilling over a ridge and came to a sliding stop in the middle of a large heard of deer. Funniest thing; they looked at me and must have realized I was no threat and so they went back to grazing like I was part of the natural terrain. Free climbing one time I was face to face with a coiled up rattle snake. our faces were about twelve inches apart but instead of biting me and sending me to a plummeting death he just slithered away. Yesterday I learned that raccoons do not see well in the day light. Spotting them 50 meters ahead on the bike trail I stopped to obey the non approach rule. OK not really I just didn't want to spook them so I can get a picture. So, I held perfectly still and it was like I was invisible. They kept getting closer and closer and the next thing I know they are sniffing my leg. I laughed because it tickled and they then scurried off. I think it was a big surprise for them and didn't know what to do at first. Hilarious!
Other wildlife sightings for this ride include: Swallows diving at me (I was a little to close to the nests), lots of magpies, snakes, and different varieties of ducks in the canal. Soon the sunflowers will be bursting with blooms.
The Thistle. Scotland's national flower. They always remind me of my days in the bonny land.
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