Wednesday, April 9, 2008

A bit to close up

Most of my rides have some sort of critter element to them. This is my favorite time of the year when all the little beasties are doing what beasties do, from courtship dances of turkeys, to newborn calves, to high end colts and fillies, to llamas by the dozens. Its also nesting time for birds, big and small. And sometimes, those big birds don't much care to have you around, know what I mean?

Last night I went out on the tt bike to work the kinks out after having a bad two weeks with whatever viral infection I have that won't go away. It was tough, but it always is. Windy, grey typical Ireland weather. Of course, Ireland is green and with the persistent drought we can really use this stuff.

On the way back in, I hear a whooshing sound and glance up just in time to see a huge horned owl swooping down on me. I guess I got too close to a nest spot and he was going to scare me off. Trust me, it worked! These guys are beautiful, but a wee bit intimidating at close range. So I may have to alter my course a little bit until the babies are out on their own. I'd just as soon not see those talons that closely!

1 comment:

nPlusOne said...

Keep the route and just make that spot a sprint zone. Between the sprint and the talons, that'll get your heart rate up.
It's nice to see wildlife on rides. Hawks are abundant on my route along with horses but there are way too many indecisive squirrels too.