A warm but not hot summer’s eve greeted us with clouds in the west but plenty of sunshine on our roads. We headed out with a plan to cruise around and not do too much slow-speed maneuvers. We set off with the scent of magnolias, crape myrtles, and mimosas filling the air.
Our first wildlife encounter was with a crazy squirrel crossing the road in front of us. The squirrel was in the oncoming lane to us about two feet from the other side when he heard the roar of our motorcycles. He stopped as we slowed down, looked at us, and proceeded to head back the way he came with several stops to check us out on the way.
Soon after as we headed up the road, our engine roar startled a rabbit nibbling along the berm, the first rabbit I’ve seen from the motorcycle that I can remember. Usually, rabbits come out at dawn or dusk, but he must have been hungry.
The first butterfly I spotted was a zoomy great purple hairstreak zipping between the clover. A block away from him, I spotted the only cabbage white I saw during the entire ride. I spot more butterflies driving to and from the motorcycles than I do during the ride. Perhaps I am not spotting them because I am working more on my street awareness.
As we headed along the final loop before ending our ride, we saw the very unusual sight of a racoon crossing the road into someone’s backyard in front of our motorcycles. I’ve no idea what would’ve made the nocturnal creature feel the need to be out in the middle of the day, but he was, and he was large. If he was returning home, then whoever lives in that house might want to call animal control because he was a large fellow.
In all my rides, this one definitely had the most diverse wildlife. I was disappointed not to see any birds soaring aloft in the thermals, but I did spot an osprey as we headed home. I look forward to spotting more wildlife among the day lilies and hydrangeas next week.
Flutterby Biker 