I think we had a proper summer week. There wasn’t much rain at all. It was even humid today! It felt like a late June day in Chicago, although the high was 71° F with 88% humidity. I guess I’ve adjusted.
I have a standard exercise ride — to and through Phoenix Park. I discovered a hill today that I couldn’t finish without dismounting, so now I have a goal on my standard ride.
Here’s the real story: I happened across a small group of the Park’s fallow deer.
There were two bucks with antlers just like the photo here. There were three or four smaller deer — whether juveniles or does, I don’t know. They were all tagged on their ears.
I was awestruck. I didn’t even stop to think. The two bucks ran in different directions. Their loping run is even more graceful when they have a large set of antlers that move up and down much less than their bodies. It’s been several hours, but I’m still struck by the memory.
I was biking along a road through a little-used part of the Park, southwest of the Papal Cross. It’s not as quiet as other parts of the Park, because it’s close to the River Liffey and the traffic noise from the roads that run alongside it. But now I think I’ll return often.
Nothing routine about my life in Dublin so far, even when I try!
I don’t know much about deer. For those who know and care more than me, here’s a few links. (No, you can’t shoot them, even with a bow.)
- RTE Radio Documentary: partly background, partly about scientists studying their rut in October.
- RTE Photo Gallery: This is a fair representation of what I saw.
- Deer Alliance: Information about three species of deer in Ireland (PDF); also see ENFO’s leaflet in HTML.