Swift Fish Net

I frequently run on the Rock Creek trail in Maryland for training. This morning was no exception on yet another warm and humid summer AM. This morning I passed another pedestrian going in the opposite direction when he said,

“There’s a deer right there!”

Sure enough, a few steps later, there was indeed a deer to be seen. In fact, there was more than one along with at least one fawn. Now, anyone who has traveled even a few times along the Rock Creek trail or probably almost any other outdoor area would probably wonder why I am bothering to write about this, because the fact is that it is not at all unusual to see deer along the trail. Actually, it would be far more unlikely to not see at least one deer on any given day. I suppose I partly find it strange that anyone would bother mentioning something so commonly seen in the area. I could understand maybe mentioning a beaver, fox, or even a blue heron as those are more rarely seen (perhaps just a couple of the first two and around 10 herons per year). I also wondered for maybe an instant if it was a warning in case the deer got spooked and charged right at me. Anyone who ran the Riley’s Rumble half marathon a couple of years ago would know that deer can be quite dangerous to runners in a collision, but I somehow doubt that is what was meant by the comment. I can’t help but wonder if the guy just doesn’t get outside much! If nothing else, it kept me entertained a while with wondering why he mentioned it. That’s always useful, especially when my running is dragging as it was this morning.