I went for a bike ride this evening in Georgetown. I had meant to go to the pond at Constitution Garden to visit some water fowl, but instead decided at the last minute to see what the Potomac River and C&O Canal had to offer.

They are several years into construction on some of the locks closer to the mouth of the canal, which means that several miles of the canal upstream from downtown Georgetown have been allowed to grow fenny. I knew they’d become overgrown, but hadn’t understood exactly how solid the ground now was until I saw deer walking in the canal itself.

First I saw this young buck on the far side:

I had a hard time getting the camera to focus on how very velvety his horns looked.

Maybe half a mile down the towpath, I spotted a doe’s head poking up from below the bank on my side of the canal. I hopped off my bike and walked back, speaking quietly to her, because clearly she’d seen and heard me already.

While she kept an eye on me, she just seemed more wary than worried. In fact, she started walking even closer. (These shots are not zoomed in at all.)

Sometimes, you just have to scratch that itch on your head, no matter who’s watching, right?

After that, I headed home. No duckling sightings today, but up-close deer are just as good.