The Rare and Seldom Seen . . .
In my frequent running experiences at Eagle Creek Park, I have seen lots of wildlife — deer, coyote, owls, woodpeckers, turtles (I actually rescued a turtle once), as well as more common birds and woodland creatures. But recently I ran into, or probably more appropriately I should say, ran over a new species.
It happened a while back when I was running with Jeremy and Matt. They were feeling uncharacteristically gentlemanly that day and were letting me run on the inside so that if a car came whizzing by it would pick them off first. As we approached the first mile marker, I noticed an obstruction in the road directly in front of me. I assumed it was a souvenier left by a dog who had happened by there earlier. The only problem was that as I came right up to it, the pile of poo moved. I did what any normal red-blooded woman would do and I screamed. This, of course, freaked out my running partners. As well as another pair of runners about a quarter mile behind us. (I’m a loud screamer.)
Now, let me just say that I’m not really afraid of snakes. I actually find them interesting and even charming at times. However when you think something is a pile of poo and it turns out to be a snake, it can be a bit startling. Once I calmed down, we all moved in on the snake to get a better look. It was still coiled up, but apparently we encroached a little too much on it’s personal space because it hissed and struck at us like it was a much bigger, much fiercer snake. Because we wanted it to feel good about itself, we pretended to be intimated by it and went along on our morning jog.
I’ve not seen another snake like it in my many visits to the park since that morning. It probably has a scientific name, but to us it will always be The Rare and Seldom Seen Poo Snake.
