Our predawn walk today was almost like a trip to the zoo. Lions and tigers and bears oh my. Well not quite lions and tigers and bears, but plenty of other wild animals crossed our path this morning. I almost felt like Marlin Perkins.
No sooner than we started off up the hill from the house did we run across a small herd of deer mingling in the neighbor’s yard. Orso lunged forward with an extremely loud woof, startling the deer causing them to bolt and run up over the hill beyond us. After I put my shoulder back in the socket we resumed our walk. I had my fingers crossed inside my mittens that we were now going to be animal free. Not so. You would think that I would be used to being wrong all the time.
As we topped the hill and started down there was a very large opossum sauntering across the road without a care in the world. Stupid opossum. Both dogs charged down the hill toward the opossum with a five foot one and a half inch boat anchor in tow, me. It took about fifteen steps before I could regain control and halt the charge, because now the opossum has seen the charging dogs and decided to play possum and faint. Really stupid animal. Just what I need, an unconscious wild animal, two dogs ready to eat the unconscious wild animal and with my luck the wild animal would wake up and decide to fight back. With much tugging and pulling and a few choice words spoken softly so as not to rouse the sleeping opossum and the neighbors, I finally pulled them past the critter and moved on.
We ran across no more animals on the way to the dam so I was becoming hopeful we would not see anything else. Well almost right this time, but not quite. At the dam, to the left of us was the lake and to the right is a park area complete with a shelter house, picnic table and grill. Below the dam is a nice greenway that we take the dogs to and let them run and work off pent up energy. Well this morning at the base of one of the two large Sycamore trees was a large raccoon hugging the base of the tree frozen and making no movement just watching us very alertly. Luckily for me the wind was blowing across us from the left to the right, masking the raccoon’s scent. The dogs had no idea that fifteen feet from us this raccoon was waiting and watching, ready to scurry up the tree if the need should arise. As we walked past, I turned back and saw the raccoon walk across the road to the lake and disappear in the dark.
Maybe I need to make a standing appointment with my chiropractor.
A woman's view of hunting...with men 
A pre dawn walk you say – more like an obstacle course during peak hour animal traffic.
Your last post spoke of a spooky thing hiding in the dark.
I worry for you, Susan. I think it would be safer if you took a hike in a war zone.
It certainly feels like an obstacle course at times. We’ve heard bobcat cries and have seen foxes, coyotes and once we even walked up on a mountain lion. The dogs and I just stood very still and watched as it paused looked up the hill at us and casually strolled off into the darkness and disappeared. But the two legged variety are the ones I worry about the most. The four legged ones will almost always try to avoid us. The dogs’ reactions make for interesting reading and more likely to cause me to end up in the emergency room.
Thank you for worrying, I need someone to worry for me. It helps take some of the burden off of Mitch, I think I have caused him to go gray.