A walk in the woods

Wednesday was a lovely fall day. The air was crisp and clear. The perfect day for a walk in the woods. Ethan and I drove a mile down the road to Long Hill. I strapped him into his hiking backpack loaded him onto my back and off we went for a 1.5 mile hike in the woods. It was just lovely until we came upon a dreaded legless creepy creature as long as my arm. UGH! I don't just dislike snakes, I have a phobia of them. Usually when I see a snake on a hike, I scream bloody murder and run down the path as fast as I can. Something that one shouldn't do with a 7 month old strapped to your back. So I just stood and muttered swears under my breath while trying to get my heart to slow to a normal rhythm. The snake was just lying coiled up sunning itself on the dry leaves about a foot from the path. I considered turning around, but I was already more than half way done. I considered walking on the path right next to the snake. Too risky, what if he lunged at my ankle! I looked to the left of the path where there was a rotten log that I could walk across. What if there were snakes hidden on the log? Where there is one there is bound to be more. Finally, I decided to walk across the log. I made it passed the snake and walked briskly off while trying very hard not to look at the ground for any more snakes.

Other than the snake, it was a lovely hike, and despite the snake, I'll probably go again. I might start walking with a bell to warn off any creepy reptiles of my approach. It is times like that that I wish I had a dog. You never see a snake when hiking with a noisy mutt.