Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
As you may or may not know, I used to live in a city that was the definition of suburbia. My city was about twenty miles outside Chicago, had a population of about 60,000 people, and you couldn’t really tell where one suburb ended and the next one started. Houses were being built everywhere, and you could pretty much get to anything in no more than fifteen minutes. In May, I moved to a small town about twenty-five miles outside Philadelphia…and it couldn’t be more different than where I moved from in Chicago. My town has about 4,000 people in it (5,600 during the school year when the local college kids show up!), and we have trees and open land everywhere. We also have many, many more wild animals.
Now, when I say “wild animals,” you may conjure up thoughts of lions and cougars and such, but to me, a “wild animal” is anything that isn’t a dog, cat, duck, or squirrel. (I know, I lived a sheltered life.) Anyway, I see many animals on my runs that include but are not limited to:
- Squirrels. Of course, they’re everywhere!
- Deer. I’m still not sure whether deer attack people or not, but I never know whether to stop and attempt to slide past them or to run with all my might.
- Horses. They were actually wandering in an open field one day. I had to do a double take, and let it be known that I am terrified of horses, so I did sprint past them.
- Snakes aka “sticks that move” because they look like sticks…and then they slither away! I hate hate hate snakes, mostly because of the slither factor. So gross.
- Turtles! Okay, I’ve only seen one turtle and my first spotting was last week, but on the canal path in Princeton, we once counted about thirty turtles in one spot.
- The Amish. Okay, not wild animals, but it does demonstrate how I live in a much more rural area than before. The Rocket Scientist says that they were probably Mennonites…but still.
At least I haven’t actually run into anything that could hurt me…although I’m still not sure about the deer, which I spotted on my run today. Five easy miles in a misty rain. No one else was out on the trail…I guess the runners and bikers around here are fair weather athletes! Oh well. The Rocket Scientist usually makes a friend on the trail when he does his long runs here. This week, he met a guy who ran the Delaware Marathon (same one he did!) this year, and they ran together for a few miles. Either I’m much more shy or I just don’t find anyone to run with! It probably doesn’t help that I run at weird times…
Tuesday, October 27
5.15 miles in 41:20, avg pace of 8:02
Garmin got a bit wonky in the rain. When it does that, I’m not sure whether to believe the Garmin numbers or the Sport Tracks numbers. I more or less know where the mile markers are, and Sport Tracks is more accurate according to those…but I could be wrong!
I miss seeing wildlife on my runs. Now I just see a squirrel now and then.
I grew up in a very small town (I looked for pictures online, but they didn’t have any, and then I just looked for ’small town South Dakota’ pictures, but they all had water towers, or stop lights, or other ‘big city’ items, so I gave up), and can tell you that unless you threaten the deer, they will just leave you alone. They aren’t really interested in you at all, unless you have either food OR a gun, so you are probably safe. (PS – this: http://scenicdakotas.com/southdakota/kaylor/downtown.jpg is kind of like where I grew up, but we had a PAVED main street. We were fancy with our one paved road!)
I think the coolest animal I see on my runs is a dog. LOL.
Haha, I died when you wrote Amish on your list. Though I am not easily spooked by snakes, I was when I saw a HUGE black one on the canal path! And there’s always SO many turtles in the canal! I went canoeing on it once and one of my friends actually was able to grab a baby one! Watch out for the deer too, I don’t think they’ll attack, but they are pretty reckless, they’ll totally run right into your car! Either way, I also tense up when I run near them.
Oh but come to Minneapolis my dear – the squirrels… woadang!
And that’s a “woadang” as in craziest squirrels you will ever meet. Or run over in your car. Or on your tri bike. =/
I’ve seen a couple deer on my runs at home in PA too, but they’ve never really done anything other than look at me. Unless you’re threatening to attack a baby, I think you’ll be OK!
Those are good wild animals. Bad wild animals not found in the suburb where I grew up, but which are now found where I live are: skunks and raccoons. Skunks are just bad news — they smell bad, they are fearless and the downside is enormous. Raccoons — while admittedly cute in cartoons or from a distance — are dirty, dangerous and scary in real life. And both are everywhere. (Not to mention rats, but hey, they really aren’t wild animals in New York — they are just part of life.)
haha – “probably doesn’t help that I run weird”…I think it’s ’cause you’re speedy!!
Also, The Amish thing cracked me Up. Not animals, no. But definitely not an every-day site if you’re not in Pennsylvania!!