NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

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Julie Moffet . Cathy Perkins . Jean Harrington . Daryl Anderson . Nico Rosso . Maureen A Miller . Sandy Parks . Lisa Q Mathews . Sharon Calvin . Lynne Connolly . Janis Patterson . Vanessa Keir . Tonya Kappes . Julie Rowe . Joni M Fisher . Leslie Langtry

Monday, August 13, 2012

To Boldly Go...

Today my kids came home with a snake. Isn't it cute?
Then later in the day my son and I took a walk along a quiet wilderness trail (we're in Vancouver Island for a month with DH's work). It was muddy and dark, the path knotted with roots and fallen trees, full of shadows and cold spots that made the hair on my body stand on end.
I have no idea why a snake doesn't bother me, but an empty trail scares the crap out of me. I took my air-horn, two whistles, the phone (even though we don't get a signal), and picked up a stout stick to bang noisily against things. My son and I chatted loudly about the tracks and markings we saw in the mud (he's looking for a banana slug for some unknown reason) and after ten minutes we got to our destination... which was absolutely beautiful. The whole return trip went without incident.
I guess I'm anal about some stuff like bears, cougars, wolves... :). 

My husband laughs at me but I listen to my instincts. So what if I have to carry a couple of extra things? So what if people mock my over anxious ways? I don't care. I walked down a trail today on the edge of nowhere and made it out alive. To me it is all part of the adventure.

Is anyone else like me or do you all wonder fiercely through life taking no prisoners?

14 comments:

Anne Marie Becker said...

Oh, no, I'm not fierce at all. Must be why all that fierceness comes out in my writing. :) I do have a tendency to keep my cool in emergencies and dangerous situations, but I don't seek them out...

Banana slugs! I remember those. We stayed in that area a couple years ago. Beautiful, and SO MANY banana slugs. The thought of stepping on them still gives me the willies. Yep, I'm not fierce at all. LOL

JB Lynn said...

Beautiful pics, Toni!

You're not alone. A couple weeks ago I set out to take the dog for a long run. We went to a State Park we go to regularly and she absolutely refused to enter. She just refused to budge.

I decided that if my 70 pound mutt was afraid of something in there, I was going to trust her instincts. We went home.

A friend suggested I should have forced/dragged her into the park, but I'll err on the side of the dog's senses/intuition rather than put myself in a potentially dangerous situation.

Elise Warner said...

As a city girl, please somebody tell me--what is a banana slug? I won't find one in the supermarket, will I? I would vote with JB's dog. During a thunder storm, mine always left room under the bed for me. Toni, your photos are lovely--worth facing bears, cougars and ychh...snakes. My most scary meeting was with a large spider in Australia. Would have run but I was helping an elderly lady and I have a wee bit of pride.

Marcelle Dubé said...

Now, you see, I wouldn't have worried about bears or cougars (I *am* from the Yukon, after all), but I would have been concerned about the homicidal maniac waiting to jump out from behind the tree up ahead.

And JB? I am *so* with you. That dog could see/smell/hear things you couldn't. Best to err on the side of caution.

Jean Harrington said...

The phtographs are works of art, Toni. Guess the snake is too in his/her own way. Thanks for sharing. Thoroughly enjoyed your post.

CathyP said...

Oh I'm with JB and Marcelle. We regularly find bear scat (maybe I should put the game camera back up - did I post the pictures of the bear over here?) and the 5 inch cougar prints did raise the hair on my neck.

But I pay attention to the dogs with people. Generally they love everybody so when they don't I pay attention. I question people's motives far more than the animals'.

Elise - a banana slug is about 10 inches long and lovely shades of yellow and brown. My oldest loved tormenting the youngest when we hiked trials that looked an awful lot like Toni's photos.

Toni Anderson said...

Anne Marie--cool and calm in dangerous situations is pretty impressive. I think I might be the opposite but thankfully I haven't been tested in the extreme. Banana slugs are kind of fascinating :)

Toni Anderson said...

JB--I would totally go with the dog's instinct over mine. They are so much more in tune with our surroundings :)

Toni Anderson said...

Elise, I'd have dumped the old lady and run screaming. I hate spiders. Australia has way too many!!! You are very brave in my book :) And I love taking photographs. Getting a good shot is easy here.

Toni Anderson said...

Marcelle--I am also aware of homicidal maniacs, but generally more in built up areas. :) I remember vividly going into a seriously fancy boutique in Monaco b/c some guy gave me the creeps. And you are very brave in general :) Kudos!

Toni Anderson said...

Thanks you, Jean :) I take a lot of pleasure in them. I love snakes though. Always have. Not that I'd tempt a venomous one with a cuddle!

Toni Anderson said...

Cathy--I haven't seen your bear picts. And that's a BIG cougar. Dogs are smart about lots of things. Just not rabbits and wasps (for my Holly:))

Maureen A. Miller said...

I actually kind of like walking through the woods...but now after your post, I'm all paranoid. :) I feel safer stalking through the woods than I would on Fifth Avenue. Of course that sounds like an admirable declaration...until I see a bear.

Wynter said...

I'm not fierce, either. I leave that sort of behavior to my characters, living vicariously through their courage;-)

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