Brushes with Beasts

I have been doing a lot of walking lately. I usually wait until dusk to go out since the temperature is much more comfortable at that time of day than it is in the middle of the afternoon. The mosquitoes have not been too much of a problem yet this summer and the bats that inevitably appear around twilight are not nearly as plentiful here in Michigan as they are in Texas. (Bats are, in my opinion, the absolute creepiest creatures ever! YUK!) I come across the occasional frog in the neighborhood, or maybe the critters are toads - I don't know if I will ever learn the difference. Typically, though, my walks are uneventful. Jim and I did encounter a fox while on a stroll near Adam's apartment in Colorado in May, but evidently foxes are common to the area. I didn't like that at all.

This evening while walking, I had a chance rendezvous with a skunk. I'm not sure if the weaselly varmint is a regular resident of our condo complex, as I have never smelled any skunk aroma around here. What I do know is that I was really surprised when I spotted the animal right out in the open moseying along on a neighbor's lawn. I'm just relieved that, while I was shocked to see it, I apparently did not frighten or agitate the skunk at all because, happily, I am odor-free. I will have to ask Norm what types of wildlife he comes across while out on his nightly treks, as he walks more than anyone I know. Ever since 2006 he has gone for a walk almost every single day. I'll bet he has some interesting stories about confrontations with animals.