Goundhogs Day

There are many reasons I am enjoying my new found nomadic lifestyle, but the one that sums it up best seems rather cliche, on the surface that is. "I love meeting new people and experiencing new areas of the country, every place I've been has something unique and special to see". This is the standard third or fourth sentence in the conversation that starts with the question "so what do you do?" I rented a bike today, there is a wonderful bike trail running from Butler to Mansfield, 18 miles paved and flat...smooth sailing no sweat. Famous last words, just past the half way point a suicidal rodent ran in front of my bike. For the California readership, rodent does not denote small! Rodent in this case is at least raccoon size, round, fat and fast! Groundhogs as I have come to learn never have traversed the Rockies. I learned from a patient earlier this spring that although these vermin are generally a nuisance the young ones are good eating, great for target practice and the meat is greasy like duck. Sometimes it is hard to keep a straight face, sometimes I find myself wishing I had not asked, sometimes I revel in the useless information. I swerved and both the groundhog and I lived to tell the tale. Later on the last mile of the 13 I received a phone call, pushing the boundaries of my coordination I switched off my music to answer it. Mom and I were catching up when my path intersected that of a grey corn snake. Gotta love cell phones ...Mom couldn't figure out why I was screaming and why I was talking about cornflakes. Only maybe two feet long he was skinny and slithery, I may not be writing this if I had the encounter while on foot. The hibeejibees subsided and the communication break down was mended and I returned the bike. The owner of the shop asked me about the ride and I replied, "Well it was eventful I met a groundhog and a snake ...I don't know which was worse really". "The groundhog, I suppose" he said smiling. "I don't know I said they both surprised me, but while the groundhog only elicited a brief expletive, the snake resulted in shrieking" . His smile morphed into the condescending you silly girl look. I paid for the rental as I left the shop, I added another microadventure to the ever growing list of unique and special things to see.