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June 14, 2006
Snakes and Burning Wagons
This morning Andy had to be at work at 7:00 AM, which meant that unless we got out for a run at 5:30, he'd not be able to come along. Unfortunately he also didn't want to wake me this morning, so at 6:30 he was out the door on the way to work.
I pondered waiting until tonight before going for a run, but knowing that my current state of mind is lazy, I decided to get out there!
Now, just about everyone knows that the Cloud Trail is one of my favourite places to run. It has a large flat section, but there are a few hills on it that I can run when the mood strikes me. This morning however, the CT obviously felt like it needed to scare me witless.
A few months ago an asphalt plant was built alongside the trail where the quarry is. There was a lot of fuss from people in our village as it would cause some noise (I haven't heard any since it was built), and the quality of air would go down (I read the pamplet). This morning as I was under the trees, I smelled something. I assumed it was the asphalt plant, as they start work at around 6. Obviously the smell didn't bother me enough, because I carried on running.
At the end of the first part, just before you have to make a turn onto a bridge, I noticed something smouldering... someone had slipped a trailer down the path, and in the middle of my lovely trail sat a burning trailer! Well smouldering... it had obviously burnt down in the early hours of this morning. What upset me though was that it was slipped down a part that couldn't have been an accident. And if it hadn't hit a pole that didn't budge, it would've been in the middle of a load of trees! Seriously... did they want to burn down all the trees around the village?
Enough of that. I carried on jogging and then turned back. On the way back I was starting to wonder about the trailer. Then I saw something that made my mind go numb and my watch beep frantically to tell me that my heartrate was going above the limit I set. I stopped dead in my tracks and froze. A few feet in front of me a snake was having a lovely slither between the trees.
After what felt like a lifetime, the snake slithered into the grass and between the trees again. It took me a few more minutes to unfreeze and stop the bleeping watch. I couldn't get my legs to move properly. I managed to start running with my jelly legs after a few steps and then the adrenalin reached my muscles and I probably ran faster home than I have in years!
Now I'll have my tea, take my shower and go to work. I have never been so scared.
Posted by karinm at June 14, 2006 6:39 AM
Comments
okay...that's just freaky. it's like the beginning of some strange western. snakes always startle me at first, but i'm so used to seeing them on the trails around here now that the hr is back to normal quickly.
you don't have any poisonous snakes in england, do you?
Posted by: jeff at June 15, 2006 1:47 PM