Animals of Autumn

This October has been full of life - wildlife. Here are the season's standouts to date:

Snake

My wife and I recently purchased bicycles. We believed that this investment would yield multiple positive results - physical exercise, strengthen our marriage, and give us the ability to pedal away from our children. Maybe one day we will have apparatuses to connect our kids to our bikes, but for now, we want no such appartuses. We want babysitters.

Alas, our first ride in our revived bicycling lives came on the Path of the Flood Trail. On a sunny and comfortable Sunday morning, we were on wheels and headed for the Staple Bend Tunnel. I had run through this old railroad tunnel before. My wife, bless her heart, never went through the tunnel and she forgot to take her sunglasses off. Trailing her, I thought she was just a bit rusty on a bike. Turns out, she was biking blind. It was a world of difference when she realized her error and gained sight.

We ate lunch at a picnic table at the end of the trail. Bending down to reorganize my sling bag for the venture back, I was surprised by a slithery fellow. At approximately 3 feet in length, this motionless reptile eyed me up. With a stick, I gave him a nudge to promote his passage off the trail. The serpent, believed to be a corn snake, went off into the thicket, safe from bicycle tires.

Phil & Smokey

It sounds like a dive bar band, but it is in fact my daughters two favorite participants in the Fort Ligonier Days Parade. The Punxsutwaney groundhog and the bear who tells us, "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires" drew high praise. Phil, a celebrated rodent, did not look that enthused. Smokey the Bear was waving his paws in omnivore glory.

Buzzards

Our 2nd bike ride of October was on the Ghosttown Trail. After about a 12-mile trek, we looked up at a beautiful blue sky. The yellow sun shined bright. And over a dozen buzzards circled the trees near the Dilltown parking lot, patiently waiting for someone or something to go all black. I did not fear death because I still had my helmet on. Take that, vultures. Safety first.

Shark

This Saturday was the Red Cross Vampire 5K and 10K in Richland. The plan was to bring the whole family in costume, but Dad was the only soul to brave the rain and the chill. I was a shark. Before the race I conversed with Flouder from Little Mermaid. Nice guy.  At one point while running,  I was side-by-side with a chipmunk (Simon). Two teenage girls beat me wearing bloody T-shirts. I smelled the blood, but could not catch them. I did not stay for the award ceremony. I finished 1st in the aquatic animals division.

The Lion and the Cobra

In Psalm 91 for this Sunday it is written: "You will tread on the lion and the cobra". YIKES. What does this mean? Was that a cobra I saw on the Path of the Flood Trail?  I am still trying to figure out my bicycle and The Bible - a lot of gears; a lot of words. I am grateful for my faith and my family - that's the combo that keeps my gears going.

Goodnight Johnstown.

Racoons - stay out of our garbage. It's not funny.