skittermagoo!

Dreams

This morning (right before the alarm went off) I had a dream that I overslept . . . agh! I hate it when that happens!

I also had a dream that Miss NanC and I went to a bagel place and in front of us in line was someone I went to school with from 1st grade all the way through high school. I recognized them, but they didn't recognize me.

More outdoor adventures

No, I didn't fall in a stream this time, thank goodness!

The weather here is finally starting to turn cooler (by cooler, I mean 80s during the day instead of 90s), and the call of the local hiking trails is getting louder and louder by the day . . . this weekend Hub and I decided to try a new venue, and went to some trails near a local lake.

Finding the trailhead was easier said than done (the map we were following left a bit to be desired), but after a couple wrong turns, we found the parking area, which was near an old bridge which of course is reputed to be haunted (aren't all old bridges?)

old Alton bridge

It was a gorgeous early Fall morning, and while not chilly by any means, the weather was really pleasant. The trail, which is rated for both hikers and horses, is wide, and not very hilly at all. It started out in a grassy meadow-y area before passing into more of an upland forest type of terrain.

We saw some weird plants . . . two different ones had fruit or flowers that looked like paper lanterns.

And we saw some pretty flowers (y'all know I'm a sucker for pretty flowers) . . .

We also saw a TON of poison ivy (I didn't think that warranted a photo), and lots of cool fungi growing on rotting logs, and some coyote tracks.

About a mile and a half in, I was lagging behind a bit looking at some pretty rocks, and I noticed that Hub was slowly walking backwards toward me . . . turns out he had almost stepped on this:

A copperhead!!

It was sunning itself in the middle of the trail, and didn't even move when Hub came up on it . . . we estimated it to be about 2.5 feet long. After I snapped the picture, it decided we didn't look tasty, and slithered off into the woods, so we kept going . . . and about ten paces later we saw another one! It was right about then that we realized that not only did we not have a snake bite kit with us, but we didn't even have a general first aid kit (stupid, I know), so we turned around and headed back the way we came, pausing only to let a third copperhead have right-of-way crossing the trail.

I don't mind snakes at all, really -- spiders are another story -- but I think we will definitely be carrying a snake bite kit in the future! I know that most snakes are more scared of us than we are of them, but this series of close encounters makes me think that it's better safe than sorry . . .

October!!

It's the first day of my favorite month, and also the first day of my new job! Whee!

I'm not looking forward to spending the entire day today in orientation, but I'm soooo excited about meeting all my new coworkers! (I only met three during my interview).

EEE!