Snake Season

My neighbor and I went running in the park today.  She has this fear of snakes and for the most part, being in the park isn't an issue, even though there may be snakes around.   The chance of running into one is relatively small and perhaps she just puts it out of her mind as we head down the trail.

Today, we passed a man who was stopped on the side of the trail.   He started running shortly afterwards and caught up to us.   He said, "be careful, there are a lot of snakes out today."   This was not what we needed to hear.   We ran on and I told my neighbor we'd be on the lookout for any snakes.

A short time later, my husband caught up with us on his bicycle.   He said hello and told us to watch out for snakes too.   He was joking, but now two reminders of snakes had us on high alert.   And by high alert, I mean we were telling stories and every now and again remembered we were supposed to be looking for snakes.  

As we turned around to head back, I noticed a coiled up, well-dead snake on its back, being eaten by many insects.     I neglected to say anything to my neighbor about it as we ran past.    Other than that, we had a nice run in the park in eighty-five degree weather, despite it being, "snake season"as we keep hearing.

The Big Boy Update:  The children went to a children's museum today with Nana and Papa.   My son was quite, "the cooker" while there.  He went shopping, bought fifty-six dollars of groceries, went to the kitchen and made Nana and Papa many dishes to eat with the plastic food items he bought.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter was finished eating her dinner tonight and sad multiple times, "doesn't anyone want to come upstairs and play with me?"  She had had a busy and tiring day, but she still wanted to spend time with one of her grandparents, playing, before they headed home.

The Big Boy Update:  We ran ten miles today.  I am exhausted.   I lost a lot of water weight and am still trying to recover.   I forgot how challenging running in heat can be.