So I started walking every morning...picked up the CRUMB which is the Bread Loaf daily paper. I'm in the middle of a meadow on the edge of the woods when I read this sentence:
DO NOT PET THE BABY BEARS OR BABY MOOSE AS THEIR MOTHERS WILL PROBABLY (MOST LIKELY) WITH CERTAINTY ATTACK YOU.
Well it may have been worded not quite so strongly but that's what I thought I read.
I took off running back to the campus. Then I screeched to a stop.
Don't bears take running away as a sign of weakness? I started to tip toe away.
Then I heard a sound.
A moose sound.
Well a bird really, but it could have been a moose.
I decided to jog really REALLY fast.
When I reached safety I mentioned my fears to hardy and forest-smart Vermonters.
"Pooh!" they said. "We've not seen any bear or moose around here."
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"But you have to be on the look out for ticks," they said."Those pests will get into anything."
"TICKS???!!!" My voice got all squeaky and I started peeling up my pants leg and examining anything that looked tick-like.
It was hard as I haven't ever seen a tick. Most of what I picked off myself was fluff balls from my black socks. One can't be too careful...
I don't walk in the woods in the mornings anymore. Instead I'm walking along highway 125.
Large diesel spewing trucks I can handle.
Ticks I can't.
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2 comments:
When running from a grizzly bear, run downhill -- supposedly, the bear will overbalance, giving you a better chance of escape. I don't know about other kinds of bears. Or moose. Or ticks. I'm pretty sure running downhill away from ticks won't work, though.
Best of luck,
Your back-woods buddy,
Zoroaster's Dog
I can empathise, I feel like I want to rap wrists back down when nice old ladies' come up and pet my baby's head or toddlers' cheeks without asking.
If You Give a Moose a Muffin Laura Numeroff knows what happens.
Great to read about your inspiring exploits once more! Hope the wrist is fully on the mend.
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