Kelley (Texas)
New member
While sitting out on the patio this morning, enjoying a cup of coffee, I observed the mean spirited old fat azz squirrel that lives in the oak tree in our back yard fussing at me because I had forgotten to fill the bird bath with water. He did not shut up until I reluctantly got up and filled the bird bath with water...tried to sic the dog on that squirrel first, but the dog is too lazy to do much of anything other than eat and sleep.
As I was holding that squirrel at bay and filling the bird bath, I started reflecting back to the close encounters that I have had while riding the bike on the back roads of South Texas. It seems like when I ride that bike, things happen, sometimes bad things. Yesterday while riding up near Canyon Lake on some back road that I do not even know the name of, I observed the car two cars ahead of me hit what I thought was a small black dog. I saw the animal run into the tall grass and weeds just off the shoulder of the road. I was thinking that was someone's pet that had been hit by that car and I decided to pull over to see if it was OK. I walked through the grass and weeds, could not see it anywhere. Finally, I saw the weeds move, there it was about five feet away from me...I was in deep trouble, it was not a small dog, it was a skunk that was raising it's tail to spray me. Needless to say, I flew out of there in seconds. I do not know why the skunk did not spray me because he had me dead to rights, easy target.
I think that what I fear the most is snakes laying in the road or crossing the road in front of me. I am of the opinion that if I ran over one with the motorcycle, it would reach up and bite me, possibly taking a chunk of my flesh for a meal or something. Snakes are bad news to me, nothing good ever comes of being around a snake. One time while riding the bike, I saw a large snake laying in the road. It looked like it was dead, but then again I was of the opinion that it might be a trap or something. I stopped the bike and watched it for a few minutes and it did not move or do anything. I dismounted from the bike and threw a couple of rocks at it...big mistake! That snake was not dead and I guess I pizzed it off because it came alive and headed in my direction. I ran back about ten feet and what happened next was the beginning of a nightmare...that snake stopped by my bike. I could not throw a rock at it for risk of hitting the bike and I was not going to venture back in the weeds looking for a stick. I decided to just wait the snake out, hoping that he would just move on with his life somewhere else. After a few minutes, an old farmer and his wife stopped to see if I needed any help...after they saw the snake by the bike, they left. I could hear them laughing as they pulled away in their old pickup truck and this just added fuel to the fire. I had to wait another thirty minutes before that snake finally left and crawled across the road. I did not hang around and got out of that area as fast as I could.
Several times I have had deer run across the road in front of me. These deer just appear out of no where, no warning, and it is not a good feeling trying to keep from hitting them. A few weeks ago, I must have missed the deer by just a few feet. I never saw the deer until it was almost too late. What I have noticed is that most of the time when I encounter them, it is just before dusk. I have also made note that there is usually more than one, and they can be several hundred feet apart. Deer are nice to look at, but not on the roadways.
Other animals that I have encountered were turtles, raccoons, squirrels, a feral hog with babies, and once in a while a coyote will cross the road in front of you. Speaking about raccoons, a few weeks ago, over near Center Point, Texas, I saw a beautiful large raccoon that I would have loved to have had as a pet...perfect markings, just a beautiful animal.
I need to get my butt in gear and get the grass cut so that I can go for a ride this afternoon...always feels great to get away from this city and out on the open back roads. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
As I was holding that squirrel at bay and filling the bird bath, I started reflecting back to the close encounters that I have had while riding the bike on the back roads of South Texas. It seems like when I ride that bike, things happen, sometimes bad things. Yesterday while riding up near Canyon Lake on some back road that I do not even know the name of, I observed the car two cars ahead of me hit what I thought was a small black dog. I saw the animal run into the tall grass and weeds just off the shoulder of the road. I was thinking that was someone's pet that had been hit by that car and I decided to pull over to see if it was OK. I walked through the grass and weeds, could not see it anywhere. Finally, I saw the weeds move, there it was about five feet away from me...I was in deep trouble, it was not a small dog, it was a skunk that was raising it's tail to spray me. Needless to say, I flew out of there in seconds. I do not know why the skunk did not spray me because he had me dead to rights, easy target.
I think that what I fear the most is snakes laying in the road or crossing the road in front of me. I am of the opinion that if I ran over one with the motorcycle, it would reach up and bite me, possibly taking a chunk of my flesh for a meal or something. Snakes are bad news to me, nothing good ever comes of being around a snake. One time while riding the bike, I saw a large snake laying in the road. It looked like it was dead, but then again I was of the opinion that it might be a trap or something. I stopped the bike and watched it for a few minutes and it did not move or do anything. I dismounted from the bike and threw a couple of rocks at it...big mistake! That snake was not dead and I guess I pizzed it off because it came alive and headed in my direction. I ran back about ten feet and what happened next was the beginning of a nightmare...that snake stopped by my bike. I could not throw a rock at it for risk of hitting the bike and I was not going to venture back in the weeds looking for a stick. I decided to just wait the snake out, hoping that he would just move on with his life somewhere else. After a few minutes, an old farmer and his wife stopped to see if I needed any help...after they saw the snake by the bike, they left. I could hear them laughing as they pulled away in their old pickup truck and this just added fuel to the fire. I had to wait another thirty minutes before that snake finally left and crawled across the road. I did not hang around and got out of that area as fast as I could.
Several times I have had deer run across the road in front of me. These deer just appear out of no where, no warning, and it is not a good feeling trying to keep from hitting them. A few weeks ago, I must have missed the deer by just a few feet. I never saw the deer until it was almost too late. What I have noticed is that most of the time when I encounter them, it is just before dusk. I have also made note that there is usually more than one, and they can be several hundred feet apart. Deer are nice to look at, but not on the roadways.
Other animals that I have encountered were turtles, raccoons, squirrels, a feral hog with babies, and once in a while a coyote will cross the road in front of you. Speaking about raccoons, a few weeks ago, over near Center Point, Texas, I saw a beautiful large raccoon that I would have loved to have had as a pet...perfect markings, just a beautiful animal.
I need to get my butt in gear and get the grass cut so that I can go for a ride this afternoon...always feels great to get away from this city and out on the open back roads. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
