Sptember 7, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Hiking.

No one really likes to come upon a black snake basking in the sun, stretched out right across the trail. Ken was in front, and stopped to tell me what was ahead. We both watched him sleeping in the sun, totally oblivious to us. The only problem was he was in our path. The snake was about four feet long, but kind of skinny. Now black snakes are good snakes, in that they have no poison, also they eat rodents, so having a black snake around is a good thing, because they keep down the population of mice and rats. On the other hand, black snakes have teeth, and if cornered or threatened, they will bite. We gave him wide birth to get by. No response from the snake after a poke from a stick. Next, Ken threw a couple of stones at his tail, so he slowly moved toward the bushes. Ken walked by while he was looking away. Then he turned and coiled up tight, raised his head up high, and looked at me with his tongue flicking my way. He wanted me gone. A few more stones encouraged him to retreat into the bushes, so I was able to skitter by and continue on our hike. He was a pretty sight, all stretched out sunning himself on the trail.

In times past, Ken and I have gone hiking, exploring new trails every Sunday morning. Now we mostly hike on our own property, until now. We have decided to hike the trails in Buchanan State Forests. Ken found our old map, so after breakfast we drove along old roads to find a trail. Ken specifically mentioned that he did not want to go on the trail we took with Carol six years ago, because the trail goes straight up the side of a mountain, and we both recalled the trail well. Ken wanted to try some hills, but not too steep and not too long. We chose Smith Trail. On the map it appeared to be trail that went across, rather than up and down. We started along Smith Trail, but it was too short, so wouldn't you know, we ended on Ragged Mountain Trail, the same one as before. It took us a few minuted to realize what we had done, but we just laughed and made many stops to catch our breath on our way up to the top. The good thing is we will begin to hike all those trails, every Sunday morning. And we both did very well indeed, so we were pleased with our efforts.