Oh, Deer!

This is why one should always carry a cheap digital camera on a morning x-country run...(and don't forget the knife).

I ran across this feral family early in my run. I didn't seem to scare'em much. Rosco, though, is another story, he thought he'd found a few new play pals. I counted two sows and seven little piglets. This is a partial shot of their wide turn after spotting me.

Here's a close(r)-up shot of one of the sows.

A good thing to know...boar hogs have a tendency to lag behind. They're protective, aggressive and stealthy. They're fast. They stink. They have huge knarly yellow tusks. I didn't get a picture of the huge beast because I've yet to master the run, point and shoot trifecta. But, along with my BFF, I did master the Spontaneous Sustained Fartlek™ (patent pending).

Aside...counting the boar there were ten piggies. Coincidence? I think not.


The not so boaring detour did allow me to cross paths with this friendly Vaquero. We've been playing "cat and mouse" for several weeks.

This particular foggy early morning run allowed me to ponder a few simple questions, such as:

• When an unplanned x-country route leads me into a wide-open, brushy low-lying area in the middle of deer season, and I'm surrounded by hills, atop each is perched a fifteen foot deer stand, have I made a wrong turn?

• Should I really be wearing only black shorts and Five Fingers against tanned skin with a white cap when white-tailed deer are a popular prey?
• Did my sudden realization followed by bulging eyeballs give me a "'you know what' in the headlights" look?
  
• Is there such a thing as Spontaneous Serpentining Sustained Fartleks?

Dear Santa,
Please add a pair of Hunter Orange Moebens to my wish list. Thanks in advance.
Sincerely,
Brent