Last week I went for a 15-mile hike in Thonotosassa, FL, and, I’ve gotta say, the scenery looked kinda like it always does. Green with palms. Well, there was a bunch of leaf litter from oaks which were looking a little lean from dropping leaves but that was the only difference from the usual.

The high was 82*F on the day I went. I crossed paths with plenty of cyclists and other hikers. Saw seemingly endless rolling mounds of disturbed dirt where boars turned soil like bulldozers overnight (they’re an invasive species; their nightly activity is detrimental to life in the forest) and found ample signage warning of venomous snakes, but saw neither animal.

I did, however, accidentally sneak up on two separate deer on two separate occasions. We were both so stealthy that the deer and I were suddenly staring at each other for a the briefest of moments before the deer fled in graceful, powerful leaps and I laughed out loud at the mini heart attack I was having.

Good times.

Going through my pictures, I found this one weird blurred image (below). I like it cuz it has a creepy scifi vibe to it. A Velociraptor chasing a sprinting hiker wouldn’t be out of place in it.