Today’s Run:  5.50 miles

It was a warm one this morning.  We ran at 6:00 am to beat the heat.  It was already 72 F. and 86% humidity.  It was a lovely, albeit muggy morning for a run.

We encountered our first rattlesnake while on a run this morning.  It was just a baby and it was deceased. That is fortunate for us because we did not notice it until my husband literally jumped over it.  “Augh!  Snake!!!”, he yelled. I stopped dead in my tracks.  “Where!?!”.  I had to go look.  Had to.  Poor little thing.  That made us be a little more aware of our surroundings for the remainder of the run.

We ran the Schaeffer’s Chapel route again.  That really is my most favorite route!  We have talked about it many times.  There is one thing about this route that I have not told you~there is a dragon that lives on the side of the road next to the plank bridge.

As you enter Schaeffer’s Chapel Road, off to the left is the remnants of an old tree.  It is kinda shaped like a dragon.  I apparently am not the only one who sees this resemblance because somebody has turned that old stump into a real dragon.  Real in the relative sense of the word.

This remnant is between 7′-8′ high.  This is a good sized dragon we are talking about!  Besides, who ever heard of a little dragon!?!  Somebody put spikes on it’s back, spots on it’s body and teeth where it’s mouth would be.  At Easter time, they put a bonnet on it and eggs around the base.

Since they have put a gate on Schaeffer’s Chapel Road (they have built a new road), our poor dragon has not been as well maintained.  The grass surrounding it is quite high and it looks lonely.  The dragon always welcomes us as we enter the gate and bids us a fond farewell as we close the gate on our way home.  I hope they never take it away.  It would be missed!