You know I had almost completely forgot,... that we have deer running around in the woods here.

These furry little woodland creatures sometimes appear right at the side of the road in the wee hours of the morning. It is at this time of the morning that I sometimes like to take my rides. And, wouldn't you know, I spotted one of them by the side of the road this morning. As the bike approached though, it darted into the woods.

Shy I guess. Anyway, I continue on with my ride, flicking in and out of the corners merrily on my way. There had been a terrible lightning storm here the night before and the road had some debris in it, not too much. I passed a serviceman clearing away what appeared to be a tree that had been struck down by lightning that was blocking the road.

While rounding one of the many blind corners on my route, I spotted something dark and sinister stretched across the approaching roadway. From afar it looked mostly like a dark patch of freshly poured tar, but as I drew closer the silhouette became more and more ominous. It wasn't until I was almost upon the beast that I fully realized what threatened to block my path.

This is what happens when you go out real early into the woods around here. The sleeping giant, sprawled across the road was no less than 12 feet long. I rode past the gator quickly, intending to just dismiss the occurrence and continue on. But then I realized, that wouldn't be fair to those that are stuck at home. They need pictures, and so do I.

So I made a quick U-turn and parked the bike at the side of the road and went back to snap some pics. These animals are so strange. Staring at it intently there was no way I could tell if it was dead or alive. The sides of it's belly weren't moving. It's eyes weren't open. However it was definitely big. That I could tell. I wanted to get closer to get a really good shot with my camera, but the cows in the field right next to me (and the gator) were mooing so desperately, cautioning me not to step any closer. I decided to heed their warning, because if this monster was alive, it most certainly could travel several feet in my direction in a split second. The next person to then round that corner would have a very interesting sight to behold indeed.

Alright, so I packed it up, got back on my bike and hightailed it outta there.

The remainder of the ride was pretty sweet. On the way back home nearing the same spot where I had seen the gator not too long ago, there appeared to be quite a commotion taking place in the streets. The first thought that came to me was that the people from the community, or a service worker, had come across the "dead" alligator, and were transporting it to the side of the road (or somwhere else). When I got up to the crowd of cars and people standing on the side of the road I asked what was taking place that was of such interest. A woman in the crowd replied "A alligator just ran off into the woods".

Wow.

It was alive. Good thing I listened to those cows.