A Funny Story

More content will be coming to this blog, more regularly, in October, but I wanted to share a humorous experience from our last bioblitz at Ute Valley Park in Colorado Springs. It was Saturday morning, September 16, and I'd already been up earlier than I usually am, so I will blame my assumptions on being a little tired.

I happened to spot an interesting syrphid fly, Ferdinandea sp., right in the middle of the trail. The park gets a lot of foot and mountain bike traffic, so I hurried to take pictures. My camera was not focusing well on this mostly overcast day, so I maneuvered to the side of the trail and kept trying....

Sure enough, I heard a trail runner pounding down the trail, and then stopping abruptly. I thought that was quite considerate and polite, but I hurried even faster to get a respectable image. I said "thank you for stopping" to the obliging jogger, but there was no reply. I finished shooting, and turned to continue on the trail. When I looked up, this was the "trail runner."

Naturally, when I related this story to others back at base camp, everyone had to offer their own punchlines. "But what did the buck say?" in reference to the song "The Fox" (What Does the Fox Say? "No, the buck stopped there," punned another individual. Yeah, yeah, hilarious.

I do not intend to be quite so assuming in the future, lest the next trail runner be a bobcat, mountain lion, coyote, or bear. Even our urban neighborhoods here can be dangerous to those who are not aware of their surroundings. Happy trails, folks.