running this week with critters

monday. i went for a run with chuck. we did 4 or so miles going through a neighborhood. just as we passed a house three deer ran across the area we just cleared. it was kinda cool/scary. the hooves on the pavement sounded so different i was nervous, wondering what was following us. end that day on a good note.
tuesday. chuck, lesa, and i went for a 5 miler. we started out doing really well and headed for a hill. they are faster than i am so i wondered why they were backing down from the top of the hill. i looked at what they were looking at and saw the top of a yellowish furred body, walking along the front of a garage door. chuck said it was a mountain lion and decided she wouldn't run that area alone again. ;) (and she was so worried about a mountain lion getting her while running ragnar....nope, just in her own backyard) we finished our run without any other "critter" encounters. end that day on a flat note.
thursday. i went running with lesa for an easy 3 miler. on my way to lesa's house to run, i almost ran over a raccoon. almost. i'm pretty sure i didn't even nick it, but you never can be sure. i even swerved to miss it. i don't usually do that, it causes accidents. so on my way home, i drove the same way i'd gone. i didn't see any kind of greasy, hairy spot so i'm assuming one of two things: i never hit it; or i hit it enough to send it to the weeds past the sidewalk and there it lies.
later that day, stephen and i went for a drive to his parents place. a quail comes running out on the road. again. i swerved. stephen looked at me and said i "so could have had that bird!"
what is with all the critters!!?!! critters- stay where you are so you don't get hurt. i'm not responsible for anything that happens to you if you leave your areas. have a good day!