August 26

I get up around 4:40 every morning then after a few usual duties I do my walk. It seems that dark is hanging on longer into the mornings each passing day. It is still doggone dark at 5:50 which is the time I head'er up the hill. It was 5:30 and I liked that a lot better.

On my first mile around walk it is still fairly dark so I carry my extendable Gazaway supplied walking stick. There are a few places where the dark is so thick that I've had to extend the stick and use it like a blind mans cane.

During the trek I've come upon fox, coon, coyote, deer, possum and walked through a sharp strong odor of a close by skunk so the stick could come in handy as a defense weapon too. I can say that it does not keep the hair on my the back of my neck from standing up. The first and second walk around I tend to walk in the middle of the road. This is so if attacked I might have time to draw the thing back far enough to get a strong swing at the whatever.

For the third time around I exchange the stick for a fly swatter to fight the horse flies off. The other day on the third trip while only armed with the fly swatter, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed some movement to my left. I turned my head that direction but didn't see anything so walked on. I hadn't taken many steps when I noticed more movement to my left. The third time and still not able to see anything I decided that I was being stalked by something. I increased my speed but the whatever was still staying with me.

In the end I thought me and the fly swatter should take over and put a stop to this hair raising incident and discovered that it was only my shadow walking along with me. The sun was filtering through the trees in several small spots. When I would break the little beam I would notice the movement but by the time I stopped to check it out I was out of the beam. I added to my relief by stepping off the road and releasing a bit of body liquids.

Almost every morning there is a little something that causes my hackels to raise. Do you think that could make my hair grow faster?
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"Somebody has well said there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning, Lord," and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good Lord, it's morning."