You never know what animals you might see while hiking. Usually, on high-traffic paths around communities, it's just the squirrels and small chirping birds. They don't really care about humans. Other animals tend to like their privacy.

The path I walk most mornings is busy. Lately, with the later sunrise and colder temperatures, I've had more time to myself and have seen much more wildlife - a crazy raccoon, handsome buck, red fox, and now an owl. I try to keep my eyes open and I noticed the owl perched on a limb about 40 feet off the trail.

After watching him awhile, I continued on and two women walked towards me. When they got closer, I told them where they might see the owl if they were interested. I saw that they stopped at the owl spot for awhile and then continued, so I assume they saw it.

Another group of four very talkative women, two bike riders, and three runners passed me. I didn't bother mentioning the owl to them because they were intent on their own little world, whether that was conversing or covering ground quickly. I expect they were getting what they wanted out of their time on the trail and didn't care if they missed one old bird.

I think hiking allows you to experience much of what's around you, but you have to reach out a bit to find it. If you're hiking along and notice that you're just looking at the ground coming towards you, stop and look up! You're missing out!

Hike On