Creatures of the Night

I realize running in the early morning, especially in the Fall, can be a little frightening.  It's still dark at almost 6:00!  The town we live in, Simi Valley, is regularly ranked as one of the safest cities in America.  Violent crime is low, but I know there are still creeps in every city. 

With that in mind, I headed out for my run at 5:07 this morning.  I ran in well lit neighborhoods and I did not turn my iPod on until it was light out.  I wanted to be completely aware of my surroundings.

It was about 6:15 when I had my one scare of the morning.  I was running along, had my iPod on, was starting to feel pretty good, when something ran in front of me.  I thought it was a very large rat until it turned around and I saw a face that looked like this:

A young possum!  He was the ugliest thing.  I screamed a little as it stared up at me with its beady eyes.  I quickly got away from him, then I had to laugh.  I've seen everything from deer, coyotes and bobcats, to rabbits and squirrels, but that little possum gave me the biggest scare yet!