​      I am excited about the new year and I plan to have 2026 be my best year yet for fresh air and exercise. Yes, you are still reading FINNICKY. Although this reminds me of past New Year resolutions, I am ready to give the great outdoors my all. January will be a very athletic month.When I was in Florida in addition to the beach, I satisfied my annual one-month sports enthusiasm at the State Park. For $15 I was able to rent a bike and pedal through endless acres of pristine wilderness. Occasionally, I would spot a deer and deliberately I avoided the alligators. No reptile was going to spoil my day in nature. Unfortunately, alligators were everywhere because Florida can be, well - swampy. The Park offered a paddle boat ride on a small lake but because of the you-know-what, I never went. The water excursion boat was called The Gator Gal. Staying far from the lake, choosing the bike option and not the boat, I enjoyed myself. I thought about a cute cat video and biked for miles with a smile. The video showed a boat ramp with a gator’s reptilian head coming out of the water, his body submerged. At the edge of the ramp and sitting directly in front of the alligator’s nose was a cat. The cat and gator were motionless until the cat slowly raised its paw and hissed. The gator backed down into the water.

       I enjoyed biking at the park with its vast expanse of untouched land. I was reminded of Arizona bike rides where I would occasionally see a sign: Caution - Wild Horses. Parks do a wonderful job of alerting us to wildlife. What visitor to Yellowstone is surprised by the famous Don’t Feed the Bears signs. (Who would feed a bear?) Ah yes, it was in January 2020 that I was peddling merrily along, ignoring the alligators, breathing the fresh air, and admiring the view, when something happened. It was an ‘Oh No’ moment. (notice I didn’t say ‘Oh crap”) While happily biking through the State Park’s wilderness I was suddenly face to face with a Warning Sign. Warning—Vultures May Cause Damage to Vehicles. What? Vultures? Those big birds that I see everywhere are VULTURES? Where am I? Hell?

“Get a grip, Miss Pat, enjoy the trees, the vast expanse of pristine land unhindered by man’s overreaching encroachment into God’s creation. Calm down, take a deep breath. Recite a calming poem. Maybe the vultures are here to eat dead alligators. Now, is that better? - Where’d she go?”