We had troubles with a dog attacking us while riding bikes in Singapore. We basically gave up the bikes when we moved here, but our streets out here in the country are really safe to ride them on where we are.
Yeah, I've had our share of people putting up deer stands where we didn't want them and even mowing our grass down below that we didn't want done. Finally sorted those issues out. My first experience with a deer stand was when I still had a Gravely that I often rode behind on a sulky. So, there I was, buck naked, riding my sulky across the property down below for the 2nd time when I looked up and saw a guy with an (illegal) cross bow in a deer stand up a tree. I stop and advise him that we really don't mind, but that he was in was actually off our property, and that owner I know didn't want hunters. So, they located the stand to a place on our property that soon became unacceptable for another reason. Finally got shed of them, but another group set up shop with deer stands another time. My neighbor who had the 80 acres just one neighbor over often had all sorts of deer hunter issues.
Have also had some stray dogs. One of the pair of St. Bernards got killed. They startled me when I first saw them. Less startling have been little hooved rats (not dear to a gardener) and other creatures just lounging away in the creek on a hot day.
Then there was the time, I found snorklers in our part of the creek. They were from Virginia Tech doing research on some snails or some such in the creeks in our area. I showed them where my trails were for gaining access. Then met them once on the trail after I'd shucked my suit. They didn't pay no mind at all.
Then, of course, there are the random encounters with black rat snakes and Eastern hognose. These act very differently and are totally safe. Fun to mess with, but we try to politely ignore them when we come across them.
Once heard the most awful bleeting I've ever encountered while I was still hiking naked on the trails (before kids moved into the houses, and the trials became more popular). It was a newly born fawn, still wet from having come from the womb and been licked by the (probably non) exhausted mom.
Ralph
