1 Toad, 2 Snakes and 3 Deer!

In an attempt to get more active lately Gerben and I decided to take the kids for a walk on one of the trails around Brantford tonight. We have been walking lots in our neighbourhood but it's beginning to get boring. Needless to say the weather was fantastic so we packed up the wagon in the van and took off to a trail that we knew ran near the river. The trail is really quite beautiful.
On our way back we took a different route and walked down closer to the water. Just to the right of us, off the trail, we saw a little toad hopping along and just had to stop to show the kids. I thought this was going to be the highlight of the walk but boy was I wrong!! As we moved farther along the trail there was a large open area to the right of the path and as I looked over I spotted 3 deer watching us from the clearing. I wish I could have captured a photo but it was beginning to get dark. It was so cool to see them because we were so close to town. Practically in town to be exact! A deer was the last thing I expected to see. After the deer disappeared from site we climbed our way back up to the main trail. I bet we weren't on the main trail more that a few minutes when Gerben almost ran a snake over with the wagon. The poor thing was moving along so slowly. The kids really got a chance to check it out while I handed Gerben the camera to take a few close up shots. There was absolutely no way I was getting that close to the creature!! We finally kept moving and I prayed that I wouldn't see another snake. After a while Gerben and I decided to run for a while and we took off running. Well about 15 seconds into my jog I damn near stepped on another snake!! I let out a huge scream! The crazy beast was thrashing around like a crazy creature! The way it was squirming around you would think I did step on it but I know I didn't. It was horrible!! I still get the shivers thinking about it. Needless to say there was no sticking around to take more pictures. I was ready to get my butt in the van and away from the creatures of the night!