by Sally Sears

In the rustling leaves at the edge of the creek running through Morningside, I put my foot down carefully. Very very carefully. A chipmunk skittered away, her stripes zig- sagging in the afternoon sun.

A few steps farther I heard a faint splash. On the far bank beyond the sandbar I could barely see a Vee of water pointing my way. Nothing but a bright black nose made the bank, then slipped up into the woods. Before he vanished the sleek bends of an otter shook the creek water from his chocolate pelt.

The creek’s nature corridor linking Morningside parks always rewards me with more than I expect in the middle of Atlanta’s 5 million people.

The trails and parks are brilliant in June’s early heat, before the bushes leaf out and obscure the view. I keep my feet on the trail in the summer. Year round, really, after a close encounter with a big, coiled copperhead during Zonolite Park’s trail building. Georgous, mottled and sitting calmly just at the edge of the trail.

Yesterday a news story caught my ear about dogs and snake bites. Most happen when dogs are off-leash, leaping on top of a startled snake. This year’s wet spring makes our Morningside underbrush thicker, making off-leash dogs leap higher.

Veterinarians at the Briarcliff Animal Hospital are seeing their share of doggie snake bites this time of year. They reminded me it’s important to get the best look you can at the snake, to decide if it is venomous. But the vets’ best advice? Keep your dog on a leash. It’s not just the law. It’s safety for dog and snake, too.

Two weeks ago, on a sidewalk near my house, two large dogs bounded onto a little dog on a leash, terrifying the owner and almost killing the little dog. In the wild, in the woods, where dogs are less predictable? Even more important to keep dogs leashed, veterinarians tell me.

Over years of working to conserve and restore Atlanta parks and creek side trails, I’ve seen nature red in tooth and claw when dogs meet, one on and one off-leash.

Often, a dog or walker gets scared, jumped on, bitten or worse.

In the creek at Deepdene Park, one of the Olmsted Linear Parks on Ponce de Leon, the problem worsened until regular park users began speaking up. Asking somebody to use a leash may sound rude to the Southern ear, but it is safer for people and pets than waiting for public safety officials to enforce leash laws.

I saw a better- matched contest for nature lovers at a park cleanup on MLK Day 2019. Photographer Steven Rushing trained his lens on a magnificent red-shouldered hawk. The bird swooped in circles across the meadow, missing scampering rodents by inches. Then, on a last pass, the hawk found dinner.

English poets remind us nature is red in tooth and claw. Find proof yourself along the creek trails through Morningside.