Tick Tock (don’t read if you’re squeamish about 6 8-legged beasties)
What is the world coming to now? I was in the shower this morning and there was a kind of scabby thing on my shoulder and I didn’t think much about it because I was in the Great White North all last week and I always seem to get all bumped and scratched up when I’m up there. No big deal.
Except that the scabby thing had six eight legs! Actually, it was identical to a six eight-legged scabby thing that invaded Radical Betty’s space in a similar way just last week. A tick! And yes, we do know that it was a dog tick, not a deer tick, because we took Radical Betty’s tick into the MSU Extension office to get it identified. So I am not in danger of developing Lyme Disease and I *think* that we were also told that there weren’t any deer ticks around the Eastern Yoop.
But I have to wonder what this means. Radical Betty’s tick was the first tick I think I’ve ever seen. Does this mean I’m going to have to start inspecting for ticks after every outing? Will I have to start wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts in the woods? When it’s hot and the bugs aren’t out, my favorite hiking outfit is tank top, shorts, and sandals. Except that I actually *had* long pants and a long-sleeved shirt on in the woods on Saturday and I still seem to have picked up a tick. So what difference does it make? *If* that’s where I picked it up, that is.
And then there’s the question of why all of a sudden, after a lifetime of blissful ignorance about the appearance of a tick, I have seen two of them in one week. And at this point, my brain goes off in all kinds of tangential directions. Like, are we getting ticks now because of global warming? And what about all those sandbars and exposed rocks on the edges of Lake Superior. And *is* there global warming? I mean, I’m not trying to say that there isn’t. Just that I get tired of hearing people that I *know* have absolutely no iota of scientific background making statements that just because it was a warm winter or whatever, there must be global warming. I just think it’s all more complicated than that and I for one, do not have the data *or* the expertise to make a prediction like that. But then I think that maybe it’s a *good* thing if people believe in global warming even if they don’t have any evidence because I figure maybe then they’ll all stop driving around so much. Except that I’m one of those people who drives around all the time. I dunno, I guess I better quit while I’m ahead here. My brain hurts and so does yours if you’ve gotten this far. I guess I’ll go back to picking around for ticks.
At least I’m not going on and on about tablecloths. 😈
May 14th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
oh, gawd. You are SO going to get Valdemort started….
May 15th, 2007 at 12:10 am
Ticks have eight legs not six.
May 15th, 2007 at 5:02 am
Okay, I stand corrected!
May 15th, 2007 at 6:59 am
I think there is global warming, although I have no scientific background. I have the Inconvenient Truth DVD but haven’t watched it yet – you are free to take it if you want to increase your general knowledge.
I do NOT want to have to start looking for ticks either. ugh – I just want my peaceful existence at the cabin. the end.
May 15th, 2007 at 9:41 am
I had a tick last summer, but I found it the day that Suzy, Sandy, Jan and I went exploring (er, trespassing) across Armstrong and Faunt property. I had crawled under, through, and over deadfalls, so assumed that’s where I picked it up. I was surprised to see one at the cabin, but when I mentioned it to Jan, she said the dog comes back w/ ticks quite often.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:13 am
Don’t get me started on CLIMATE CHANGE (sorry, Internet is extremely limited right now and I’m mooching off of campus wireless approximately 1 hour every two days).
We’ve seen a preponderance (and significant increase) in tick population up there within the last 3 years, approximately. The first run-in I became aware of was when the GG acquired a tick or two from the side of the road across from Mel’s Fireworks. Last summer, Ernie picked up a tick on the bottom of his foot, which I discovered one evening as I was either cleaning him up or messing with his paws. This summer . . . wow, it’s not even June yet.
Combined with evidence reported as far as Germany of weather inconsistent with historical climatology, it seems we’re undergoing a period of (at the very least) climatological instability. Don’t take any of this the wrong way, I have no idea (nor do the top scientists in the field) what’s going on. The flip-flops of *very* warm weather to *snow* from week to week (and sometimes even less than that), plus an apparent increase in atmospheric blocking patterns is alarming, possibly why tick populations are being found where they shouldn’t. Here in East Lansing, we had early Mayflies and we’ve had mosquitoes in the last couple of weeks. I don’t remember offhand when mosquitoes come into season around here, but it feels early. I could be wrong.
Last week, I was wearing jeans and we almost had to turn the heat on at the duplex. This week, it’s going to be hot. We have at least twice as much beach as we should up in the Great White North, and if the gumbo’s changed too, I don’t know what I’m going to do!!! (I’m sure it hasn’t, though!!)
Anyway, must be off to read other entries elsewhere before my battery runs down on me.