The Tick(s)

So on Sunday, having spent a couple of weeks in “storm watch” mode either at home or at work, I was determined to have a lovely day during my weekly visit to the in-laws’ farm. I spent some time outside giving apples and carrots to the horses, petting the dogs, and just generally acting like a little kid and running around with the animals. Then my favorite dog – the one I’d take home with me if I could – came up and rubbed me and then I did something really, really stupid.
I laid back on a pile of crusher dust and small gravel that’s normally kept around to fill holes, etc., with the dog curled up next to me, and promptly fell asleep for about 45 minutes. During high noon.
So for one thing, I woke up with my head and face really sunburned. Now normally, I try to get myself baked a little bit a few times each spring/summer to bake a big, nasty spot of skin disease on my forehead into submission for that part of the year. It really does help. But I overdid it this time. I was an Earl pie in God’s easy-bake oven, and boy did I come out red.
But that’s not the worst of it. As I gradually realized today while dealing with a few persistent itchy spots, I picked up probably 15-20 TICKS. Now, I don’t get freaked out by most multi-legged critters. Let me add ticks to the list of multi-legged critters that DO freak me out. Normally I don’t bebrudge any animal its natural behavior, but these little SOBs were getting nice and fat off my blood. Took about a half hour to find and remove them all tonight, and I took a scalding hot bath to fry ye olde nerve endings and then dried off and put healthy helpings of cortisone on the affected areas.
I just wanted to make it clear, lest there be any confusion, that I freaking hate ticks. I love hanging out with the horses and dogs and the other animals, and heck, if I’d just gotten toasted out in the sun and nothing worse than that, it would’ve been worth it. But thanks to the TICKS, I’ll think twice before ever communing with nature like that again. 😕