Ticks

I went on a hike in Manorville today. I've done this hike so many times and yet today was different in that the entirety of the hike I was picking ticks off of myself. What happened? Was I just not aware these were here before or did they all suddenly appear with the nicer weather? I may stay off this trail for awhile now.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/06/14/as-ticks-take-over-long-island-suffolk-county-forms-tick-task-force/

So I am forewarning any Long Island hikers to be careful out there. I have never seen so many ticks in my life before. Luckily I hiked with leggings tucked into my socks, so I was picking them off my clothes, but I am still wary of any other places they may have gotten into. Before getting in the car, my mom and I took off our sneakers and there were a few crawling around in those! I spotted a tick leaning on the tip of some long grass while on trail, it's long legs reaching and grasping for a passerby to cling onto. I now realize the importance of using something like permethrin for prevention. In addition to the female lone star tick, we found many other varieties of ticks today of all different types and sizes.

Here is a video of a tick I tweezed off my mum. She was wearing shorts so am a lot more worried about her.

wondering how many ticks are out there

http://www.rd.com/slideshows/13-things-ticks-won’t-tell-you/?trkid=NL-HD-050312#slideshow=slide1

I'm not sure if I should be more afraid of bears or ticks.

To lighten the post here is a bear video that shows what they do when us humans are not around. Please watch and smile.

Safe Hiking!

"Springtime Flowers"

Sunflower. Daisy. Marigold. Bluebell. Rose. Cherry Blossom. Poinsetta. Primrose. Lily.

A flower is one of the most beautiful creations of nature in existence on this earth. They blossom in the warm weather of springtime attracting admirers to stop and take in their beauty. Most flowers are symmetrical geometric beauties with vibrant colors and most every girl I imagine has a favorite.

Mine is the sunflower. I'm not quite sure why. Maybe I was amazed by how tall they grow when I saw one as a child. The great big yellow circle of petals surrounding the brown speckled face atop a thick sturdy green stalk. I look up as a child and see the happy face resembling the sun. I envision summertime fun and frolics. Someday I would like to visit the sunflower state, Kansas. I yearn to run through a field of wild sunflowers. Have you ever seen those photographs? The ones that photographers take each year in prime sunflower season in the month of August. Along the mid-western country roads stretch fields of sunflowers on and on. In my dreams I imagine being there. They represent happiness and relaxation and childlike innocence. Thousands of smiling suns. I want to bask in the sunlight of a warm summer day among those fields; maybe a plucked stalk in hand and lazily wander down the road with my companion's hand in mine and look up at the sky and smile and be thankful for that day.

"All good things are wild and free." - Henry David Thoreau

*I promise more hiking entries soon! My photos are currently being recovered from a crashed computer. Lesson learned- invest in an external harddrive.