Then the girls casually mentioned that there was a snake in the bird house. And they were RIGHT! Then TubaDad and our snake-catching neighbor tried to eradicate the creature and he GOT AWAY somewhere in our yard. Then, as I was tousling Ro’s hair and saying goodnight my fingers brushed against the unmistakable feeling of a tick, which we had to remove with tweezers and ridiculous amounts of alcohol. UGHHHHH.
Hope everyone else had a bright, beautiful, sunshiny, freaking-vermin-free day.
(Ro rainbow suit, Ree butterfly one)
Posts
Darling pictures. The M on Ree's necklace gave her "away!"
ReplyDeleteWhere did the tick come from?
What kind of snake?
We don't know and we don't know.
ReplyDelete:-(
Can ticks live in grapevines or tall hedges like in our yard? Because Ro hasn't been in any tall grass or weeds or anything like that. And the snake -- well they saw the head striking at the stick they were holding and then the birdhouse dropped onto the ground and the snake vanished in the corner. Makes my skin crawl.
That was quite a day. Ticks can live just about anywhere there are vegetation and animals. They could have migrated from a neighbors yard or have been brought from the surrounding countryside by some animal. (We didn't bring them from Texas even though we have plenty to spare.)
ReplyDeleteThe snake was probably looking for eggs in the birdhouse.
Have a snake-free and tick-free tomorrow.
Pa
Pa, could the tick have hitched a ride into the yard on whatever decimated our garden? That was my bet.
ReplyDeleteI'm so itchy and jumpy tonight...
i LOVE the pics...looks like they had fun despite the inconvenient visits of the snake and tick! ;) i LOVE the hair whipping pic
ReplyDeleteFreak out and double freak out!!! Yikes!! Hope you've seen the end of both!
ReplyDeleteCan't Pa fix it? Pas can fix anything, even from Texas!!
Aside from that, sweet, adorable pics!
Had the girls been playing with any dogs? Maybe a tick hitched a ride there? or else do they have them in Tahoe?
ReplyDeleteIck!
The girls don't look too bothered though- love those suits!
Lice, ticks...isn't it fun having children! Looks like the girls had great fun.
ReplyDeleteTicks - ugh! Easy tick removal trick. Put a glob of liquid soap on a cotton ball. Put the cotton ball on the tick for about a minute, then dab for another minute until the tick comes off on the cotton ball. All tick parts removed and painless to the host(ess).
ReplyDeleteI just cannot get over how much older the girls are looking! It looks like they had a great time!
ReplyDeleteTicks and snakes: YUCK! We once found a tick in Tahlia's hair - I still shudder when I think about that!
ok- first..
ReplyDeleteit SNOWED here yesterday. SNOW. in May. in Colorado. so I will just live vicariously thru your photos as we can't pull out swimsuits here for another 6 weeks!!!!
second snake- as long as it's small and non venemous- i'm cool with that-- but sticking out of the bird house-- hmmm not so much. ps-- where's the bird??
and ticks--- thank God we don't have those here!!! but we had them in MA (had one in my ear-- how's that for gross?)and i totally agree- yuck, disgusting-- why oh why did God make the tick?
Yeah, ok, now you made me go and look up ticks in this area!
ReplyDeletehttp://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/rbkimsey/caticks.html
Apparently we have several to choose from. (((shudder)))
I thought getting out of CT and WA we were free from ticks...so wrong. :(
Yucko! Was it a deer tick or a dog tick?
ReplyDeleteStace
I have three tick borne diseases. There are many many more to choose from. I was sick for 15 years before i got a proper diagnosis because i have lyme, but thats the only one they tested for and the two others i didnt get tested for until i went to a LYME LITERATE MEDICAL DOCTOR (www.lymeresourcemedical.com i believe - dr. raxlen) I went to a rheumatologist who said i did not have anything but lyme and he could tell by looking at me but raxlens office did a blood test through www.igenex.com and found me positive to two others.
ReplyDeleteTICKS TERRIFY me and i never had a memory of being bitten or having a target rash.
to be honest i froze when i read your title. Please stay aware that there is lyme everywhere all kinds of ticks, even mosquitos, and please be open to learning about tick borne diseases so that god for bid they do appear you are right. because i read all about rad for lulu, and then she didnt have it, but i am still glad i learned about it. i can hook you up with all kinds of resources and i am going to ask a few freinds to stop by and give you tidbits of info
FROM CALDA.org
ReplyDeleteWhat To Do If You Are Bitten
* Use fine-point tweezers or a special tick-removing tool. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. If you don’t have tweezers, protect your fingers with a tissue.
* Pull the tick straight out with steady, even pressure. Click here to view a Tick's Mouth and why it is so important to pull out the tick correctly.
* Avoid squeezing the tick, breaking it, or allowing any blood to remain on your skin.
* Place the tick in a small plastic bag or vial with blades of grass, leaf, or moist (not wet) piece of tissue.
* Label the bag with your name, date, site of bite and how long tick was attached.
* Have the tick identified and tested by a lab, health department or veterinarian.
* Wash your hands, disinfect the tweezers and bite site.
* Educate yourself about tick-borne diseases and consult a doctor to see if treatment is warranted.
Considerations For Prophylactic (Preventive) Treatment
* The tick infection rate in the area where you acquired the tick. An area may still labeled as “no risk” despite lack of scientific studies.
* The relative risk of transmission, depending on whether the tick was a nymph or adult, duration of attachment and how it was removed.
* Whether the tick tested positive for a tick-borne infection.
* The Lyme germs may spread widely in the body, including to the brain, within hours/days.
* The cost of prophylactic treatment vs. risk of infection.
* The risks and benefits of prophylactic treatment vs. risks of infection.
Thank you for sharing the sun! It made me so happy after looking out over our cold and rainy landscape.
ReplyDeleteI was an RN in a very Lyme's infested part of the country, and honestly, I never, ever worry about it. I grew up on a farm and picked off ticks all the time. I wouldn't spend time thinking about that tick...just my 2 cents. Although, I'm afraid of your snake!
@Mer: We used to live in Farmington, CT and 3 of the 4 of us got deer tick bites. I documented them and that was about 8 years ago, no adverse reactions to date. Just curious-what made you first think to get checked out?
ReplyDelete-hb
This is Pa again. Quite possibly the tick got onto Ro while she was in Tahoe. It seems more likely since she was around wooded areas where ticks are quite prevalent. Yes, the tick could have hitchhiked a ride on another animal and dropped off into your yard, but it is not as likely as it happening in Tahoe. Sometimes it takes a couple of days for the bite to start itching enough to be noticed.
ReplyDeleteYou should not worry about all the possible scenarios mentioned. You probably don't have ticks in your yard. The bite is extremely unlikely to have any adverse effects. Just stay observant for other ticks for the next few days.
Love to all of you. Pa
great shots!
ReplyDeleteI am jealous, we have not even had capri weather yet!!
ReplyDeleteTicks freak me out too. My mom is having hip replacement surgery today because chronic Lyme has destroyed her joints. Be careful!
ReplyDeleteAidan got a tick last spring in Santa Rosa. I was completely freaked out by it. I had the tick tested and it was clear, luckily. The county will do it for cheap. Risa
ReplyDeleteHi M3, I live in the countryside in UK and I occasionaly look after wild hedgehogs. More often than not they are infested with ticks and the best and safest way to remove them is by using a tool called O'Tom Tick Twister (http://www.otom.com). It's a brilliant tool, unexpensive and it's quite handy to have it in your medicine cabinet as it takes no space at all. I once removed 39 ticks (most were tiny tiny nhymps) from one poor hedgehog, using this hook! It's really amazing. And believe me, with a wild hedgehog biting and spiking you, you need something to remove the ticks quickly but safely. I hope you can find it in US but if not I can send it to you (if you're interested, of course), just let me know.
ReplyDeleteThe shot with water flying in the arc from her (sorry not sure if it's Ree or Ro) is amazing!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great day...aside from the snake and tick.
Eeew yuk about the tick and snakes! The girls were obviously untethered by the days events! Those pics are adorable! Can really see a LOT of personality shining through! :-)
ReplyDeleteok, I just have to add that I am rather impressed with Marcia picking ticks off wild hedgehogs!
ReplyDelete