Friday Five: Pesky Pests or The Mosquitoes Here Think I'm Foreign Food

The Friday Five at RevGalBlogPals http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com made me chuckle. I've been here in South Dakota almost a year and have had my own battles with the creeping things of the earth.

Here are my answers to the Friday Five -

1. There's pretty much the same insects here as in Ohio and Indiana. But there are some different habits:

2. I was told shortly after I got here that the ants 'mound' (build dirt mounds around their holes - most noticeable on concrete and hard dirt drives and roads) just before it rains. I've watched, and it appears to be true.

2b. For some reason in late summer, the cricket population just explodes. There are crickets everywhere - I thought it might just be a plague! In our basement, hundreds and hundreds gather around doorways at night. And the size- I'd never seen a fat, shiny, black cricket the size of a half dollar before!

3. As noted in #1 there's nothing really new here. Although, since this is ranch country, the flies get really thick late in the summer. We want to plan an outdoor service this summer, and my ranchers reminded me we have to have it in June - otherwise the flies will drive us crazy!

4. I'm allergic to mosquitoes, but it was fairly mild until I got here. We arrived in the height of mosquito season - July - and for some reason, the skeeters found me particularly delicious. They left my husband alone, and my son got some bites, but they devoured me! It was like they had discovered a foreign food - Ohio human instead of South Dakota human. And the bites swelled up, itched for weeks and took over a month to go away. I tried baking soda, hydrocortisone cream and a variety of home remedies I found on-line and nothing seemed to help. All the while I kept getting new bites. Bug spray only reduced the number of bites and by late August, I didn't even want to go outside! I hope that this year, I won't seem too tasty to the little blood-suckers.

5. I sympathized with Jan on the fleas. We had our first ever flea outbreak after we moved here. I don't know if the cat picked something up as we travelled across country - since she's always been indoors, I didn't think to flea treat her before we left, oops - or if the new dog (flea free when we got him) brought them in from outdoors. I do know that everyone said the fleas were really bad last summer. Both pets were miserable, scratching and twitching and the cat's fur started to fall out. Fortunately, the fleas preferred the pets to the humans, so we weren't getting bitten. We flea-dipped and treated both pets, and I tore apart the house cleaning and flea spraying and them flea- bombing - TWICE!! Finally, about November we got it under control. The cat's fur has grown back in and there's no sign of fleas now. But spring is here and I've heard the wood ticks are really bad this year....

Time to get up and play the Friday Five

I am a regular reader of the RevGalBlogPals.  This is a group of female clergy and their supporters who blog on the joys, trials and sometimes the absurdities of being a woman in ministry.  One of the regular features is "The Friday Five."  Today is the very first time I get to play on my own blog!  Exciting! (OK - I lead a sheltered life!)

Today's Topic: "Where I am it is dark, and it is cold, and it is snowing. I really wanted to stay in bed with the electric blanket cranked this morning. Share five things that made getting out of bed worthwhile for you today! "

1.)  My morning coffee.  No, really.  I look forward to my morning coffee with all the intense desire of an addict.  I am extremely sensitive to caffeine, so I only get one (very large) cup a day.  There's just something about coffee that makes an otherwise dismal morning so much better.

2.) My cat.  She gets anxious if she isn't fed in the morning, even if she didn't eat much the day before and her bowl is still pretty full.  So she gets vocal, making getting up a priority and sleeping in next to impossible.  But it's a small price to pay for her companionship and her antics.  Who can resist that furry tap on the arm that says, "Here I am. Pet me NOW!"

3.) My husband has the day off tomorrow.  Since he works in the restaurant industry, a Saturday off is a rare event.  I need to get my sermon written today if possible, so I can enjoy tomorrow with the family.

4.) My husband worked the opening shift today.  Again, it is rare that we have a Friday evening together, since he usually works the closing shift.  I really need to get that sermon written this afternoon! 

5.) Today is Bead Club.  One of the bead stores in the area has a once a month gathering of beaders after hows.  It's been so much fun to work around others who share my hobby.  I've gotten a few tips and ideas, especially after wandering around to see what everyone is working on.  Last time I met a woman who knows a few of the same people I do - a rare occurrence in a city the size of Columbus. 

So, what enticed you to get out of bed on this cold, dark morning?