From http://griggits.blogspot.com/
Desert critters are freaky and give me the willies. There. I said it. Most people I know think they’re cool and even beautiful and a part of our natural desert ecosystem. Screw that! They’re ugly and sometimes poisonous, and I have a really hard time stomaching them!
The bug that freaks me out the most has got to be the scorpion. They have been known to hide in shoes, blend in with the ground, are completely dangerous to children and attack without being provoked. One night a couple of years ago, my husband woke up in the middle of night swearing and jumping out of bed. A nasty scorpion had climbed up the sheets (also common) and stung him in his sleep. He said it hurt like the dickens and was numb in his leg for the next 24 hours. Thank goodness this has never happened to me or worse yet….to our children!
Another time, I woke up to the sound of our cat throwing up over and over again. She was lying in our bath tub, and I wasn’t sure she was going to make it through the night. Close to where she was on the floor was a half eaten scorpion, and the vet felt that she was reacting to it. Fortunately, she survived, and all was well.
Last night, we had dinner with a family who is new to living in the desert. The conversation turned to desert wildlife, and their poor kids were completely anxious over all of the talk. We reassured them that we’ve only seen a couple of scorpions in our home over all of the years that we have lived here. Yes, that is true, as we have our home sprayed to keep those nasty critters away! We returned back to our house after a lovely evening with our new friends, and I noticed that our cat was swatting at something near our bathroom scale. I lifted up the scale, and it was a HUGE scorpion. ”Honey!!!!!!,” I shrieked to my husband. He came running down the hallway with a shoe and smushed that scorpion to pieces….a trait that is so unlike him. I guess when you need to protect your babies though, you’ll resort to whatever needs to be done.
Yep, scorpions have turned us into bug killers, and I hate them for that, too. We give every creature a living chance….but not them. Blech!!!!
I have scorpions on my mind today, so my song of the day must be by 80′s rock band, The Scorpions. “Rock You Like a Hurricane” is arguably their most famous hit, so click HERE to hear it for a little nostalgia and some good rockin’ music. This is the only “Scorpion” I wish to have in my house again.