Reincarnation 3

Reincarnation 3 (because it appears this is a recurring theme.)

The idea of reincarnation appeals though I have a simplistic view of it I fear. Considering that I have led a less than blameless life (and who among us can claim to have done otherwise? Saints in the corner cast off your veils, come out from under your bushels!) that is to say, a normal life, probably, full of the petty conceits and narcissism with which we are all afflicted (aren’t we? or is it just me?) I will not be reincarnated as something splendid. Not for me the joys of a privileged life if I return to this earth. In fact I doubt that I shall be as blessed as I am currently.

No, I shall be reborn as something lowly, like a doormat. In fact, I wrote about that some while ago. A doormat’s life can be quite interesting though being ground under the heel is not a particularly pleasant prospect.

However, if rebirth only occurs in animate objects then I think I shall come back as an earthworm - not pretty, not furry, but useful in the garden both as a worker and food for passing blackbirds. Note that I specify worms of the earth variety – I have no wish to be an intestinal worm but I suppose that’s not really up to me.

I should hate to return as a cockroach, universally loathed but a terrific survivor. Nor should I care to be a tick, forever destined to suck blood until bloated only to fall off the victim to fasten onto another once the blood has been digested and a sylph-like form has been regained. To come back as a member of the spider family – ticks are spiders, after all – would be too cruel. As much as I tell myself that spiders are useful I still cannot stop myself shuddering when big, black, hairy spiders scuttle across the floor and whoever mentioned ‘noiseless spiders’ has never heard the ones I’ve encountered.

Maybe I could return as an amoeba – an interesting little organism but mightily overlooked. I’ve always had a fondness for the humble amoeba as it is the only organism I have ever been able to draw with any vestige of realism.

So I suppose that really I’m only in favour of reincarnation on my terms and that’s not really what faith is all about, is it?

Maybe I’ll repost my earlier treatises on reincarnation . . . posts reborn, you might say.

Ticks

What do ticks mean to you? If you’re a child, ticks mean you have done something correctly. If you’re a list-maker, a tick may indicate that a task on the list has been achieved or that an item on the shopping list has been found and placed in the trolley 

(I’m a crosser-out – I enjoy striking a line through words!)

Adult deer tick (Ixodes scapularis)

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

If you are a mammal, bird, and occasionally a reptile or amphibian in the Great Outdoors, a tick may be a blood-sucking member of the arachnid family that attaches itself to your skin with its cutting jaws (chelicerae) and feeding tube (hypostome) as a small, insignificant creature that expands as its body fills with your blood. The hypostome, with its many recurved teeth, acts as an anchor to retain its hold on the host. When sated it drops off, resting in tall grass until requiring further sustenance when it will find another passing victim.

Ticks are able to sense carbon dioxide and heat from nearby hosts and are found inn most wooded areas throughout the world. They are particularly common where there are deer or human trails. They can also be found in meadows where shrubs and brushwood offer cover. They are noticeably prolific near water where animals come to drink, infecting wild and domestic animals alike.  

They are not only an irritant but also vectors of diseases like Lyme disease in Europe and the USA and Rocky Mountain spotted fever in North America. One form of natural control involves the Ichneumon wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri which lays its eggs in ticks. The hatching wasps feed on their host and kill it. Guinea fowl consume great numbers of ticks. Two birds can clear two acres completely in one year.

They are ancient creatures, believed to have been evident in the Cretaceous period, 65 to 146 million years ago, though most of their evolution occurred during the Tertiary period, 5 to 65 million years ago.

Male tick compared to match head

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Today’s generation of ticks has been conspicuous this year, if our dogs are an indicator of their activity. Jenna has been the main host, though Tia also has a visitor now. We have tried covering the ticks with Vaseline, which is supposed to stop them breathing, I believe. It didn’t work! We also tried pure alcohol, which Barry uses to clean tape heads and model rail tracks. That didn’t work either. Simply pulling off the ticks is not effective because the mouth parts are left behind and can cause infection. Now, we have the ‘O’Tom Tick Twister’ which we bought at our vets’ surgery yesterday. Ticks, look out – we’ve got you in our sights!