07 January 2016

Wondering about winter

Our back yard looks nothing like this right now. Maybe later this month or next. Today, rain.

Early January, 2009

Yesterday morning, I found a tiny tick on the cat. Warm-weather pests in January. Strange.

22 comments:

  1. Winter is finally coming on Sunday via a lovely (?!) polar vortex.

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    1. We are ready for some cold weather now. There are too many bugs and the plants are too confused by the mild temperatures.

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  2. Holy cow, that is strange.
    Your yard's different shades of green always look nice with a dusting of snow, so thanks for sharing this 2009 photo :)

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  3. my cats got fleas recently (they never had in the summer)

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    1. Callie got some kind of flea or chigger infection in October. We got medicine from the vet to give her in November and again in December.

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  4. we had the same thing the other day - we found a tick on our Shine. of course we freaked out because it was out of season and we wondered if it was a Lyme-disease-carrying deer tick? nope. it's just a new thing now - some ticks just last into the fall/winter. we think it is very odd also. hope Bertie did not get a bump/wound from it.

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  5. The tick was crawling on the back of my hand, actually, when I noticed it. I was on the phone with a friend in California and Bertie had jumped up on my lap. The tick was not much more than a little black speck, but I know what they look like. It was moving. I've seen them many times on the white fur on Callie's head or nose. They are harder to spot on a black cat, so I'm almost glad this one had ended up on my hand. I went and washed it down the drain in the kitchen with very hot water.

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  6. Shuddering at the thought of a tick ! I grew up in North Carolina .. pine trees, ticks ... ick ick ick !
    Now that I am Up North in NY State, I just worry about fleas. I have 2 cats. Outside are woods and creatures .. I this worry about fleas. I know, if there is nothing else to worry about, you can always worry about fleas :)

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  7. I am going to go do a tick exam on the cats .. you planted that worry ! lol

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    1. Ticks are a sensible thing to worry about when you and your animals live in the country.

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  8. Those small ticks have the nastiest bites, at least the ones we have around here. It's a good thing Bertie doesn't sleep in your bed at night. It is a strange winter so far.

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    1. I was bitten by one of those little black ticks last year and you are right -- it was pretty bad. Luckily, I had no aftereffects.

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  9. Advantix every month for the dog (not for cats as they need something else) and ticks are there but they don't fix themselves into the skin - they just wiggle. Every day the dog gets a good feel over the body in case one is hanging on. So far, touch wood, no fleas just the odd little black tick. It is a way of life for the animals here. Lesley

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    1. We "feel up" both the dog and cat almost daily to check for ticks and injuries.

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  10. I forgot .. I use Advantix on the cats. my worry is fleas. I have bites on me. I blame the cats. They probably got bites on them and blame me.

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    1. For the cats _Hartz Ultra Guard ...

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    2. We treat each animal with Frontline, and once in a while we have to give the dog another treatment for fleas. Both animals also get worm pills.

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  11. Ticks in January. And on our patio we have hummingbird babies already growing up in their nest. That usually happens here in early March.

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    1. I wish we had hummingbirds here.

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    2. Imagine my delight when I discovered we have hummingbirds here .. in late summer, tiny iridescent hummingbirds, zooming around the garden .. I lived in San Diego as a child and remember the hummingbirds outside the windows where the big flowers grew .. tall flowers that might have been some kind of sunflower and morning glories .. So try planting morning glories, they are easy and care free ... they attract hummingbirds and all sorts of little enchanting things .

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    3. I've checked. Hummingbirds are exclusively American. None in Europe.

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