8 posts tagged “scorpions”
Elvis earned another point toward his Scorpion Badge tonight.
In Elvis'/guest bathroom, with a litter box scoop
Team Elvis: 5
Scorpion Invaders: 0
Jay wanted a picture, so here you go. Enjoy!
For the easily freaked - don't worry. This particular scorpion looks like this, but is now flatter and floating somewhere in the Tempe Sanitary Sewer System. He knew something was up so it took awhile to get a good shot as he ran in and out of view. He didn't have any place to go so I knew I wasn't losing any good chances for a clean shot. Scorpion Sniper Assassin, that's me.
I am getting a little disturbed by the recent frequency. I've never kept track before, but this seems like a lot all of a sudden. Time to ramp up defensive manuevers.
Team Elvis: 4
Scorpion Invaders: 0
#3 - In the kitchen, with a vegetable peeler (Friday night)
#4 - In the study, with a hockey puck. (Saturday night)
Yeah, I wasn't creative for #4, which was a repeat of #2. I went in the den and noticed a strange spot on the carpet and when I turned on the light, yep, a scorpion.
When you live with the threat of scorpions, you have every stain or discoloration of your carpet memorized. This is important when your carpet color isn't too unlike the color of your avowed foe. You also learn to visually assess your floors whenever you are walking about. Awareness is key to extreme pain avoidance.
In both weekend kills, Elvis' scorpion warning system wasn't a factor. But for next time - teh most awesome Mariser(tm) made this fantastic banner.
THANKS! You're the best!!!
Team Elvis: 2
Scorpion Invaders: 0
Hooray!
For those keeping score at home, Kill #1 was: In the patio door track, with a spoon.
It's that time of year again for scorpion sightings in Casa Amy y Elvis. Elvis is well on his way to earning his Scorpion Scout badge as he's alerted me to both interlopers. Once he knew I was on the case last night, he retreated a safe distance away until I vanquished the poisonous beast. Then he was his happy little self again.
It may freak some people out as I do this, but I think I'll keep track of this year's battle against the bugs. I've never tallied up my scorpion encounters before. Maybe it will start to freak me out. o_O
Nah. However, it may keep me from doing overly sadistic things to my captives. Like seeing how they react to waterboarding in the toilet. I'd have to actually attach them to a stick, so I guess it's for the best I don't.
Ah, the first scorpion of spring.
Elvis alerted me to its presence, wedged in the track of my patio door, with only its stinger-y tail sticking out.
I would post a picture, but its demise was swift and violent. No time for a 'before' pic, and the 'after' pic would not have been pretty. I could only get a section at a time. Gruesome, yet satisfying.
And so it begins.
Today was the public opening for the new Tempe Center for the Arts, a $66 million jewel of a performing arts facility. I am lucky enough to be in one of the resident groups so I was on hand for today's festivities. Our group, the Arizona Wind Symphony along with A Ludwig Dance, put on two performances for throngs of people eager to finally see what three years of construction and budget overruns was all about.
This morning as I was leaving my place to carpool with my friend Kay (bari sax), a little scorpion gave me a love sting on my right arm. It was taking a ride on my music bag. Bad words were said, bug was crushed instantly.
Great. I have a rehearsal and two performances on the docket. Kay freaked and being the mom that she is, made sure I had ice available to keep down the sting. I only hoped it wouldn't spread to my hand.
My buddies in the sax section at first showed concern, but when I told them I was more or less okay, I was accused of making an early excuse for sucking later on. Ha.
After our rehearsal with the dance troupe, we had an hour to kill before performing. Instead of hitting the free food outside first, I thought I would poke in on the Childsplay rehearsal in the main theater. The theater was pitch black and when I went to leave, I completely missed the step down to the landing. Head first down the steps. Splat. I landed on my left shoulder and banged up my leg. I stayed on the floor for a moment to take inventory on what may or may not be injured. Everything seemed to be in place.
I slowly made it to my feet and went into the lobby to find a place to sit and regain my composure. I began to wonder if I was going to make it through the day.
The performances were packed and the audiences enthusiastic. We played well and the dancers were fantastic. Out in the lobby and in the gardens, every resident of Tempe seemed to be enjoying the day. Other groups performed throughout the facility and I'm hearing from friends that they enjoyed seeing so much talent in one place. Yay!
I made it through the rest of the day (so far) unscathed and feeling pretty triumphant, if not a little bruised, battered and stingy. The pain never spread past its location - imagine a chemical burn under the skin - and now I'm just numb in that spot. I'm soooo lucky it wasn't worse. (The luck of actually having a scorpion sting can be debated).
Enough about me - the TCA was built as four separate buildings (Theater, Studio, Gallery, Lakeside) under one roof, ala Native American traditions. The building is soundproofed against the constaint roar of jet engines in the flight path of Sky Harbor Airport just a stone's throw down the river bank. It's a beautiful building intended to foster a feeling of intimacy with the arts. I think it lives up to all the hype and is worth the wait.
Almost stepped on you
swift death by eight-pound dumbbell
go back to your Hell
How very ironic. I commented yesterday over at Crixpy's about a conversation I had with friends that went like this:
"Don't see 'Snakes on a Plane' before you fly to Vietnam!"
"She lives with scorpions, I don't think the movie is going to freak her out."
Then today, this news item about a scorpion stinging a passenger on a flight from Chicago to Vermont. I sure hope I leave all of mine at home. I'd hate to throw off the Indochina ecosystem by introducing foreign creepie crawlies, ala Bart Simpson's frog in Australia. Plus, if I have to worry about them on the plane as well as in my bed, I'm not going to be very happy.
I'm off in about five hours. If I don't get on again before I take off, see you in the 'hood by Groundhog Day!
For anyone squeamish about bugs, feel free to skip this and look at my posts about cows. Cows are great, and cow bites are usually non-life threatening, but can cause immediate discomort. Kind of like having your bitten body part in a gooey vise.
This page from the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum has a great scorpion primer. Here are a few of my favorite highlights:
Although more than 30 species of scorpions are found in Arizona, only the sting of the bark scorpion is considered to be truly life threatening. Yay! Those are the kind I have!
Not only can you find scorpions in nature using ultraviolet light, you can use this same technique to look for scorpions in and around your home. Fun for the whole family!
I've been postponing the black light as I'm not sure I want to know how many of these ancient critters are walking around my place. Ignorance leads to a full night's sleep.
Also, the bark scorpion is deadly for the young and infirm. When I called in to Poison Control, I was told to suck it up. No, they didn't say that, at least not in those words. Poison Control is fantastic and called me every hour on the hour to check on me since my cat isn't the best caregiver.
Every sting is different for every person. I've been stung twice (in bed, in my sleep) and the one to my wrist was excruciating, while the two stings to my belly weren't all that bad. (No belly fat jokes, please. I make enough of those on my own).
Don't even bother taking painkillers. It's all nerve pain. Demoral - just made me queasy. Sleeping pill? Wide awake and still miserable. You know how your arm falls asleep and it hurts when the blood rushes back in? It's like that but exponentially worse.
For a more amusing take, check out Valley 101, answers to all your desert living questions.
A friend told me she was watching a program on the Discovery Channel and the announcer said, "The scorpion capital of the world is Tempe, Arizona." I'm not sure if that's true, but I'm sure we're up there pretty high.
