TICKED OFF, and then some !

                

Five years ago I developed symptoms highly suspicious for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. That said, I initially thought that the red rash expanding across the dorsal aspect of my lower extremities and wrists was poison ivy. [IT WAS NOT!]. In truth, there had been something that perplexed me at that time: i.e., for reasons that didn't make sense, this distinct rash failed to produce even the slightest hint of an itch. After about three days of an excruciating headache, muscle pain and severe night sweats, I found an engorged tick buried in the crook of my left arm. This incident happened in southeast Georgia, and I had been in the wooded areas that surround our [second] home. I promptly made a call to the pharmacist in the village and started 10-14 days of doxycycline. Slowly, the symptoms abated. 

I was very lucky...

Last week I fell prey to yet another tick bite but [most fortunately] I found the little monster within 24 hours. This creature appeared to be a 'wood tick' from what a magnified cell phone picture indicated and [lucky for me] it did not appear engorged from a blood meal. So far, no rash and no target lesions have appeared. We had been down to Georgia to clean up after hurricane Idelia swept through. There was a ton of outside work to do and it was very, very hot! Unfortunately, I had let my guard down and did not dress appropriately. Numerous deer prance through our southern property on a daily basis, destroying our azaleas and other perennial plants. When we purchased [in Savannah] more than a decade prior, I almost never saw a single deer but the current rapid increase in their numbers also plagues our primary residential property in Michigan and our third property in Virginia...Deer carry ticks and ticks carry disease; it's a fact!!

In the end, "Bambi-like" creatures may appear cute; just beware of the consequences of letting their numbers go un-checked...

*****************

I don't view these deer

"So dear" as might others;

They've trashed my fair gardens

In Spring, Fall and summer...

Their numbers keep growing,

Yes! ... Year after year !!

The ticks that they harbor

Are my greatest fear !!!

poem by L.P.-G. / 9-2023