Fall began just a few days ago with a slight cold front, letting us taste a few temperatures in the morning in the 60's last week with a few sprinkles here and there. That was just a tease though, as since that little break, we are now back in the 100's and haven't seen any more rain. Plants that tried to show us some green are brown again and the grass is just straw. Nevertheless, that week or so of slightly cooler temperatures and just that little bit of moisture seemed to bring some bugs out. I clearly wasn't imagining the new bugs as last night, I got to see a frog, a toad, and my big lizard with nice healthy tummies for the first time in months. So nice to see a nice round-bodied toad! The lizard, who loves to come up on the porch when the temps are over 100, looked absolutely gorgeous. When I came out, he predictably ran up the Elm tree in front of the house where he can blend in with the bark while carefully watching me. I came out and admired him and he granted me a few push-ups. He was either showing me his virility because he thought me a threat or he was flirting. I sweet-talked him for a bit and let him be. I would love to have a lizard as a pet, but would really really hate putting anything this beautiful in a cage. He seems to have an ideal life.
Today, I was going to fill the water bucket to replenish the pond and saw a small scorpion in the bottom of the bucket. Normally, all scorpions in my world get killed immediately. No shortage of these little evil monsters. But, with the bugs as scarce as they've been, I rethink these decisions now. Would this scorpion be a good snack? That stinging tail gave me pause, though. I would not want a frog to get stung. So -- I took a pair of pliers and nipped off the stinger. A drop of poison collected on the stinger as I dropped it in the trash. Unfortunately, the scorpion seemed not to survive the amputation. That kind of surprised me, as it seemed pretty minor to just have the end of your tail nipped off. I guess you can't just nip the evil off some things. Seemed like such an easy fix, too.
Today, I was going to fill the water bucket to replenish the pond and saw a small scorpion in the bottom of the bucket. Normally, all scorpions in my world get killed immediately. No shortage of these little evil monsters. But, with the bugs as scarce as they've been, I rethink these decisions now. Would this scorpion be a good snack? That stinging tail gave me pause, though. I would not want a frog to get stung. So -- I took a pair of pliers and nipped off the stinger. A drop of poison collected on the stinger as I dropped it in the trash. Unfortunately, the scorpion seemed not to survive the amputation. That kind of surprised me, as it seemed pretty minor to just have the end of your tail nipped off. I guess you can't just nip the evil off some things. Seemed like such an easy fix, too.
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