A bubble on my ankle, slightly red, hard to see. Itchy. Soft and squishy. Immediately I think it’s probably a tick. Engorged and floppy, ready to be picked. Or a worm, burrowed, safe and warm, or spider eggs buried against the bone. Thursday spent standing in tall grass and weeds, in brush and trees. Just as likely, it’s poison ivy. A gentle squeeze, it bursts, it rips, it oozes, drips. The itching spreads, my hands, my head, Each blemish explored, prodded then picked. A bump on my neck, raw from checking, is it a freckle or something more? My bubble drains. It’s damp and yellow; it dries on my skin in a jaundiced stain. Nothing seems to be alive, spreading, creeping, threatening my life, my thoughts, my brain.
The Other Stuff 
Oh my gosh, since I have started hitting the trails I have left with my share of ticks. When I see one, I feel like there are at least ten on me I do not see. That totally messes with my brain. Then, the other day sitting watching Declan swim, a wasp got me on the bottom of my thigh. It hurt so bad – but – I had to act cool and all. But that darn experience has haunted me. I can’t sit still and am on constant vigilance. I can so relate to this one!
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I pretty much never get ticks. It amazes me. There’s a part of the battlefield I run across with tall grass that brushes up as high as my shirt. I never find any ticks after that. Sophie and Susan hiked it recently and they were plucking off ticks for hours. I haven’t been stung in a few years so it’s sort of out of my mind what it’s like. The last time was eight stings though. I’ve met my quota for a few years.
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Wow! What wordplay! The imagery so gross yet I couldn’t look away. Hope everything is alright though!
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Thanks CJ. Everything seems fine. The bubble is still unidentified though.
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Very gross, but great writing.
Yucky bugs… blech. I only have to deal with fleas, spiders and occasionally the disgusting American Cockroach… those suckers fly😱🤢
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Fleas absolutely freak me out, as do ticks. Other than that, I’m not squeamish about bugs at all. Fleas are the worst.
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Whoa. Great writing; you made me squirm. Burrowing bugs are the worst, following by biting ones. Run!
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Thanks Rebecca. Fleas and Ticks are the ones that bother me, and theoretically bedbugs–but I’ve never seen one,
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Ooh. Yuck. I felt it burrowing in my leg as I read this. At least the experience prompted an excellent piece of creative writing.
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Thank you Mark
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Totally gross descriptions. I hate tick. Hope it’s not one of those.
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Unidentified, but on the mend.
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Itching to know what it was … 😉
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Not a tick and it doesn’t seem to be poison ivy. I’m just not sure. It’s a perfectly round scab now.
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😂Awesome reply!
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So descriptive. Wish I had eaten my chicken salad sandwich BEFORE reading.😂😍. I love how your writing makes me feel things viscerally. Awesome!
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Sorry, poking around your blog looking for your name, Thank you for this comment. IA great pick me up when I needed one.
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I have the recurring kind of Lyme disease. Your post gave me the creeps just reading it! 🙂
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Your post has me itching and checking for bugs. Great post.
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Jeff can be so gross!! Ew!! FANTASTIC!🤣😎
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