It occurred to me that I shouldn't write about ticks in the newspaper.

It's probably not a good subject for people who are visiting or planning to visit.

But, is it me, or do there seem to be a lot of them around? Ticks, not visitors.

Our dog comes in from the back field and is strip searched before entering the house. We know she is smuggling something inside her ears or under her collar next to the tick prevention device we installed.

So, I won't talk about ticks. If I ignore them, perhaps they will go away.

But, I just don't understand how they fall from the sky. What's up with that? Do they climb trees?

I was mowing the lawn and I felt a little blip on the top of my bald head. I figured it was just a little blip until it started crawling around. Sure enough. Creeped me out. They are so gross. I know there must be a reason for them to exist, but I'll be darned if I know what it is.

Did you ever see one when they have not been detected for some time and they get all swollen up. Gawd!

Our old golden retriever Buddy used to get them. He had all that long hair and of course it was my favorite thing to go in search of those creepy “bugs.”

I never looked thoroughly enough. Two days later: Blam! There it was. A cat's eye, marble-sized, swollen disgusting tick filled with blood.

I can't stand talking about this anymore. Have a nice day.