The Bad and the Ugly....

Last post I promised to write about the rogues of the desert...some I expected, some I did not. Our desert isn't what most people think about when they picture desert. We are in the high desert, which means it is more temperate, overall much cooler, than what you normally think of. We are also blessed with the mesas, hills, and rock formations, instead of just miles of sand. That said, it is a desert, and has its share of undesirables. I expected, from research, the following, and in the order of scariest to not so scariest: 1)Rattlesnakes 2)Scorpions 3)Tarantulas 4)Coyotoes In reality, this is what we have discovered...once again in order of scariest to not so scary: 1)Mojave Rattlesnakes 2)Tarantula Hawks 3)Black widow spiders 4)Large black ants 5)Honeybees 6)Cows We have only seen one scorpion so far, and that was only when Charles was digging up some plants. I have killed two black widow spiders, one in the kitchen area and one in our tent...which needless to say I was NOT happy about! 1)The Mojave Rattlesnakes take the number one spot, Charles has killed two so far. They don't come into camp looking for us, and they will give a rattle warning (so far), but they don't leave when they could easily. They are more aggressive than a normal rattlesnake, which thus far we haven't seen. Very poisonous and we show no mercy when we see one. 2)Tarantula Hawks are a new one to me. Some friends told us about them, and we almost didn't believe the story, but once described and then you see one, you know immediately what it is. They are the size of a hummingbird, with a similar buzz, and a very long stinger. They aren't aggressive, but you don't want to step on one, or let it land on you. Their sting is rated as the number 4 most painful experience in the desert.....and that includes rattlesnakes....they can paralyze the stung body part for up to a week, it is said. 3)Black widows spiders here are shy, they scurry away if they can. They aren't so scary for that reason, but we still don't want to experience their bite! 4)Large black ants (they have a name, but I forget what it is), they are all over, similar to fire ants but larger. I had the misfortune to have two on me in one day, one I accidently closed my hand on, and the other bit me on the ankle. Burns like a fire ant, but worse, then the muscle affected swells for about a day...as it heals, the area itches unbelievably, and the itch is more torment than the bite, in my opinion. They don't go out of their way to bite, thankfully. 5)Nothing like a dry desert to drive the honeybees to water..and the only water nearby is often our kitchen water or horse water tank...I am sad to say we have killed many, mostly because they drowned. They like me too, I have been stung twice supposedly by a very non-aggressive bee...I take garlic daily now but so far they still like me. 6)Ah, the ever-present cow! They love our horses' hay, they want their water...we have spent many hours running off cows in this free range state. We will be very glad when we have our property fenced all the way around! Okay, next week will be totally different, if I haven't scared you off yet! Stay tuned!