What makes you tick?

I'm someone who actually enjoys winter. I like the colder weather and crisp nights. I like the time change with darkness arriving early in the evening. Cozy nights by the fireplace. When the skies are clear, the stars are absolutely magnificent to see. I like boots and heavy coats. I like snow and winter storms -- and blizzards so strong we can't see outside past our windows. That is, as long as we don't have to drive in it. Which is often. But oh well...

In my humble opinion, the only major downfall to winter (other than driving in bad weather) is the snowplow driver who likes to cruise around at 6:30 a.m. going about 70 mph. (ok, ok, in actuality, he's only going about 5 mph -- but it sure sounds like 70.)

As much as I do enjoy it, it is always exciting when winter comes to an end and spring rolls in. We're no longer buried in snow and/or ice and/or freezing winds. The boots, heavy coats and all the hats and mittens and gloves are put away in anticipation of warm, starry nights and hot summer days... evenings spent outside with friends and lots of boat rides.

Along with the warmer weather come other things. Things I really dislike. Things I do not have think about during the winter. Creepy, crawly things. In just the past few days, this is what I have had to deal with:

Wednesday, May 18:

• 9:30 pm: Arrived home. Checked the back deck. Two possums are hanging out. I don't like possums. They're pretty harmless but they're ugly and they look like they want to kill me.
    
• 11:50 pm: Woke up to noises on back deck. Turned on light to see multiple raccoons having a deck party. I don't like raccoons. They're not scared of anything and they have beady eyes. These raccoons appeared to be plotting my death.
   

Thursday, May 19:

• 7:10 am: Open front door to go to work. Huge snake about 6 inches long is hanging out by the front door. I scream and throw my car keys at it. It slithers away. I use long stick to retrieve my keys from the ground. I leave by the back door where the deck is because I'm certain the snake has a plethora of friends all waiting to kill me.
    
• 9:45 pm: Arrived home. Check the back deck. The raccoons are back and the party is about to start. I turn on the light and bang on the door and yell and they just look at me. Pretty sure they were pointing to me to identify to all their friends hiding in the trees that I cannot see that yes, this is the one we kill soon. I open the door and throw my empty Diet Coke can at them. They leave. A murderous backwards glance at me from one of them gave me shivers. 
    
• 10:15 pm: Check the back deck to make sure raccoons are gone. They are. Instead, there is a possum checking out the Diet Coke can. I turn on the light and the possum runs away as fast as he can, stumbling over the can. I retrieve the can. 
    
• 11:15 pm: I see shadows moving in the front yard underneath the light that shines over our acreage at night. It's the raccoon gang. I go to bed.
   

Friday, May 20:

• 6:50 am: Leaving for work. Open the front door and walk to my car. A bazillion flies are outside and on the attack as I run for the car. Pretty sure they would've killed me if I hadn't made it just in time. 
    
• 9:35 pm: Check the back deck. I turn on the light, open the back door and a tiny gigantic skunk looks back up at me. Skunks give me that sinking, break into a cold sweat, I suddenly can't breathe feeling -- like something very bad is about to happen. I quickly and quietly shut the door. (I discovered last year that one should not scream and slam the door when a skunk is on the deck.) Skunk was already turning to leave when the light came on, and he jumped off and ran into the trees. I am now a prisoner in my home because there is a skunk outside and probably calling up all his skunk buddies while plotting to kill me.
    
• 10:15 pm: Hear a loud "ka-thunk-thunk-thunk" followed by an "eeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-chugga-chugga-chugga-BOOM" on the back deck. I chose to ignore this. I'm positive that whatever it was meant certain death if I went out there. I live another day.
   

Saturday, May 21:

• Basically uneventful. I hear thumps outside but have no desire to go and check it out.
   

Sunday, May 22:

• 9:30 pm: Arrive home. Two deer run away from our property as I pull into the driveway. That was cool.  
    
• 9:55 pm: Check the back deck. Possum looks back up at me. I open the door and yell "boo!" and he lumbers off. 
    
• 10:00 pm: I'm still standing by the back deck and a smaller possum arrives. I open the door again and yell "boo!" and he scrambles away.
   

Monday, May 23:

• 9:10 pm: Arrive home. Look in the back yard out kitchen window. Two skunks hanging out. One on the deck, the other in the grass. I bang on the window and one runs away and the other runs under the deck! Great. Oh, just great. I decide to leave the lights on as I've read skunks apparently do not like light. However, enormous, giant bugs do like the light. I can hear them buzzing and thunking outside.
   
• 9:30 pm: Hubby, who is at the lake, calls to report he felt "itchy" and then discovered a TICK on him. Eeewwwwwwww!!! He mowed the property earlier in the day and decided he must've somehow picked one up. Ticks are the worst! Even the word "tick" brings that dreaded, break into a cold sweat, something very bad is going to happen feeling.
   
• 10:10 pm: I do not know WHY, but I suddenly had that awful feeling that maybe I also had a tick. So I started looking at my arms and legs. Then I felt a tiny little bump, and sure enough -- a tick. Eeewwwwwwww!!! A humongous tick about the size of a little seed. I about died. I have never had a tick before and I was freaking out!
   
• 10:11 pm: Grab tick with a kleenex and throw it into the toilet. Flush toilet. Flush toilet another 7 times.
   
• 10:15 pm: Yank off all pajamas and along with the clothing I wore that day, turned the washing machine on to HOT and started doing laundry.
   
• 10:20 pm: Took another shower with HOT water. Was tempted to use a Brillo pad for a washcloth.
   
• 10:45 pm - 1:15 am: Look up photos of ticks. Read all information available regarding ticks. Listen to the songs "I Want To Check You For Ticks" (creepy) by Brad Paisley and "What Makes Me Tick" (cute!) by Loretta Lynn on YouTube. Vacuum the carpet and all furniture a few times. Talk to hubby on the phone about ticks. We finally decided that Holly picked up the ticks when she wandered through some tall grass earlier in the evening -- and then because the Frontline she receives made it a hostile environment on her, they jumped ship and found us.
   

Tuesday, May 24:

• 1:20 am: Go to bed.
   
• 1:45 am: Wake up from bad dream about bugs and/or itchy feeling and/or heard noise on the back deck. Since the light was on, I could easily see into the backyard... and what do I see? A Skunk. Guess they don't mind the light after all... 

Compared to the tick, the skunk suddenly looked adorable! What do you think?

 

I'll take the skunk any day over the tick!!!

I'm so ready for winter.