I've missed this, finding time for the good things in life has been a challenge lately. I wanted to touch on a few subjects that have crossed paths with me so here are my random thoughts about bugs and birthdays...
Have you heard about this: Bees are dying off, because the flies are killing them?-
This is not a regular fly, its a BOT Fly,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bot_fly and they were imported from our government, because they said they wanted them to kill, the killer bees. Remember killer bees? I certainly do, and I remember thinking how will they kill one type off without killing the others off? That is the problem, and does anyone doubt that this is the utmost hush hush in secrets from our government. Now let me just make one thing clear I am not a "conspiracy theorist" I am a reader of science and my family has taken a certain interest in all the bugs and spiders and plants they can find, it rubs off you when you are a kid :) (. I have referred to my background of farming homesteader Oregonian family many times, its a proud thought I carry for them. I cant help it, I just love that land and how well they kept it up, have you ever tried to watch over an acre of land ? Well try, 50, or 100, its not easy! And thus I was told many a times to work hard and get on with it! Because a cows utter knows no Saturday or Holiday! :) You learn to do things like check for bugs, and even identify them from experience. Ahem.
Back to Bot flies, they are from Costa Rica South America, and they dont just lay eggs in bees, they also hijack Mosquitos, and when the mosquito injects his tail of numbing agent into YOUR skin
"The human botfly occasionally uses humans as the host to its larvae. The larva, because of its spines, can pose an extremely painful sub-epidermal condition. Removal processes include placing raw meat on to the area, which in theory will coax the larva out.[citation needed] Another option is to use the tree sap of the matatorsalo, found in Costa Rica, which is reputed to kill the larva, yet leave its body in the skin.[11] Additionally, one can attempt to seal the breathing hole of the larva with nail polish orvaseline and then, after a day, squeeze out the suffocated, dead larva.[12] Use of adhesive tape can work, but carries additional risk of infection because portions of the larva's breathing tube can be broken off by the tape and make the remainder of the body difficult to remove. " Wikipedia
IT will push the fly larva into your skin! Its not a joke, it hurts and it will eventually become full grown and make you very sick, eat through your skin to get free! it will make a huge scar- you might have seen these types of scars if you travel into the countries where the native people have to endure all types of insects! It makes my skin crawl! In our family, we knew my brother had at least one on his back, he said it felt incredibly disgusting, eating his flesh, and it drove him mad! My father had to help him get it out! They are much like ticks with the burrowing, but unlike ticks they need air, so they will push up a tube to keep the skin from closing in on them this is the only way you can see them when they are tiny enough to pull out without much damage. You can put oil on your skin, for many reasons, I know for a fact that it is the best way to kill all microscopic bugs on your skin, including your eyelashes and hair. And if you think you don't have any bugs living on you, you live a sheltered life my friend.
Having children you learn about lice- oh BOY! did you say lice? the s@#%t that lives in your hair and can stay active in your sheets, carpets and clothes for months, yes I did. Oil your hair, its the only way. In Iraq they oil the hair every day, in fact this is a common practice in most third world countries. And dont say, I wash my hair all the time this wont happen to me because those bugs LOVE clean hair, hense the oil remedy. :) I say this because I know, NOT that I had it- but yea my kids did, and its a nasty bug that can reproduce faster than you can imagine=-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_louse
yes they are disgusting! ew! watch out !
Are we grossed out yet? WELL I am those poor bees, and this isn't funny! without bees everything will die! Life a we know it will never be the same! I was told early on, to count the bees, watch to see how many you see in a day, and count them.It used to be hard you couldn't count them, now its like 3, its not hard to count them. I also count butterflies, remember those? I live near the Santa Cruz mountains and rarely see a California Monarch, why is that? WE used to see them all the time? In Redding you will see the large swallow tail butterfly, they are so large they can barely fly, they are bigger than many birds, and slow! the cats can eat them right up! I know I posted about the birds last time, and now I am posting about the bees, so i guess the next subject I want to talk about it is...
Birthdays !
Isn't it great that each year we get a chance to renew our spirit with joy an find our friends and celebrate?
For the children they love this, little babies are given cakes to smash, and piles of presents and people to sing to them, and they don't remember a thing. As we get older, we forget to do much and stay far away from cake because its fattening- where is the middle ground here. I had some doosey birthday celebrations as a teen, my 18th being the biggest messiest and most embarrassing! I can only hope that its not going to show up on Facebook any time soon. As teens we just float through our lives without the worries that we have as adults, relying on our strengths like, our parents, our friends, our youthful looks, and our lack of debts.
As I turn a middle age of 45, I look at the photo I took of myself just last year on my 44 Birthday, I use it for my Twitter photo. I had many things on my mind, and I was so confident that I would achieve them, I had a certain person on my mind and it made me smile like that. Monalisa might understand and I am not telling, but Lord knows my life has changed enormously since last February. Its a road that I have traveled too far to go back now, and the achievements are both great and sad. For my kids it's not so easy, for my pets it's fair, and for myself it's a little like the butterfly. I really needed to change, and I did, but now I fly and there is much more to watch out for, much more that can happen. Life is fragile, and everyday we watch the news and see the death of someone that we many not know, but it gives us a glimpse of our own mortality and I can hope that it can renew the spirit of love for life. It might be shorter than we thought, and it might not have the people we wanted in it, or the jobs we dreamed of, or the material objects we desire, but its not without promise. In the eyes of an infant it is easy to see this promise of life, so sweet and undaunted by its weight, as we age its harder to keep that glimmer in our eyes, and our eyes still wonder if what we see is real or just for show. There is not doubt that each day does bring new opportunity, as a new day it offers so much more than your eyes can see, and all you have to do is change your mind. Find yourself, in the eyes of life, where ever you see it, but don't close your eyes to it. No matter what, life does go on, and it really will not be the same without you. The littlest gesture of friendship can be supportive to the friends you have, even if its just email or a post on a blog or website. You can make a difference in the lives of your friends and family, its not expensive to write, and the time it takes to say hello, is minimal. I know how hard the daily grind of my life is now, I usually do well all day, until tha drive home in traffic, that is when it gets hard to hold back the feelings. I can hardly believe how much I have lost, and how much has changed for me and my kids. My relatives have been tested as well, and I can only hope they hang in there for me, and know this is just a half way point, I know its not forever. Does everyone do this at middle age? Is that why I want a newer faster, cooler car? I really do! Not to impress you, but actually yea to impress you, NO HAHAH- the Bay Area makes you want to have a snazzy car! If only I had real wings...
With this next birthday I would judge myself harshly for the mistakes I have made, if I didn't have the great gifts of a new job,and a great boss, along with some of the most generous and amazing friends I could ever ask for, so I don't ask. I am just still. I am grateful for everyday, and strive to use the new wings to fly to my favorite places, and see things I have only dreamed of.
Everyday, we are the biggest part of the change that this world can see, we are the insects in the universe, I can pollinate friends with the joy to spread the growth of something greater in the future. Ill publish another book this year, I'll find a way to buy another house, and I'll know who my real friends are. It just so happens to be national HUGS day, and I am down for that. I am a hugger :) Here's to your health, your birthday and oil up!
LOVE
LIZ
