Creepy Crawlies

(pictures this page: a ubiquitous house lizard, a green bug I named Gertrude who watched me make pancakes one morning and the last, a millipede found crawling across the Manager's Cabin floor just as this went to press.....ugh......)

It’s a subject I can’t hold off writing about any longer - BUGS. They’re here. everywhere. Well, that might be a little dramatic, but they certainly are plentiful. Now I knew what I was getting into coming down here since we were here last November and I became well acquainted with the local flora and fauna at that time. Let me just tick off for you ( no pun intended) a quick list of what I’ve either seen or run into since we’ve been here: June bugs (lots of them) wasps, millipedes, roaches, scorpions (1), earwigs, little cute green bugs, not sure of the name, other green bugs that look like leaves (leafhoppers maybe?, and Mothra (but more on her later). They don’t seem to be so ever present during the day, except for the millipedes which you do see around from time to time, but it’s at night when they decide to visit their human neighbors. Now, to Jim’s credit, he has done an AMAZING job of sealing up this Manager’s Cabin, which includes actually putting a ceiling over the formerly open to the trees shower and a window where there was just a hole in the wall, as well as going through 12 tubes of caulking to date. This act of heroism has greatly increased my comfort level of staying here at night - and, of course, the mosquito net over our bed, tightly tucked under the mattress actually allows me to sleep at night in relatively anxiety free state.

Because of this proximity to nature, I have quickly developed a couple of habits. One, I find myself periodically - like every 10 minutes or so - scanning the room like a radar dish looking for any unusual movements in the vicinity that might indicate an enemy presence and two, always looking in my drink first before taking a sip (you can guess how I learned that one). This preemptive behavior usually keeps me from being caught off guard and if I do spot something that needs - oh, how should I say it? - removing - I kindly ask Jim to take care of it which he so sweetly does.

Now, every now and then, something does manage to infiltrate our space, either by air or land, and it’s at these times that I basically become one big BABY. Because…..I HATE BUGS. REALLY. Now you’re asking yourself, didn’t you know what you were getting yourself into when you headed down to the tropics? Well, yes and no. When we were here in November, there were certainly a fair number of June bugs flying around outside and crawling on the screens and that didn’t bother me so much. Maybe it was the time of year or weather, but there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of other critters around every corner. Now that it’s summer, I’m guessing things are in full swing. The worst for me has been the occasional roach that has made it’s way inside (before Jim completed his Ph.D. in caulking that is). These ain’t little fellas, either - we’re talking 2 inch long bandits that could probably carry away the refrigerator if given half a chance. Oh Jim……

Then there’s the millipedes that are common as well. I guess, if I had to choose, I’d take millipedes over centipedes any day. Apparently, the extra thousand legs really slows them down because I usually find them slowly making their way across one of the walkways where I’m able to carefully edge my way around them. Lucky me, though - the other day, I was sweeping a walkway and as I stepped backwards I head (and felt) “crunch” under my flip flop as I realized I had just stepped on a millipede. I think he was as shocked as I was - his two functioning ends were waving around wondering how the middle of him got so flat……I quickly swept him into the garden.

My saving grace has been the mosquito net that we have over the bed. In lieu of emptying out my supply of anti anxiety medication, it’s been a godsend. The routine starts in the late afternoon, when I first dissect the bed, checking under the sheets for new inhabitants (to date, I’ve never seen anything), then I gather the netting and tuck each corner in tightly under the mattress to create a tent any Boy Scout leader would be proud of! But the real trick comes when we have to get inside the tent, which has turned into an act that would be worthy of a Cirque du Soleil audition. we only untuck from the middle - never a corner - and we crouch down and wriggle our way between the barrier and the bed and then quickly re-tuck. Ah, in bed at last. There I am, comfortably settled on my pillow, when I look over longingly at my book on the nightstand which is now outside the green zone and wonder if I’ll ever get past the first 100 pages……..