The House Centipede

Yikes… if you’re squeamish about bugs, don’t look, I’ve got a doozy for you.  Of course, these guys are not near as gross as cockroaches.  Ridiculous as it sounds, cockroaches are a big reason I no longer live in Florida.  Well, that, and alligators, and 90+ degrees for more than a month or two in the summer, and the expense of property insurance if you want to live near the beach (because, if not for the beach, why else would you brave the cockroaches, alligators, and heat to live in Florida?!!!).

This is a House Centipede.  I found him scurrying around my shower stall this morning.  Yuk, what a greeting first thing in the morning.  Worse for him though, he got clobbered with a wad of toilet tissue and forced into an early morning flush.  Hard to tell from the picture, but he was no bigger than my pinky finger, legs and all.  

Since moving to Kentucky, this has been the only pest I’ve seen in the house.  I did a little research on the centipedes… since I was sharing residence with them, thought I should know what I was up against.  They come into the house for warmth (it dipped into the 30’s last night so that may be why he was inside this morning), they are nocturnal, and they like moisture.  Most times, they hang out in damp locations like basements and woodpiles.  They eat other bugs – yeah!  my hero!  The article I read said they eat roaches, termites, bed bugs, and spiders, to name a few.  I’ve seen tiny spider webs in a few of the corners around the condo, so I’m guessing that could be a treat for them if they decide to stay for the winter.  They inject poison into their victims, but their fangs are not strong enough to pierce human skin.  That is, unless you happen to have a big granddaddy centipede... they can live up to six years if left in a protected location with plenty of food.  The article (written by Orkin Pest Control, they should know) said to leave sticky traps around the house to determine how big a problem you have.  I don’t think I have an infestation since this is maybe the third centipede I’ve seen in almost a year, but to be safe, I’m going to take the steps the Orkin article suggests.  No sense turning a blind eye until the critters are kicking me out of the bathroom rather than the other way around.

Ugh… writing this post is making my skin crawl.  Enough for now!      

My Almost-Autumn Hike

It’s perfect hiking weather here in Northern KY. I love to look up into the trees when I’m on a hike. I look for birds or squirrels, or just marvel at the colors… and it struck me, there’s still A LOT of green up there! I’m very ready for the autumn yellows, oranges, and reds.

 This past weekend I went on a hike at Big Bone Lick State Park, which is only maybe ten miles south of where I live.  It’s a great park, named after the animal bones and mineral deposits found there (the child in me can’t help but snickers at the double entendre).

A little history lesson:

Big Bone Lick contains the remains of some of America’s early animals; students at NKU and UC are still to this day conducting digs and coming up with bones from extinct species.  They say the land was a swamp and the combination of water and minerals found there attracted animals such as the giant mammoths and mastodons, ancient bison, moose, and horses, and the ground sloth.  Apparently, the ground was unstable and many of the creatures sank into the bog-like soil and died struggling to get out.  The early pioneers to Kentucky called it “jelly ground”.  

If this story intrigues you, click here to read the full version from the park’s website.  

Better yet, read the book Follow the River by James Alexander Thom.  It’s historical fiction about Mary Ingles and the Shawnee Indians (spoiler alert, they come to Big Bone to gather salt), and I think it’s classified as young-adults, but it is a great book.  One of the best I’ve read, the kind you just have to keep turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning.  It’s based on a true story but even the author states that some of the story telling is just that – story telling because there was no original written account of the details.

Enough history, back to today.  I found some Kentucky cows on my hike.  I was hoping to get some pictures of the bison they keep at the park but they were on the far side of the pasture.  Maybe next time, for now, we have KY Cows!

Oh yeah, if anyone reads the book, let me know what you think.  I really liked it and am hoping that is not just because I am reading at the young-adult level and real literature escapes me :)

Book Review: A Real Life

Another post NOT about the Midwest. I really do need to rename this blog :)

Okay, so in my search for my own little “happily ever after”, I’ve begun reading the book A Real Life, by Ferenc Mate.  I thought it might give me some insight on how to live a simpler life (in my mind that means with less money because my career is rolling downhill) in the hopes that I would inadvertently stumble upon happiness (without the need of a lot of money because, again, the career thing).  Unfortunately, I’m getting a little frustrated.  So far, he has described a life that is completely unattainable unless you were lucky enough to grow up in Mayberry and smart enough to never leave.

My present neighborhood, and the neighborhood I grew up in, epitomizes the evils he outlines in this book!  Suburbs where no one knows their neighbors and you must walk through an enormous parking lot to buy a loaf of plastic-wrapped bread in a huge supermarket from an unknown cashier (wait a second, you don’t even need the cashier since the invention of the self-checkout).  Fenenc’s ideal world would contain the ability to walk to the local bakery and buy fresh baked bread from a woman you’ve known since childhood.  Well, that’s not going to happen for me.  I suppose I will continue to read this book in the hopes that there are a few little tidbits about how to live a “real” life that I can actually incorporate into my life.  

Regardless of what the book says, my condo in Northern KY isn’t looking too good for the long run.  I’ve been there almost a year and the only neighbor I interact with is the noisy neighbor and the only interactions are me asking him to “keep it down”.  Yesterday he was standing on his balcony yelling at the TV.  I mean really, do you have to stand outside of your home and yell into the door at your TV?!!!  Who does that?!!! In his defense, he said he was watching some sports program (apparently it’s ok to yell at the TV if it’s sports) and smoking (that’s why he was watching TV from the balcony rather than inside).

Whew, I just reread this and I think I got up on the wrong side of the bed!  I’ll try to keep my next book review more upbeat.

Ciao for now!