Herman Melville, author of the classic novel "Moby Dick" once said—"As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts." Well this morning I have an appreciation for part of that statement....I'm back home in Missouri and am also "TORMENTED WITH AN EVERLASTING ITCH" due to a countless number of chiggar and mosquito bites.
I stopped counting at about 10 on my right ankle and leg with new ones appearing every few hours. What makes some of us cursed to be part of the insect food chain while others, my husband in particular, can trop around through the underbrush completely oblivious to all those micro predators and the vast jungle of toxic foliage that cover earth crust of this beautiful state.
Thinking back about my happy childhood growing up here in the Ozark hills, I find that I often suppressed the bad memories. Maybe that is some sort of self preservation trick that my mind plays because you see, I have always been on the list of favorite menu items for any and all of the blood sucking and panty line biting pests that were created to inhabit this earth as a result of Adam and Eve and the original sin. Thanks a lot grandma Eve.
Looking back, I'm pretty sure that all my childhood teachers thought me to be in a constant state of sunburn as my complexion was more bright pink than peach due to the vast amounts of "Rhulicream" that my mother had to apply to my body or I would have surely gone insane. Scratching was just a way of life and the every night "TICK" checks were part of the night time routine the same as putting on your PJ's and brushing your teeth.
As my usual practice, I decided to deal with my current stress by turning to humor and art to take my mind off my discomforts. I had forgotten the chiggers were so small and such a beautiful shade of red. No larger than a dot from my pen and yet they leave itchy red spots the size of dimes all over your extremities. They love to get in tight places so all the bumps at my sock and panty lines are a testament to their feasting.
We had only stopped for a few minutes on a picturesque spot of dirt road we had found. I walked in the grass just a few feet to get in the back of the truck. Brad on the other hand tromped all over the area and was even sitting there on the ground enjoying the little shady creek that we took our refuge by. I sat in the truck the whole time with the door open and feeling itchy. I couldn't find the culprit but I had the distinct feeling that I was being bitten. The next morning the tail tale signs were there, pointing to what I had suspected- CHIGGERS!
This is just for fun....if you want to see my serious artwork, please check out my website at Julietownsendstudio.com. You won't be disappointed.
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