Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Death to Ticks and Bad Bugs!

It's really, really cold . . . as it should be this time of year in northern Minnesota.  Our high yesterday was -11F.  With nary a smidgeon of sunshine.  But with a bit of wind.  Don't know what the windchill factor was.  Who cares when you know it's just too darn cold to be outside for any length of time with unprotected skin exposed!

Schools in the area are closed today for the second day in a row.  Kids are delighted, no doubt.  Parents not so much.  Even a few businesses have shut their doors.

We're warm and cozy inside although putting wood in our two wood stoves (well, three . . . I forgot the one in the garage) is like dropping the logs down a bottomless pit.  They disappear about that fast.  (There will be no shortage of ashes for the garden or field this year at this rate.)

I didn't go outside at all yesterday other than to help hubby unload wood he had brought to the house via wheelbarrow from the wood shed.  He did all the necessary outside chores which, of course, included changing frozen waterers several times during the day and collecting eggs often so they didn't freeze and crack.  The crazy man even went for a hike up around the loop at the back of our property.  (I politely -- and with no deliberation at all -- declined the invitation to join him.)  He returned a half hour or so later with a frost-encrusted face mask but still comfortable because he had dressed in the proper gear.

Today we have bright sunshine which is the case more often than not when it's this cold.  Now at noon time the temperature has hit a balmy -4 degrees.  I just turned on the oven to bake a batch of Walnut Coconut Cookies.  Having the oven perking away sounded like a good thing to do and we always seem to be short on cookies around here.

Personally, I'm rejoicing over this frigid weather, because it should be killing off the multitudinous hordes of ticks and evil garden insects that have been rapidly making their way northward into our region (and thriving!) because of our past way-too-warm winter seasons.

So take this deep freezing weather, you blood-sucking ticks and crop destroying garden pests.  I hope you're frozen stiff and dead as door knobs.  Or at least hurriedly packing your bags and catching the first logging truck going south.  Way, way south.  Good-bye and good riddance!

Now I'm off to put on warmer socks.  Sitting here at my desk, my tootsies have gotten a little chilly.   

32 comments:

Carolyn said...

Would you mind just keeping the bugs there and letting them perish (a slow, cold, horrible death) instead of having them pack it up and moving south?

We were going to make some cookies this afternoon but were undecided on the type. Mind saving us & posting the recipe?

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

Well we can HOPE this cold spell kills them (we are near 0 here too), but I think they are adapting to survive anything. This is a little too cold for me, so I am hunkered down inside too. Time to try all those Souper Sunday recipes :)

Susan said...

Now THAT'S looking out a pair of rose-tinted glasses! I hadn't thought of that. I will make these painful trips to the barn/coop/shed almost worthwhile....almost.

Tombstone Livestock said...

Yup on the rose colored glasses, if hard freeze was all it took, bugs would be extinct by now, some how they must hibernate like bears. Like Arnold ..."They will be back" Fire up that oven and stay warm.

2 Tramps said...

Yep, don't count your ticks out yet. I have found them in the winter high in the snow packed mountains - or rather - the tick found me - it was hiking up my boot...

Stay warm (as warm as you can), be safe and share those cookies with us!!

Amy Dingmann said...

That is the good thing about this weather - killing the nasties. Crazy thing to me is that we will warm up so nice this weekend to almost 30 ABOVE. How do we go from 30 to 50 below windchills to 30 above in a week? Ah, MN. Keep those tootsies warm. and if you need someone to help you eat those cookies you're baking...

melanie said...

Cripes...you make our single digit day seem balmy!

Mama Pea said...

Carolyn - If they don't die here, I was thinking of sending them down to the Gulf of Mexico (is that far enough south?) to drown!

I'll post the Walnut Coconut cookie recipe tomorrow. They have been proclaimed "good" by my official taste testers . . . even my daughter who really, really dislikes walnuts. (She's just desperate at this point, I think.)

Mama Pea said...

Jane - Nah, I choose to believe ALL nasty insects are freezing to death as we speak. Signed, Rose-Colored Glasses Rosy.

I baked the cookies and had a pot of venison simmering (as Swiss steak) on the stove all day. Tonight we're back to tossing wood in the stoves 'bout as fast as we can. (No, it's not really that bad. Heck, it's only down to -11F right now. And no wind. Yay!!)

Mama Pea said...

Susan - Bundle up on your trips outside. Don't wanna hear about frozen noses or toeses!

Mama Pea said...

Tombstone Livestock - Well, all I know is the old-timers around here say that when winters used to be more severe than they are now, they never had ticks up here or any of the destructive garden insects that used to be prevalent only farther south. They're sure moving in now though for some reason. If there's a chance of frigid weather getting some of 'em, I'm all for it!

P.S. I think Arnold's having a bit of a time "coming back" these days. I hear his latest movie (his comeback movie) has been panned. Oh, poooor Arnold!) Hee-hee.

Mama Pea said...

2 Tramps - Crikey, those da*n ticks! The deer ticks (the ones that can carry Lyme disease) have been increasing in our area, too. But ticks in the snow? Yikes, I avoid hiking in tick-desirable areas in the warm weather but now I have to be careful in the snowy winter, too? Arrrgh.

Mama Pea said...

Mama Tea - Geesh, I hope we don't get that warm this weekend. There will go our snow cover again!

Mama Pea said...

Melanie - Yup, everything is relative, isn't it? When we lived in Illinois, we determined if it was cold or not if the temp was above or below 32 degrees. Up here, the dividing line is above zero, warm. Below zero, cold!

Judy T said...

Ooo... and I was complaining about -2 this morning with sunshine. YOU have cold!

D said...

I'm on the gulf coast. Please don't send the ticks my way. Can't relate to that cold that long. Love you're blog. Texas means your a/c is on tonight and we had no air/heat for a few days. Last week heat was on a couple of nights. The weather.com plays more into dressing for work than anything else. Stay warm and safe.

Sparkless said...

We have ticks here but not many fleas. The cold kills fleas off pretty well. I know because when we lived in Victoria we were always having to kill fleas on the cats. Since we moved her nary a flea.
That's the good thing about cold weather, death to the nasty bugs!!!

Tami said...

Hey! Don't be sending them nasties down South!?! I got enough of them chewing on me and mine during a good year without having all your extras! @;)

I still have snowsuits and subzero boots in one of my closets. SM told me he thought it was time to let them go. Maybe. You never know though...

judy said...

Its to damn cold,oh ,you said that .I have some cheery news ,a hero story and best ,I found a place to move with my brother's help..my cheery story is I found a beautiful sewing cab. ( oh ,forgot to tell you about the new sewing machine my kids got me for Christmas) with a fresh up look to the newly upholstered chair to go with it for freeeeeeeeeeee.The hero story but sad story is my nephew .Paul Bardine ) if you saw the news cast ,of this volunteer firefighter who saved a family that went through the ice on lake Minnatoka ,outside his home ,where he heard the screams.But yesterday the news came that the smallest baby passed away.She had been under water for at least 15 min.She had to be cut out of her car seat.This was so hard for these fire fighters.I'll tell you more later about my move (I'm already lonesome)

Anonymous said...

It had creeped down here to NC too, although not quite that cold. We are 17 degrees this morning....brrrrrr. Stay warm and bake on!!!

Jenyfer Matthews said...

We are frigid here as well and I'm really hoping that all the slugs in the yard that decimated my plants this summer are popsicles by now!

Katidids said...

Freezing here as well & I'm hoping the same and tossing skeeters in the mix also the stink bugs. Toss another log on the fire!

Mama Pea said...

Judy T - We're moving into the balmy (ha!) temperatures today though. It's already 2 ABOVE at mid-morning!

Mama Pea said...

Debbie - I was wishing for the ticks to land IN the Gulf . . . and drown a quick death! Gardening was so hard all over the nation last year I wouldn't wish the garden pests (or ticks) on anyone!

Everybody up here knows how to survive in the severe weather so we'll be okay. I keep putting off going to town to run errands though. (Smart or lazy?)

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - I know there are fleas up here (happily never had any first hand experience with them!) but it's the ticks that the animals collect like magnets . . . and, of course, bring inside with them. Yuck and shudder.

Mama Pea said...

Tami - I had a feeling I'd get a rise out of you when I mentioned sending the creepy-crawlie ugly-buglies south! ;o)

Better keep that cold weather gear. Ya never know when it might come in handy. Think of needing to stay warm even inside if (heaven forbid) you should ever have furnace failure!

Mama Pea said...

judy - Looking forward to hearing more about your move and new home. Hope you're settling in and all is well.

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - At this rate, you may have to move farther south to find the warm winters you want! (If we're suffering global warming, why is it getting so cold farther south than usual??)

Mama Pea said...

Jen - Ish, those awful slugs! We only have real trouble with them if our summer is especially wet . . . which hasn't happened lately. Those slimy creatures creep me out!

Mama Pea said...

Katidids - Although I'm not fond of mosquitoes (that's an understatement), at least when they chew on me I don't die like our garden plants do when the cutworms and such attack them!

Erin said...

snowing here!

Mama Pea said...

WHAT!?! Hope to see a blog post with pictures!