Thread Drift

[Biciclista]

Today I joined in an annual summer tradition in Zurich: the lake crossing swim. It's 1.4 km across. You pay 20 CHF, you get a bright orange bathing cap and a luggage tag. Your bag of dry clothes goes to the other side of the lake by boat, and you get to swim. They start groups of 150 people (I believe it was) every 20 minutes, from 4 pm til 7 pm. There are boats every 75 meters along the way, and police and lifeguards for safety. This is not a competitive swim at all, and most people were swimming breast stroke. At one point the police boats stopped the swimmers so a large ship could pass. At the other end you get a cup of hot bullion - I was shivering after I got out so that was welcome. And later you get a bowl of risotto and a bottle of water for a light meal. Quite the sight to watch the ribbon (a rather wide ribbon) of bright orange caps moving across the lake for hours. Also a nice view of Zurich from the water. I biked around the lake last Sunday (70 km) so the swim was a nice complement. AlpineRabbit did the swim also, but earlier in the day than I did.

Mimi, there are really no ticks in Seattle? That's hard to believe. In New England you can even get them in the winter.

Deb, how absolutely awesome your (vacation?) sounds. How brave to jump into the lake and swim.
Feral kittens are often infested with ringworm, lice and fleas but I never heard of one with a tick. Nor have i heard of dogs with ticks. If you go east of the mountains, I'm sure there's plenty of ticks there. Anecdotal evidence from others "I've been hiking in NW Washington for 20 years and never saw a tick"
I think it just doesn't get warm enough for critters like that here. It's nothing like New England.
We dont have lightning bugs either.

[OakLeaf]

Ahhh. I loathe ticks, but if they're the price of lightning bugs, they're welcome.

[Biciclista]

yes, i feel like I was a bad mother because neither of my sons has ever seen the magic of lightning bugs.

[Zen]

yes, i feel like I was a bad mother because neither of my sons has ever seen the magic of lightning bugs.

Oh, it is lightning bug time here and it is DELIGHTFUL!
Recently I had to drive into town at 9pm and the boys were out flashing it up over the cornfields while the girls waited on the ground to see who had the biggest...glow. I had to pull over and enjoy it for a few minutes.

[Tuckervill]

We seem to have a lot of lightening bugs this year, too. And flies. And Japanese beetles. (clogging up the pool skimmer.)

Karen

[KnottedYet]

Anemia sucks. (for so many reasons) But at least any cooties trying to get blood out of me this year are gonna go hungry. We really don't have ticks west of the mountains, nor the other icky bugs. Nor poisonous snakes.

But then, neither do we have sun...

Everything has its trade-off.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

But then, neither do we have sun...

Today's forecast, which looks just like every other forecast for the past month....

Today: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some storms could be severe, with heavy rain. High near 73. South wind between 3 and 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Some storms could be severe, with heavy rain. Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southwest wind between 3 and 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

It's been pouring rain all yesterday,last night, and this morning....still raining.....

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Ahhh. I loathe ticks, but if they're the price of lightning bugs, they're welcome.

After seeing MOST of my friends here get Lyme disease (some several times over the past few years) and have to undergo the treatment (which also makes you feel pretty ill)....I'd gladly give up the lightning bugs if I could walk freely in the woods and fields again without fear.