Ticks, ugh! I picked a couple off earlier this year -- and off our dog as well. They were much prevalent in the southeast in the early summer, then we got out west and never saw another for the rest of the summer/early fall. By the time we got back to the midwest/east, the season seems to be over. When we lived in NC full-time, we always noticed them most from March through August and very seldom after that.

For those who are interested, I just posted a blog from our time at Natural Tunnel State Park in southwestern Virginia that features a bit of hiking. We were there in mid-October:

http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...rk-in-virginia