It's been such a mild winter. We're going to have MONGO bugs this summer.

[Bouncy Ball]

Dammit.

We just had that little dusting of snow right before Christmas and that's it. We've gone below freezing (just a bit) a few times, but no hard freezes, nothing that lasted.

The other day it hit 88 degrees.

Then two days later we were wearing heavy coats again. The weather in Texas has a fucking mood disorder, and I'm sick of it. You never freaking know what to wear.

And because the winter has been so mild, the bugs are going to be seven feet long, move in multi-trillion bug swarms and eat us all this summer.

If the 500 degree days for six months doesn't kill us first.

Sighhhhhhhhhhh.

[rockymountaindem]

1. Colorful Colorado: Zero bugs.

[Bouncy Ball]

5. Shut up.

Hey did I ever tell you I saw a guy on a motorcycle on the interstate highway that runs north and south through Denver get run over? I can't remember the number of the interstate, but we were headed south through Denver at rush hour, he was on a motorcycle, wearing a helmet, but he got too close to the right guardrail, lost balance for a second, recovered, then hit it again, but overcorrected, and fell off and a box truck ran him over.

It was the most godawful horrific thing I've ever witnessed. My best friend saw it, too, and puked into a grocery sack. I had to just look at the road ahead, clench my hands to the wheel and drive. Twenty minutes later, I saw there was sweat just pouring out from under my hands. I wanted to get the hell out of Denver. I felt so bad for that poor guy and I hope he's ok (though I kind of doubt it).

I don't know why I just told that. But now, when I think of Colorado, I think of that poor guy on a motorcycle.

[rockymountaindem]

10. Wow.

That's quite a story. I think it was probably on I-25, unless it was on one of the little branch highways like C-470 or I-225. Interstate 25 runs all the way down to El Paso Texas, so if you'd like to visit us again just hop on!

Sorry about the bugs. For all the complaining I do about home sometimes, I really should admit that it's a good place to live.

[Bouncy Ball]

13. That's it, I-25.

To make matters worse, construction was going on, so the lanes were all a bit narrower and of course, there were a lot of semis and such.

We did see the Rocky Mountain National Park, but that was at the tail end of a 16 day camping trip of NINE western states, and the sad part is, by the time we got to Colorado, we were like "yeah, mountains, big fucking deal."

We were natural beautied out. LOL! So I hope to go back and JUST see Colorado once. Plus it'll get that motorcycle guy memory replaced. Hopefully.

[crispini]

12. Duuuuuude.

That's, wow, that's .... (shakes head).

[Fenris]

2. I bought an industrial-sized container of bug spray a few weeks ago.

It's a war between me and the spiders. Lousy crap winter! Damn you El Niño!:mad:

[Bouncy Ball]

3. That's right, you're in Tejas.

I always think you live in Washington state. Why is that???

[flamingyouth]

4. I have a major spider problem here in Seattle too

The curse of old homes. I like to let it get just a little Munster-esque before I do the big cleaning.:D

[Bouncy Ball]

7. Spiders aren't really a problem here.

(I know where Fenris is they are.)

Our problems are fire ants, mosquitos, chiggers (ARRRRRGGGG DAMN FUCKING CHIGGERS WILL EAT YOU ALIVE!!!), and various other flying, stinging things.

[flamingyouth]

8. When we drove from San Marcos to Houston and back

The windshield was like a prop from an insect horror movie. :D

[Bouncy Ball]

9. Oh hell yeah.

If you make it a really long drive, you have to stop multiple times just to get them cleaned off so you can see to drive.

Bug guts! Whooo!

(Weren't you glad you weren't on a motorcycle?)

[rockymountaindem]

15. What's a chigger?

I've heard of them but I don't know what they are.

I don't mind buzzing insects. I can swat them. What we do get in CO sometimes are those miller moths. I hate hate hate those things. They're just big and lumbering and they'll fly right at ya. Plus if you swat them on the carpet or the wall they'll leave a giant dust imprint, so you have to get them in midair.

Spiders aren't so bad, but if I had to deal with roaches or other creepy crawlers I'd proabaly freak out.

[Bouncy Ball]

18. Chiggers are Satan's little helpers on earth.

They are teeny tiny but they BITE your skin, then burrow in under your skin and they make you itch so bad you wish someone would just shoot you and put you out of your misery. If you get a whole lot of them, you can actually run a fever and I've seen people go to the ER for a horrible infestation of them.

You have to apply this stuff called Chig-R-Rid to the bites, which is like clear nail polish and it suffocates them, they die, then you finally stop itching.

They love the ankles, feet, wrists, elbow and groin area. My friend's son had so many bites in his groin area, the poor kid had to go to the hospital for a high fever and all the hundreds of bites.

[Fenris]

6. I really don't know

:D

I've been to Washington.

[crispini]

11. Yeah, try living down here by the lake.

The wildlife is nuts. I can't believe I'm this close to downtown. I feel like I live in a forest. The palmetto bugs are going to be baaaaad. And I hate hate hate hate hate hate those damn things. Giant. Flying. Roaches. :wtf: Who invented THAT? :scared:

I think I'll call my organic pest guy NOW, since you mentioned it. Time for ye olde boric acid under the deck!

[Bouncy Ball]

14. Ooooo Palmetto bugs, ick.

Hey, Crispini, while you're in this thread, do you ever go to Shakespeare in the Park at Samuell Grand Park on E. Grand Ave? It's in June and July (yeah a bit hot, but the play starts about thirty minutes before the sun goes down and then we get some good breezes).

They're doing Richard III and The Winter's Tale this summer. Richard III is my FAVORITEST Shakespeare play EVAH and I have been waiting for them to put it on for years. So I am really psyched. If you are into that kind of thing, we are members and go every summer, multiple times, and you bring a picnic dinner and just spread your blanket out and enjoy some Shakespeare under the stars. Been taking our daughter since she was two! (She was mesmerized by Antony and Cleopatra!)

So anywho.

[crispini]

16. Hey, we should SO do a DU outing!

I go every year, usually more than once; there are multiple friend-pods who enjoy it! :) I bring lotsa brie and wine and other nummy things, eat and drink too much and usually fall asleep in the second act. I've seen a LOT of Shakespeare first acts, hee! Samuell Grand is like right around the corner from my house. Let's DU it! :)

[Bouncy Ball]

17. Oh my gosh, I bet we've been there at the same time!

We've been going and been members since the summer of 97!!! Last summer, I took five of my former students (with my husband, my daughter, and a few other friends) because they were doing "As You Like It" and that's what my pre-AP eighth grade kiddos read every year. I wasn't going to pass up the chance for them to get to see it for free. It was the first Shakespeare they had ever seen on stage!

You are so lame for falling asleep! You wouldn't fall asleep with us. We watch the whole thing. In Richard III, Anne spits right in his face after he kisses her at her HUSBAND'S funeral! Richard III will remind you a lot of bush.

Yep, we need to do a DU Shakespeare in the Park outing for all Dallas DUers and anyone beyond who wants to make the trip. I'll post about it in the Texas forum as summer gets closer.