A Grey Morning in Ajijic. Scorpions, Rattle Snakes and Camels

I am having a hard time adjusting to this change in the weather. Mostly grey days. In the evenings I have to keep my front door open in order to get the internet signal. So last night these large beetle creatures came flying into my house. I don't know if they are the so called Rain Birds or not. At first I thought they were bumble bees because of the noise they made and their size, fat. I didn't like them banging into my head and my walls. I tried to shoo them back out with a rolled up newspaper but that didn't work. Then I went around killing them with my shoe. They crunched as I walked on them. UGH!

Then I heard Chico cry out like he had been bitten by something. I went to see what was wrong and I found a small scorpion next to where he was standing. The small ones are the most dangerous. I thought he had been stung. I ran and got my landlord. He was taking a shower. He quickly put on his shorts and ran out, wet and barefooted, to see what I was so upset about. He is a good man. Very protective.

Chico was okay by then. I was the one shaking. My landlord killed the scorpion. Too much excitement for one night! I don't think Chico was stung. He was just yelping. I remembered a friend saying that dogs make a very distinctive yelp when they see scorpions. Chico was stung by one once. He must remember the pain. He never goes into his dog house because that is where he was stung.

He slept soundly in my bed all night but I tossed and turned. I would wake up every so often and check to see if he was still alive. He was fine. His long skinny legs were sticking into my side. Guess I was over reacting. My usual style.

Even though I was tired in the morning, I took my run with Chico. I missed the morning sunlight. This haze gets me down. But it is cooler and that makes the running easier. I guess every place has danger. Once I found a baby rattle snake sleeping coiled up in my yard in my home in the States. I have heard that the babies are more dangerous than the adults. I got help to take him out to the fields. (That was a fiasco. All of us too scared to do anything. We just circled around at a distance. It took us an hour to get up the courage to move the snake. I called us the three stooges.) After that, I was afraid to go into my yard for a few days.

Today I was watching out for scorpions. This makes me think of a proverb I heard many years ago. I don't remember the exact words but something like this: Keep your eyes on the stars but tie your camel to a tree. I have a hard time balancing these two states of mind. Either I am focused all on the stars or else all on the practical tying my camels to trees. I have to practice doing both at once.

Another one of those noisy beetles just flew in my front door. Time to close down the computer, shut the door and go to bed.