sucking on a werther's

sucking on a werther's, originally uploaded by carolyn_in_oregon.

We ate our lunch along the trail on a sunny cliffside with wildflowers surrounding us. As we were done eating a tick jumped on my hand. Ticks were rampant in the woods of Wisconsin where I used to live but this was the very first tick I've seen in the Pacific Northwest. We examined the fat sucker for a moment then I flicked it off. Jess found one on her pant leg just a few minutes later. When I got home I had to strip off all my clothes and do a full body check. NO TICKS THANK YOU!

Jess also grabbed some poison oak, saying, "Look at these leaves!" to which I responded "Uhhhh that's poison oak!" She washed her hands immediately and seemed to avoid any terrible reaction to it.

This is not to make our hike sound like some grueling task. It was lovely and warm and green. Here I'm enjoying my after-lunch dessert. Keeping some Werther's in the backpack is a good idea.