Eeek!

After I related the following story to Jenny my officemate, she said, you and your dogs always seem to be stirring something up!

Yep, that's how it goes with smooth foxes!

On the Neoproterozoic field trip, I learned about this ghastly insect called a camel spider. Neither spider nor scorpion (but related to and more primitive than both), it lives in sandy, open desert areas. There are many myths about the camel spider. They aren't particularly dangerous but they can grow quite large, move insanely quickly for an insect, and they look pretty scary. Luckily for me, I didn't encounter camel spiders or scorpions during the trip.

A couple of weeks ago during an early spell of crazy heat and high humidity, I was walking the dogs long after dark. We had strayed off the golf course path into an uncultivated area between the path and the golf course itself. This isn't pristine desert but it is not currently used for anything. I like to let Harry off the leash in this area--it's not quite as fun as the jebels but he gets to stretch his legs a bit.

Well, he started chasing something on the ground. I thought it was a small rodent--we had in fact seen a mouse earlier on that same walk. Whatever it was, it was moving fast. And small, fast-moving creatures kick fox terriers into prey overdrive. Both Harry and Mimi were trying to chase this thing down.

Suddenly, it disappeared. Huh? Both dogs were frantically sniffing and searching.

Then I saw it...on top of Harry's head!

this photo courtesy of Paul, my co-worker, who took it on a field trip in Namibia

Oh yeah, I got a real good look at it--a camel spider about 5 inches long was perched on his head.

In a fraction of a second, about a dozen thoughts flew through my head. The first of course was that there was no way I was going to touch the damned thing with my hand. So I took the only course of action: I used my foot to sort of kick it off his head, hoping that in my panic I didn't end up kicking Harry. Then I began a creeped out dance trying to make sure the thing wasn't crawling up my leg or back onto either dog. When I calmed down a little, I checked Harry out, feeling for lumps or fluid that might indicate a bite. Nothing.

It took me several days before I was able to go back into the same area. Rationally, I know there are probably a hundred scorpions and camel spiders 10 feet from us out there all the time. But now I pay much more attention to my feet when I'm walking with the dogs.