Ron Tom snapped this “mean monster scorpion” his wife, Pauline, “strongshaked” from her robe in their Mountain City home last week. Neighbors report dozens of the arachnids are caught in outdoor glue traps each week. (Photo by Ron Tom)
Mt. City Montage
by PAULINE TOM
What’s your wildest Mountain City scorpion story? Nowadays, Salli Wilson (on Maple, near Live Oak Drive) finds at least a dozen scorpions in glue traps placed near her outside doors every week, and she frequently finds her cat scorpion swatting! This is after pest control treatment. Next door, Cheryl Babbitt (without glue traps) has seen just a few.
Around on Live Oak Drive, RonTom recently trapped a mean monster scorpion. She fell to the floor when I strongshaked my robe. Her hugeness made difficult the task of slamming a large prescription bottle over her without the pinchers or tail (with its stinging bulb) sticking out. After a week in the sealed bottle, that aggressive scorpion still attacked the side when I held the bottle. Ron will probably keep her for weeks. (You might have heard a housekeeper scream a few years back when she moved Ron’s “medicine” bottle.)
I took the “strongshake” precaution because the previous week a scorpion stung the tender part of my leg behind my knee while I typed at my computer desk (late at night, when scorpions are active). He either climbed my long skirt or climbed my desk chair. After two Benadryl and 24 hours, my lips still tingled. Ron fell victim a few years back when a scorpion fell from the ceiling and awoke him with a sting. The Texas Poison Center Network website says, “If you are a victim of a scorpion sting, wash the area with soap and water. Apply a cool compress on the area of the scorpion sting. If you experience difficulty breathing or a rash, contact 911 or go to the emergency room”
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Retired HHS French teacher Marjie Kelley is offering a French Language and Culture camp for interested students aged 11 to 15 in Mountain City’s city hall. The camp will be held from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, June 19 through July 26. The cost is $75. For more information contact Madame Kelley at [email protected]. Merci beaucoup!
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Do you know what to do if you find a wild baby bird? “If you care, leave it there” is a slogan followed with tips on www.massaudubon.org They inform, “It is a fact of nature that only 30 percent of young songbirds survive their first year of life.” If the nestling cannot hop, return the bird to the nest or affix a small grass-lined basket to a tree limb where you see the nest or to a tree near where you found the nestling. “Place the bird inside the basket knowing that you have done all you can; trusting the rest to the parent birds and ultimately to fate.” If the bird can hop, it should usually be left alone. In all probability, the parent is nearby. At most, place the hopping bird in a nearby shrub and keep people and pets away so the parents can tend to the fledgling. Spray interested cats and dogs with water. Every bird is not supposed to live. The environment could not support such a dense avian population.
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Do you have extra small baskets or extra anything? Or, perhaps you need baskets or something? Mountain City’s Annual Garage Sale Day is the first Saturday in June.
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Do you have a scorpion story or any sort of a tidbit? My inbox stays open. [email protected] or phone 512-268-5678.
