Bugs

Bugs need moisture. A rare thing in the desert save for the Monsoon season. Monsoon means bugs. I can be outdoors for hours and not see or swat a single one. Until this time of year. Head out and it looks and feels like a combination of the midwest and southeast. A recent ride netted more tiny critters on my body than I’d accumulated in the prior six months. Most bizarre perhaps are the flying ants that appear like steam off the road after a big storm.

Big bugs come out as well; some look familiar only larger. Some look prehistoric. This guy was hanging around a doorway. Smart guy, blazing hot out and surely he could feel or sense the cool indoors. Or maybe he smelled dinner.

On up the ecosystem. Out in the rural areas all manner of critters can be found roaming around, some with bellies full of the bugs or full of others who have consumed the bugs.  I literally about ran into this guy on an early morning run through the neighborhood park. 

He was fully stretched and blended nearly perfectly into the trail. Still unsure how I saw him before I stepped on him. I stepped plenty far away; enough his 34-36″ body couldn’t come near me. After tossing a couple small stones to scare him off the heavily traveled trail a couple of mountain bikers rode up. I waved them back and explained the situation. With the three of us tossing pebbles the little guy finally tired of us and slithered back down the hill toward the wash. Busy week. Tough to beat the Monsoon Season!