On the hottest day of the year so far (also my birthday!) a bunch of us decided to hike up in the Gatineau Hills after some geocaches. It was a route I hadn't gone before and we went after La p'tite facile (it actually wasn't that easy). The bugs were the worst I have seen in eons. Not many mosquitoes, but lots of big black horseflies (or deer flies. I dunno the difference - they take chunks out of your skin but do not appear to have teeth). After you put your sun block and then bug spray, you sweat it all off in about five minutes and they would be on you again.
Check out this steamy jungle pic. It was like Jurassic park out there! I was just waiting for the Raptors to come and eat Tripper (or anyone else I could throw in front of them to save myself). Kenmore and Tripper found some kind of snake, and they played with that until it oozed it's stinky snake juice and they let it go. I swear animals and reptiles fall out of the sky on those two guys. Which reminds me of the weird conversation Tripper had on the ride over.
Tripper got a phone call and got all excited when he took it. It like one of those phone calls you get when you're dog is having puppies and you're not home. The conversation went like this:"Oh yeah? it's happening now??" (pause)
"They say between 40 and 400.. can you take it outside it? I don't want that in the house. " (pause)
"No no, they gotta go outside. If they don't get outside and find food they start eatin' each other..."
And I am thinking, What the &^$% is Tripper growing in his basement? Is this some kind of insect warefare thing going on? Some ant farm? Sea Monkeys? Oh yeah.. Gotta be Sea Monkeys (I know all about those guys).
But he keeps talking..
"In an hour they should all be out. Hey, can you see if you can keep some inside in an aquarium for the kids? Find out what they eat, we'll have to catch some bugs or give 'em fruit flies or something.., Ok, bye!!" (click)
"Tripper".. I said
"What?" he says.
"You gotta 'splain that conversation.." So he does. Apparently he went and ordered some praying Mantis eggs online from Costco or someplace like that, and it all suddenly fell in place.
You see, last week he sent me a youtube video with the subject line "Check this out! Gnarly!" and it was a female praying Mantis being mated by the much smaller male, and when the little male Mantis was almost finished, she reached around, grabbed his head and bit if off, calmly eating it while the male's body continued the mating process albeit sans head. Now that says something about the female of the species, and also a little bit about the male(grin). So of course I have to send away for some of the little guys now. Personally I think Tripper wants his own mantis snuff film(grin).
And speaking of snuff films, we strolled upon a deer carcass in A1 condition. Skull picked clean but meat still on the hoof! I find it hard to take pictures of the live ones, but dead deer make excellent photographic subjects, not only because they hold still, but because they look cool!We brought a newbie cacher with us and she did great, finding the first cache herself. She hadn't thought of a name yet but I see someone calling her Gazpacho in the logs. I think that may stick.
Oh yeah.. The Praying Mantis video..
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