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Lions and tigers and horse flies, oh my

This has been a week for a lot of animal and insect interaction, including confrontations with horse flies.

Now these are some nasty critters and scary, too, considering they seem about the size of a B52 bomber.

One was ready to come in for a landing on my horse Coffee, which was bad enough, but in addition to this fly being on her back, so was I.

I didn’t take it personally or anything, but I think she wanted both of us off, which explains why she started to buck and rear.

All I could think of as I yelled at this horse fly – a lot of good that does, right, trying to reason with an insect thirsty for a little equine blood – was “I’m going down for the count this time. I’ve got a date with the ground.”

But I lucked out. I got off the horse for awhile. The fly got off the horse for good, and all was well.

It was porch sitting in recent days when Better Half and I realized something in a “duhh” kind of way.

Several times throughout the summer at dusk, as we’ve sat on the back porch indulging in some fair weather quality time, we’ve noticed what we thought were sparrows taking to the sky in flight all of a sudden.

Man, look at all those sparrows, we would comment to each other like a couple of seasoned Audubon bird watchers.

Now we’ve figured out something quite to the contrary.

Those aren’t sparrows.

They’re bats.

Houston, we have a problem.

Now when I see them, I think of the flying monkey scene from “The Wizard of Oz.”

I am frightened, Auntie Em. Big time.

We need Batman’s help for sure.

Horse flies and bats were the unsavory side of the animal kingdom experience this week, but not so for saving a giant cricket and talking sense to a couple of baby deer.

At least I thought I was saving this giant cricket. I was convinced it surely couldn’t be happy in our garage, a decision I made when I spotted it the other morning on my way to work.

I actually delayed my commute by about 15 minutes as I confronted the cricket and explained I was putting him outside to live a happy life.

I suppose most people begin their day as I do – talking to something that responds with a chirp. Or maybe not.

I had a one-sided conversation with two deer that same morning. No kidding.

I am driving down the alley to the newspaper in downtown Steubenville and there in the lot next to the building are two baby deer, side by side, resting comfortably in the grass, looking at me like “what are you doing here?”

Mutual, I wondered.

I rolled down my window to say hello. And to issue a little warning-advice-concern.

“You two be careful out there, you hear?”

I hope they’re OK.

And I hope you have a good week, critter confrontations or not.

Happy fly-less trails to you.

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