Woo Hoo! Feels like Old Times....only even better!
Hurry up, guys...we're all over HERE!

Took my usual recon around the gardens to see if there's anything new coming along and yes! I like to catch the 'first', if possible. This is my first of the mirabilis longiflora / Angel's Trumpets that I've been waiting for.
Anticipation...can't wait til it's fully open....


I really can't wait until they've formed large mounds of these wonderful tough, drought tolerant, sented white flowers. I've planted several 'areas' of them.

Everything looks rather tired and bedraggled after our week of hot, humid weather down here. I should get out there and tidy up, but I feel bedraggled also after this week. Overcast and maybe even some drizzle for the next couple of days...sigh of relief.

Need to also do a thorough recon of the house since I found / killed the second scorpion night before last. The first one a couple of months ago didn't bother me too much. I'm a little more freaked since checking and seeing that they are apparently Bark Scorpions, which are nasty little critters. They are nocturnal....needless to say, after killing this one and finding out what it was, I didn't sleep that night until 4 a.m. Sat in a chair (with my feet up off the floor...lol), trying to read, but found myself looking across the floor every few seconds. I probably wouldn't have even seen this one, but one of my cats pointed it out to me by swatting at it.

Sherry, what is a Bark Scorpion? ( I will google it) Are there a lot of them in your area? I am hoping it is too cold up here for them

I didn't know until day before yesterday what a Bark Scorpion is. I mean we occasionally have scorpions...they're here (San Diego County), Arizona, Baja. No big deal...little scorpion. Yes, BIG DEAL. They are the most venomous scorpion in the U.S. I had not had one in the house here since 30 years ago, the first year we lived here and my folks were visiting and I found one in the kitchen. My folks had just come back from the Colorado River and I thought it had somehow come with them. We used to see them all over down at the River, in the kayaks, etc. Didn't really think much about it. Saw them on the beach in Baja when we were down snorkeling. The guys told us they were no problem...Ha! I know now that they lied....lol..

I've since asked a couple of friends who've also lived here a long time and sure, they've gotten a few in the house, but didn't think much about it. They also didn't know what Bark Scorpions are. Ignorance is bliss...truly. I was better off thinking they were just 'little scorpions, no big deal'...lol..

OMG... the picture in this link is of a mother scorpion with babies on her back! http://www.desertmuseum.org/ki...

Yep...they bear live young.....THIS time of year. As I mentioned somewhere else, this is a good thing. I can stomp more than one at a time. Desertdenial has mentioned that diatomaceous earth supposedly helps .I'm off to read the article about that and see if I can find my DE.

okay now you have me a bit freaked too! I havent seen any scorpions here..yet. But my neighbor has said he has a bunch of them in his house and yard, said they were little ones and 'no big deal'

I'm hoping they arent the same ones you found, and also hoping that (no matter what kind they are) the Clark pest guy's bi-monthly spraying will keep them out of my house!

We went to collect some large rocks from a friends house about 15 minutes away, I turned over 3 rocks that had little scorpions under them. None at my house so far but I did have a little tarantula just inside the back sliding door, right on my carpet. Thought it was a dried up flower! We 'dropped' him next door, over the fence. Haven't seen once since and I'd like to keep it that way!
Lots of lizards, a couple of garter snakes, I can handle those. Daughter's cat has caught 6 gophers so far (at least the ones we know of) I drowned one the other day, working on another one now. Once our daughter and her family move out, their dogs will be gone and I can finally enjoy the myriads of birds around here including lots of quail. Right now they chase anything bird comes into the yard.

Gophers I can deal with... just send Kitty out to the garden and he takes care of them for me but tarantulas, snakes and scorpions?! I'd run screaming!

1AnjL said:Gophers I can deal with... just send Kitty out to the garden and he takes care of them for me but tarantulas, snakes and scorpions?! I'd run screaming!

I doubt that the Bark Scorpions are up your way. I believe they're only in Arizona, Baja and San Diego County...even the info I saw said 'Easternmost' San Diego County. These are 1 1/2 - 3 inches long and straw colored. What have you got? I'd very much love to find that these are something other than Barks.

I havent seen them yet (and dont want to!) so dont know what we have here, we are on the western slope of the sierras, doesnt usually get that hot here so I was surprised that we had ANY scorpions at all

Glad to see this forum up. I did get bit by a brown recluse spider in Las Vegas a few years ago, I got real sick and have a scar from it. I was never afraid of spider or bugs but am now.

We were supposed to have showers all day, got a scattering this morning but real disappointed in the amount of rain that actually hit the ground. Hope we get some more, its overcast but real warm. Warm for us, 68 or so.

I was bitten by a recluse years ago down at the Colorado River. The whole family was there and we drove in from Arizona without bringing cots and slept in an incredibly old trailer that I don't think anyone had been into for years. Why weren't we smarter? Why didn't somebody say, "Hey, don't do that."? We always thought it would be one of the scorpions that got us....lol..

I'm glad to see this forum up because I just watched the weather report! I always feel like I live on a different planet when dealing with mid west and east coast gardeners! The weather has been freaky everywhere, but ours has been the opposite of theirs.

BTW, rebecca.....glad you made it over!

Glad to be here. We still didn't get anymore showers. Still might get a little tonight. I was so excited at the prospect of having everything watered for me. Back to the sprinklers tomorrow.

Where did you get you bite, Gypsy? Mine was on the outer hip. Felt like an itchy bite then the next day, whoa. Huge, black hole in center and I lost my balance and was dizzy. Did not froth at the mouth, personally if I saw anyone froth at the mouth I would throw up.

You sound calmer with your critter issue. Are you calmer or are you just tired?

I am going to look at the pictures now. I saw a picture in a magazine of a red hawthorn variety that had the prettiest bloom, orange red, I am going to look for that tree. I need another tree, NOT.

NO, I am not calmer....as we speak, I'm still looking at every pic online of scorpions. I think I'm calmer during the day and then night falls and I want to go sit in my chair with a book and pull my feet up off the floor. I can't read 'cause every couple of seconds, I'm scanning the floor...scanning, scanning, scanning. I'd thought by now I'd have cleared out and checked every place in the house, but yesterday was a wash since I was up all night the night before scanning, scanning, scanning...lol..then today I was watering and doing all the necessary stuff that I didn't do yesterday. I need to go out to the motorhome and see if I can find the diatomaceous earth to sprinkle in the closets and other areas. I don't think I want to sprinkle it around the house perimeter, it might be harmful to the rabbits or birds.

I got bit on the outside of my calf on my left leg....big ugly volcano and then rotting flesh...horrid. Army doctor.."coring" it out.

Well, if I get stung and start frothing at the mouth, and convulsions, I'll make sure Jer takes a pic for you...lol..

I am not calmer.....

I just read online about various scorp encounters and someone saying they moved their bedroom upstairs to get away from the scorps and the next person was laughing,saying their bedroom is upstairs and that's where they get most of the scorps...stepped into her closet and one fell on her head...

I am NOT calmer....

now I'm not calmer

lol....well, apparently scorps are found all over Ca, but they're not as venomous as the Bark. I keep checking online and can't come up with anything else that looks like or describes any that look just like these. Perhaps if i wouldn't stomp on it so fast, I'd have one to take in somewhere to make sure..however, I hope no more show up to even have to decide on that...lol. I do know that I will always have at least my flip-flops on. What I've read of people stepping on one makes me sure I don't want to do that....