The year of the Dragon, Tick or Misquito?

Rolling down the driveway at the farm has been a new adventure this past week or so. The grass & weeds are about 2 feet tall and although it is only May 9th, we didn't have a winter and everything seems so confused out here in the country. Usually when the grass is this high, when you drive through it or walk in it, grass hoppers will jump out all over the place. Well not this year so far, I haven't seen a single grass hopper at all. What we are over run with is mosquitoes and they aren't the little ones by any means, these are the big boys, about the size of your palm! Driving between the driveway the mosquitoes suddenly come alive and fly up out of the grass and attack the car trying to get in at any cost. Quick, roll up the windows! Dang, too late, 5 have snuck in here already. And then there are the ticks. The tiny little blood suckers that latch on to your body and don't let go even if you have pulled their body off and the head remains. YUCK!!! Personally, I had never found a tick on myself in my life until this past month that I can recall and I have spent an awful lot of time in the woods being a bunny as you can imagine. My Father's family all had farms and my Brother and I were put to work on them when we were children. And as I got older I pretty much only felt truly at home when I was in the woods or off the beaten path in places like the Black Hills of South Dakota or Devils Tower, Wyoming. Never got 1 tick. Maybe I was just lucky or maybe the ticks respected me for who I was. Well not this year. I've taken off an average of 3-5 a day and I'm getting a little perturbed at the things. Now I'm even taking them off the horses. Lovely, a new job for me, "family tick remover". Now that will look just grand on a resume'.  One good thing I can say for mosquitoes, they don't stay on you like a tick does. Bring on the chiggers!