World War Flea

I thought it was a clever title when I thought of it. Of course, like everything, it's been thought before, but the truth is, that's what I've been engaged in for the past week plus. Let's see if I can pull together a real short version. Junimoon, the cat, Juni for short, was invited to leave her feral kitten life outside and join Lucy the cat and me inside this humble abode on July 31st of 2025. A week before Juni left her friluftsliv, she got a Frontline Plus flea treatment in my lap on the back patio. She also got a few flea combs dragged down from her head to her tail to check things out. She seemed okay, but from the current state of affairs, I obviously didn't do the greatest job. Both Juni and Lu got regular monthly Frontline treatments, but when Juni came home from her spay with a local vet, I was informed... oh yeah, she has fleas. She got Frontline again the next day, and so did Lucy. Cutting to the chase, for the past nine days now, I have been engaged in a full-on frontal assault, flanking attacks, and the rupturing of the enemy's defenses. A “scorched earth” policy, attacking the enemy and breaking their lifecycle. Or so it seems. Fortunately, back in late August, I bought a Wagner Spraytech Multi-Purpose Steam Cleaner. Unfortunately, I didn't foresee this battle and neglected to get the model with extension tubes and a floor steam mop, plus you need a Steam Machine Angled Adaptor. Hopefully, I'll have those soon. Dear Wagner Spray Tech, You should package and sell upgrade kits for all of your products. Thank you!

Anyway, without the floor goodies, it's been brutal on my foraminal disc bulging, severe proximal neural foraminal narrowing, etc. I have also been vacuuming and shampooing carpets with very hot water (140º+ F) and have engaged in a few ways to apply 91% isopropyl alcohol to various surfaces and away from the kitties. 91% because it evaporates quickly. 70% and above kills on contact. 140º F kills on contact. My clothes dryer has been working overtime, and some materials go into the washer and are drowned in 4 quarts of boiling water from the stove immediately, before going through the wash cycle. I'm not fooling around. Also, you don't need to see them to fight them. Both Lucy and Juni get multiple checks with five flea combs... Don't wait to check the combs either; it's quick runs with the comb, and they go immediately into a glass of water preheated close to boiling. One can tabulate the dead post-mortem. 

Daily walks have been seriously impeded by this battle. I went through this before with just Lucy and her limited, age-related, doesn't really care to roam the house, territory in 2024. Actually, then there were more fleas. Right now, the situation is relatively under control, but it can change quickly, so it's Operation: Total Termination. I have walked though, and I've taken some pictures. The effort to sit down and do what I'm doing right now has been incremental and has had its priority downgraded. 

Here are some photos from January 17th (this sunset post was me having to get out for sanity's sake) and this past weekend, January 24th and the 25th. 

Saturday,  January 17th.

Just because he looked so fat and cute. 

California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica)

This is "DJ."DJ is in Dusty's old territory. He could very well be related. DJ is a male Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna). The tree is Pistacia chinensis.

 Here he is on a Baja fairy duster (Calliandra californica).

 This is Eremophila 'Fairy Floss' (Erempohila racemosa). This is the best hummingbird magnet in the local botanical garden. I'm very excited to see it starting to bloom.

 Monarch butterfly on, I believe, another type of Eremophila.

 Some type of Acacia.

 Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura).

 

Saturday, January 24th. 
This was a bout a 3 mile walk. I think 2.89 miles with just a few instances where I had to bench myself and recover from intense quadratus lumborum (QL) muscle discomfort. 

 Google says this is a fungal infection. This is a stump, I believe it was some type of pine tree.

This is the top of said stump. Google says this is "slime mold." Looks like some kind of mycelium to me.

 Huge bowl, tiny bird. The bird is a hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus). This was really far away and rather spontaneous.

 African iris, also known as a fortnight lily or Dietes iridioides. 

 Since my last visit to the arboretum, 35 lavender bushes were planted in one area.

 Monarch butterfly on a stucco wall.

 And the cocoon hangout down below. All off somewhere.

 DJ again.

Now, there's a story behind this bird. Back last March, maybe a little earlier, I got to know this bird. He was timid around me at first. That has been my experience with male Selasphorus sasin (Allen's) hummingbirds, at home too. It took a visit or two for him to become comfortable or at least accepting of my presence. On Saturday, he came in flying right over my right shoulder. I make a silly little squeaky chipping sound around hummingbirds, and I've got to tell you... he knew it was me. I'm talking to him in several of these images. They are highly intelligent, territorial, and capable of recognizing individual humans. I used to call him Bratty Bird, but I have a newfound affection for the little guy, and his name now is Laukki. Which is Finnish for Blaze. I thought Blaze was too cartoonish. I like the name Laukki.

This was also interesting. I'll point out why. We have four juvenile ravens from center image to upper right. We know they're juveniles because that's about the only time ravens hang out in a group. Collective nouns for a group of ravens include a "conspiracy," a "treachery," a "rave" and an "unkindness." In practice, most people use the more generic term "flock."

 

 On the left side we have three red-tailed hawks. It is considered unusual to see three adult red-tailed hawks hanging out together, as they are primarily solitary or territorial birds. Pairs may stay together year-round to maintain their bond. They are are monogamous and generally mate for life.

 

Here are some other shots from that scene. And yes, the ravens weren't too pleased with the hawks in their territory. 

 

Here's a better view of what the sky was like on Saturday.

 

 Sunday, January 25th. 

 

On Saturday, just before departure, I had caught wind of the disturbing news out of Minneapolis, but I didn't know many details. By Sunday, my feelings had grown to a profound sense of devastation, intense anger, and sadness. It wasn't something I was able to shake. I still can't. Just typing these words, there's a flood of emotion and tears. Despite thinking my getting out in nature on Sunday would help distract me, it didn't. I ended up just visiting the Eremophila bush and talking to Laukki.

 

There was a red-tailed hawk flying overhead along the way.