Red tide and the Tub of Death

Florida seems to have more things than Michigan that are hostile to people. Take Spider Drop Park. That's not its real name but it is the name I have given it since there is a sign in this small park that says "Warning: spiders in trees". I was going to explore that park but as soon as I saw that sign, I was persuaded not to. I assume all trees have spiders, so if the trees in that park have so many spiders that it merits a sign, that's enough for me. Worse than Leech Lake, which is a lake in Minnesota.

Then there is whatever bit me today 3 times on the foot and I didn't even get to squash it because I didn't see it.

Then there is the Red Tide, also and more correctly known as an "algal bloom", which is not like a flower, but a naturally occurring mass of algae in the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico. This fall, apparently, it was bad, and killed off a bunch of fish, leaving the local papers to print - not a word, not a single word. At least not that we read, and Tom has taken to reading the papers down here online when we are in Michigan. 

The Red Tide has dissipated, mostly, the water is not red, there is no smell and no dead fish, but there is a certain irritant in the air that makes me cough a bit when I am at the beach. Actually there were a number of people coughing at the beach. It's not harmful unless you are a clam, and better than snow, but still.  

Finally, we have the aqua tub. I put myself in the picture because I am a little vain. It's a beautiful tub in a beautiful house but the bottom is very very slippery.  I figured that out after one shower and went and got one of those suction cup bathmats. That made it a bit better, but, a couple or three days ago, getting out of the tub, I hit the edge of the bathmat, dislodged it, slipped, and wrenched my back grabbing the hand-hold thing. So now my back hurts, not so bad that I can't go to the beach, but for a few days, bad enough that I couldn't put dishes in the dishwasher. And poor Tom had to do it.

So that's it, those of you that live in the South doubtless know of other dangerous things, like ticks, fleas, alligators, and Buford burgers.