It seems Murphy picked up a few ticks today while hiking in the mountains with Patrick. Ticks are nasty. We’ve found at least 5 on poor Murphy so far–had to burn their heads and then pull them out with tweezers. They’re extremely difficult to see, so we have to wait for Murphy to scratch or lick a spot on his body so that we know where to look for them. I keep checking him out, but haven’t been able to find any more. Meanwhile, he loves all the attention…thinks we are petting him lots!

Patrick also got bit by one on his upper thigh. Got it out quickly, so we’re hoping neither he nor Murphy winds up with something like lyme disease or any other nasty internal bug. Needless to say, Patrick is not eager to go hiking in that spot again!

The sun is shining once more and I’m looking forward to a wonderful 3-day weekend! Maybe I’ll finally get my Christmas stuff back into storage in the garage once more. Also hope to do some yard cleanup in the back–haven’t scooped poop since Christmas!