Remember I posted how when they say “Everything is bigger in Texas” they mean the rain? And the hail?

Well, I’ve since found out they are also referring to the bugs. And the Texas-sized mosquitoes. The blood-sucking mosquitoes are huge, and persistent. One was trapped in my car yesterday. At first I thought it was a housefly, that’s how big it was. The size of a housefly.

This one is in Florida and smaller than the Texas mosquitoes. (Photo courtesy of "ajmexico" at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajmexico/6446298545/)

Holy Flying Vampires, y’all! They actually chased me around the property at which I’m work-camping!

When I lived in California, I was rarely bitten by fleas or mosquitoes. Once when Chickenbone (my younger sister) and I were kids, we camped in a tent in my grandparent’s backyard. When we woke up the following morning, Chickenbone was covered with about 200 flea bites. I had three.

I’m just not tasty to California’s puny fleas. Same thing with those teeny California mosquitoes.

But I am VERY tasty to Gulf Coast mosquitoes. These suckers (pun not intended) are brutal and will spear you right through your clothes.

Several years ago on a trip to Cancun, I was mercilessly attacked by mosquitoes. The fifty other folks in the group? Very few bites. I even got bit on my lips, which resulted in a mouth that looked like Angelina Jolie’s. Having lips like Angelina’s was actually the only good part.

Nothing has changed (except that my lips went back to normal) – today the mosquitoes literally chased me around the property I’m work-camping at. Unfortunately, they have yet to transform my lips to look like the super-sexy Angelina Jolie version.

I am now the proud owner of a lot of toxic DEET.

But they’re not the worst of the bugs I’ve encountered here… there are caterpillars which are toxic to the touch. And, like the mosquitoes, they’re prolific. Awesome.

The evil Tussock Moth caterpillar. Don't let the fuzziness fool you. You don't want to pet this one.

These little fuzzy terrors drop down on web-like threads from the abundant oak trees above. (I’m camped under a little forest of oak trees and, therefore, a little breeding ground.)

The hairs on the back of the caterpillar are toxic to the touch and some people have a severe allergic reaction. I have managed so far to avoid getting stung, but they are everywhere: on the ground, on the walls of my rig, on my car. It may be just a matter of time.

Except for the tornadoes, non-stop lightning storms, and the proliferance of bugs, I still like Texas. As a Californian for the last 30 years, Texas seems like a different world. The many Texans I’m camped with eat mostly red meat, drink, smoke, and avoid vegetables like the plague. All grocery stores hand out tons of plastic bags – you can’t get paper. Recycling? What’s that? I have a vague memory it’s something Californians do. And I think might be only Californians.