megabyte

Persimmons are great when making puds or chutneys. If they are ripe, I love them just as they are.

Welcome back Wild one! Hmmmm, now I have to think about coyotes and nuts with guns!!! So, let me see if I have this right: poison ivy, poison sumac, water moccasins, rattlesnakes, stinkbugs, mosquito's, deer, bears, coyotes, just read feral hogs!, probably raccoons, skunks and opossum................anything else to worry about? Oh, how about cockroaches???(yuk).

PS I am not really worried, just preparing myself.

wildinvirginia

Glad to be back. Other things to worry about .... yes, Brown Recluse Spiders and there's another one I can't remember the name of. Oh and geese .... just because they're bloody annoying and you're not allowed to do anything to them. One sat in the middle of a guy's access road routinely and refused to move. One day he got so fed up he drove at it slowly, thinking it would move. It didn't. It got squished. He went to jail .....
Apparently you don't have to worry about this gun nut - hubby said I can have something very low caliber and it wont reach SML from here lol

megabyte

Oh no, now my skin is crawling...

I checked - you have black widows (!!!) and then I saw these:

-Wolf Spiders... They are HUGE. The body can be about an inch long, with over 2 inch legs...

-copperheads and cottonmouths

-beware of the German cockroach. I knew plenty of people who got infested in Northern V.A.

wildinvirginia

OK, am now Googling flights back to the UK ........

megabyte

I have a place for you to move to :-)

It is going to be a bit of a shock for me moving to VA. I live on an island that has no snakes, deer, foxes, badgers, bears, moles, squirrels, toads, raccoons, skunks, coyote, no poisonous plants (to the touch)...etc. We have cuddly things like rabbits, wallabies, dolphins, seals, basking sharks, cats with no tails, beautiful sheep with 4 - 6 horns...etc.

There is very little crime and low unemployment. I walk alone through the woods never worrying about danger from people, animals or plants. When I shop I do no worry about leaving my handbag in the cart and walking away. At my gym, women leave the bags open with wallets, cells, laptops all exposed. Doors are unlocked in your home and car. Of course, people are being taught to worry now, so things are slowly changing, but I feel safe on every inch of the island.

I hear what you are saying: why move? I miss my family.

wildinvirginia

We don't lock our doors here either, and it's routine to leave your car windows open to allow the heat to escape. At the moment people are even leaving them running to keep the A/C on while they shop - I know not very eco-friendly but shows how little people are worried about crime. A year ago, a police officer trying to apprehend a shoplifter in Rocky Mount's Walmart, fell and hurt his knee ..... several staff and on-lookers jumped in to help him, such was the outrage at a crime Of course there's crime, especially in the cities, but definitely not at the level of mainland England where violent crime has become random and alcohol fueled .... you'll be very safe here I assure you, especially in rural parts. Although I have heard that those racoons do love their Prada

megabyte

I am glad to hear that you feel safe there, but it is not only people I was thinking of..............it's all of those things that go bump in the night!!!!............and crawl, bite, slither, sting and scare you during the day. Guess I will be knocking on your door to borrow that thing that goes bang

ottotheboar

Just to put things in perspective most creatures move away from you, I have only known one snakebite and a couple of spider bites over the years.
You do get the odd bug bite and regarding poison ivy the old saying "leaf of three let it be" works well. The only thing we shoot is targets. Between the speedboat, wineries, mudbogs and not to forget the Persimmons you will have fun

megabyte

OK.....I'm ready to move in. Now could someone please find me a new custom house, on the lake, facing west, wide water views with mountains, under-floor heating, very little maintenance, nice neighbours...etc. Oh, and as they say "going for a song"!

wildinvirginia

Hey Lady Bug,

How's the hunt going - you any clearer when you'll be heading our way? How's the seach going?