Sunday Morning Positive Perks from your Sassy Small Town Missus

Posted 25 July 2021 at 8:00 am

Plain Eastern Scorpion proves itself to be a ‘Power Animal’ in Tennessee

The Plain Eastern Scorpion of Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau – respect and coexistence.

It was quite a shocker when my husband informed me he unearthed scorpions in our pop-up garage in the middle of our new home away from home.

In Albion, these creatures, with pincer claws, don’t skulk under cardboard. For a split second, panic set in. Then I decided there was no need to panic unless Google told me to. Google informed me that the TN Scorpion is a native breed of TN and is not poisonous. Their sting is no worse than a bee sting. Phew, that was good news. I hope to never find this out first hand.

Days passed and as most of us do, when we put caution to the back of our mind, we get complacent. So down to the pop-up I go. My chore for the morning is to situate rain barrels for showers and relocate the wood pile to the top of the property.

First, I spotted a lizard on the wood pile. Awe, he’s so cute. I decided to leave that log behind so he could continue his morning meditation. I reach through the rest of the wood and, yikes! – a scorpion. It was daytime and the scorpion is nocturnal. Once she woke up and we did our due diligence on each other, she moved right along. I faced down the scorpion and lived to tell the tale, but my husband’s story took a turn, more than once.

It was the middle of the night and he started doing some kind of jig around the room in the dark. What in the world?? One of those nocturnal little crawlers was laying in wait under our nice warm covers and was pinching on his toe. They use their pincers to hold their prey before they give them a good zap with their curly tail.

After that, we learned to adapt and adjust to our new environment by checking all shoes before putting them on and shining a flashlight under the covers each night. I tried a natural scorpion repellent by sprinkling cinnamon around the bed. This sent me on a 3-hour sneezing fit. We moved our bed away from the wall, removed any climbable objects from under the bed, and bedding never would be allowed to touch the floor again. Don’t walk around barefoot at night either. I spied a rusty brown, low-crawling creature moving quickly in the dark on the floor. I read they travel in pairs so I kept a look out for her buddy, and she did turn up.

Scorpions are moisture lovers. While enjoying my outdoor shower one crept onto my shower mat! My husband picked up a branch in the woods, grabbed a scorpion and she back handed him with her stingy tail. I read when trying to evoke a “Power Animal” you should call on the scorpion because they represent a good dose of determination.

So in that spirit, when striving for a dream puts you living outside your comfort zone and in a new reality, this dose is greatly appreciated! I hope to harbor the craftiness, grit and self preservation that my tangos with scorpions taught me.

What is your “Power Animal”? Head back to my home page to join my blog and receive new post updates and visit the main menu to read previous posts of positivity! To see a lizard meditate visit my blog  (click here) and catch up on weekly photo perks and previous Sunday posts. Like and share your comments.

Truly,
Debbie Burgoon London