Bzzzz

I stepped on a bee in the yard yesterday. I *thought* I got the stinger out, but there's still a black dot on the bottom of my foot and google'd med pages on bee stings tell me it may still be there. Drat. The area is swollen, of course. When it itches, and I scratch, then it hurts where I've scratched. BOTHER. The upside is that I've always thought a bee sting every 5 years or so is healthy¹, and it's been about that long since the last one, sustained at my parents' house before it was sold.

1 Bee stings are used in alternative treatments for arthritis. http://arthritis.about.com/od/bee/ and http://arthritis.about.com/b/a/124523.htm

Stats and Mentions

The July issue of Outside mentioned my hometown in their 37 great weekend escapes article, which tickled me to no end. It's east of Pittsburgh in the Allegheny Mountains, and truly is a beautiful area. I see some full-page ads for the Allegheny and Laurel Highlands area, which is smart of the tourism depts. Go there! Mountain bike! Hike! Partake of French-Indian war history!

The Dispatches/Wild File column had stats for the Q: Which animal kills the most people each year?
Answer:
1. Mosquitoes - 2 million
2. Humans kill other humans at a rate of about 1 million annually
3. Snakes - 50,000 to 125,000
4. Crocodiles - 1,000
5. Tigers - 700
6. Moose - 11 "They can kick in all 4 directions and move like Muhammad Ali," Rick Sinnot, biologist with Alaska Dept. Fish & Game.