Tick ... tick ... tick

"Ticks: They're Back Big-Time" reads the headline in the Wall Street Journal. I can vouch for that. I was on the phone Monday evening when I felt something little and hard stuck to my scalp. Sure enough, it was a tick, but fortunately only a dog tick, not the tiny Lyme-carrying variety. I pulled it out, stuck it between two pieces of tape, and daubed some alcohol on the spot. Friends have reported pulling ticks off their horses and dogs all winter: it just didn't get cold enough to kill the little pests.