After a rainy summer, James and I took off this fall with some local friends for an adventure. The remote mountain woods--full of dew drenched moss and cobwebs--was a perfectly spooky setting. Foggy weather and a steady drizzle of rain cast an eerie mood. The plot was innocent enough; we just wanted to pick some mushrooms! But the villains, though small, were vicious.
As we searched for edible fungi, we didn't realize we were being watched. The hunters were being hunted, but we were unaware of the danger. From the soggy forest floor they reached out for us and grabbed at our legs. We didn't even feel it when they bit us.
Three of these suckers got me around the ankles! Once we realized the woods were crawling with the creatures, we were continually brushing them off our pants and boots. Because leeches inject an anticoagulant to better drink their victim's blood, I looked like something out of a horror movie by the time we got down from the mountain. Yuck! But it makes for a good story, right?
Happy Halloween, everybody!
