This time, during a walk with Yuki, we encountered an eastern box turtle. Its unique feature is that the plastron of its shell has a hinge, which allows it to completely close its “house” from predators.
Also, I was bitten by a tick for the third time recently. It’s the same type as before, romantically named “lone star tick.” Fortunately, it doesn’t transmit Lyme disease, but in rare cases, the bite can cause an incurable meat allergy (alpha gal). Every piece of pork, beef, or any other red meat in such cases can at least cause nausea, vomiting, pain, sneezing, and a runny nose, and at worst, can lead to suffocation requiring emergency assistance. I hope I’m lucky this time too and everything will be fine, and I won’t become an unwilling vegetarian.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 