And for our Welcome to Cody Convention gift, we present....

ta-dum ta-dum

a scorpion in your bed!

Right, ok, so I didn't know that Cody even had scorpions. I am informed later that, yes, they do live there, but only down in the rocks, and they're only seen when it's really hot. It wasn't really hot. So one evening I come to my room, and pick up my pj t-shirt; and there, on top of my pants, is this tannish-colored bug. Funny looking bug, I think. Looks sort of like a really tiny scorpion. I lean over to scrutinze it a bit closer and it waggles its scorpion-like tail at me. This, think I, really really looks like a scorpion! Wow! Part of me is impressed that they are so (nearly) instantly recognizable from nothing more than descriptions and the odd picture - since I've never seen one in real life before, living, breathing and preparing to sting. The other part of me wants someone else to come and deal with this. I am NOT squishing it! I don't like squishing bugs (except mosquitoes) anyways; I'm certainly not squishing this. Besides, it might sting me through the kleenex or something.

In my surprise and unguardedness, I mention something, maybe a bit loudly, about this beastie in my bed, so Teri came along and bundled him up in kleenex, zipped him into a plastic baggie and dropped him in a trashcan. At this point, I began wishing I'd thought to take a picture before advertising his presence - but I'm not about to go fishing in the kleenex to haul him out just for a photo op! So no picture. You all can just imagine a very small (less than 1" long), dust-colored bug, with a big, curvy tail.