Did you know that there are leeches, also known as "bloodsuckers", in Pennsylvania? I didn't either. But apparently there are! Asa came to me saying, "Mom, there's a leech or a snail on my boot." I responded by saying, "It's a snail, honey". We recently returned from our vacation in Minnesota, where in our lake, live leeches. Both boys had an encounter with them, and that's the only place I've ever in my life seen them, or heard tell of them. So, naturally, when I heard Asa saying that there was a leech on his boot, I thought he was just experiencing residual leech-fear from Woman Lake. I went out to the porch to look at his boot so I could show him how the snail is different from the leech, and was surprised when I looked at his boot, it was a leech (as you may have guessed by this point)! It kind of struck fear in my heart, that not only do I have to beware of bloodsuckers while swimming in the lake on vacations, but also here, where I live. I was always able to deal with the concept of leeches because my exposure to them was so short-lived and seemingly remote from the reality of my daily life; but this somewhat concerns me! I will always have to be looking over my shoulder - always be on the lookout for one of those nasty, slimy, blood-thirsty abominations clinging between my toes!
This is a picture of the leech where she was found on Asa's boot.
Honeysuckle on her new mossy rock.
The boys have decided to keep "her", and have named her Honeysuckle. Get it? Honey - suck - uhl? They gave her her own habitat of creek water and moss-covered rocks and some detritus thrown in.
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