Creepy Crawlers

Tiny creepy crawlers. (Click picture for larger view)

"An English professor announced to the class; "There are two words I don't allow in my class. One is gross and the other is cool." From the back of the room a voice called out, "....... so, what are the words?". ~ Unknown

What is "gross"? That overwhelming feeling of disgust that leaves you a bit nauseous or makes your skin crawl. Many things are gross; roaches the size of Rhode Island, bag worms in their filmy web, pollen scum floating on top of stagnant water, flies laying eggs on a piece of rotten fruit, invisible spider webs on a dark night. Many words conjure up a gross feeling; slime, mold, muck, maggots, ticks, putrid, and others. It all varies with the person and personality. For example, my daughter thinks blood is "gross" and I don't; this is a good thing in my profession.

But, before we get too far afield..... "gross" aptly describes the feeling I get upon picking up a dish left outside and seeing these tiny creatures scattering in all directions. At the same time it feels as if there are thirty or forty of them crawling on my hand and up my arm, or onto my flip-flopped foot and up my leg; often there are. Then comes the brushing and stomping and hoping that you got them all off, all the while feeling like you didn't for hours after the encounter! I know ants are industrious, cooperate with other ants, form colonies; all very civilized actions. But to me they are just GROSS!!!

Submission for PhotoFriday topic "gross". (end of post)