We arrived at Phoenix airport late on a monday night and I wasn't prepared for the heat. It was night time and still the temperature couldn't have been below 35 ∘C, it was very strange. Before we had even collected the
rental car we received a phone call which was the first in a series of unfortunate events.
For speed,
and so that I don't have to re-live every last detail I will tell you briefly our troubles.
The neighbours had been asked to go into Whitney's Uncle's house and turn on the air-conditioning (a necessity in Arizona, not a luxury) only to find the key code lock had run out of batteries and with the key somewhere in Canada, this posed a problem. We stayed in a hotel that night and called a locksmith in the morning, who gained entry with worrying ease and then left. I replaced the battery in the lock, and with one job down proceeded to find out why the house was so unbearably hot even thought the A/C had been on for a good hour. I will spare you the details, but basically both conditioning units were broken, the gas boiler wouldn't turn on, cans of Pepsi had exploded leaving sticky goo all over the kitchen, there were dead insects all over the house due to it being empty for a couple of months, and it seems the only creatures not dead were the scorpions scuttling around the floor.
After dealing with each problem in turn we took a look around the house and for the first time realised just how wonderful it was. It is luxury. The swimming pool is my favourite piece of decadence, although some might argue that this too is an essential part of life in Phoenix. The scorpion problem however, was
one that continued a little while longer. The mere thought of a scorpion is an unpleasant experience for me, and so when my wife, before bed, during one of her lightning fast internet searches, informed me that the Bark Scorpion is the most
one that continued a little while longer. The mere thought of a scorpion is an unpleasant experience for me, and so when my wife, before bed, during one of her lightning fast internet searches, informed me that the Bark Scorpion is the most
venomous in the U.S and are the only type that can climb walls, I was slightly concerned. To say I didn't sleep that night would have been a considerable understatement, as I spent the night searching the bed, my shoes, the floor, under beds and anywhere else I could think of for these hideous beasts. It wasn't until the next day that I came across a really nasty looking fiend, with its tail caught in the revolving brush of the vacuum. After giving a manly start, (those of you lucky enough to be there when I found a cockroach in my shoe in France a few years back will know the masculine scream I am referring to) I sucked the whole thing up with a satisfying crunch. Seeing the accompanying photograph of the large scorpion you may be wondering how I had the courage to get so close to it and I would be deceiving you if I didn't tell you that, like the cricket at Seneca, it was quite dead. Those of you calling for a publication of 'Dead Insects' by Mark Griffith, will not have to wait long, release date expected spring 2011.
Another scorpion fact (yes, I am obsessed) that Whitney uncovered is that they glow under ultraviolet light, and a few magical clicks and a delivery later, we were in possession of a rather strong UV torch called 'The Scorpinator'. I put on a long-sleeved shirt, jeans (which I tucked into my socks) and trainers, leaving me seriously over-dressed for our current climate, and perspiring like a waterfall (yes, I fitted another one in) I bravely went outside armed with my camera and 'The Scorpinator'. Focussing a camera in the dark with auto focus is not possible, well not with my camera anyway, and doing it manually with a torch in hand is also tricky, but the result was a quite splendid baby scorpion.
N.B. Scorpions are not insects, but are in the Arachnid group as they have 8 legs and not 6.
