Say hello to my dead little friend

Blacklegged (deer) tick, male adult, tique à pattes noire, Ixodes scapularis. 

I pulled it off my stomach thinking it was a skin tag - it was still wiggling! 

These can carry Lyme disease so I went to the pharmacy just in case - pharmacists in Ontario

can prescribe some medicines without having to see a doctor.  I was the fifth person who had been bitten by a tick that day! It has been warm this fall. 2x 100mg Doxycycline. taken at once, no dairy to be eaten 1 hour before or after. The tick had been on for perhaps 24 hours, so that's why I went. I think Krystal the cat brought it in on her fur.

Monitoring for any symptoms like fever, joint pain or the characteristic 'bullseye' rash around the bite.

Edit - 24 hrs later: bit of an upset stomach, rash around bite shrinking (good)

HMCS Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430)

 Warships are a rare sight on the St. Lawrence as the treaties that ended the War of 1812 limited the number of them that can be in the Great Lakes, and even Coast Guard vessels have limits on the weapons they can carry.

HMCS Harry DeWolf is a patrol vessel commissioned in 2021 and built for Arctic Ocean duty.

HMCS Harry DeWolf (AOPV 430), entering Lake St. Francis, descending the St. Lawrence River, November 6, 2024, near Renshaw Island

Moonset, November 5, 2024