OUCH!! #Wordless Wednesday #A prickly situation. Hmm – is the bug impaled on that spine?

Posted on June 25, 2025 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

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About Linda Schaub

This is my first blog and I enjoy writing each post immensely. I started a walking regimen in 2011 and in 2013 I decided to create a blog as a means of memorializing the people, places and things seen on my daily walks. I have always enjoyed people watching, so my blog is peppered with folks I meet or reflections of characters I have known through the years. Often something piques my interest, or evokes a pleasant memory from my memory bank, so this becomes a “slice o’ life” blog post. I respect and appreciate nature and my interactions with Mother Nature’s gifts is also a common theme. Sometimes the most-ordinary items become fodder for points to ponder over and touch upon. I retired in March 2024 after a career in the legal field. I was a legal secretary for almost 45 years, primarily working in downtown Detroit, then working from my home. I graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in Mass Communications (print journalism) in 1978, though I’ve never worked in that field. I would like to think this blog is the writer in me finally emerging!! Walking and writing have met, shaken hands and the creative juices are flowing in Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy. I hope you think so too. - Linda Schaub
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67 Responses to OUCH!! #Wordless Wednesday #A prickly situation. Hmm – is the bug impaled on that spine?

  1. Barbara Rodgers's avatar Barbara Rodgers says:
    June 25, 2025 at 7:24 am

    I can’t tell! It looks small enough to navigate the terrain safely, though.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      June 25, 2025 at 8:57 pm

      I wasn’t sure either Barbara – the fact that it paused right there made me add that line. My mom got a cactus spine in her forearm from leaning over her cactus garden and that spine embedded into her skin. We tried to get it out with tweezers, but had to go to the doctor to risk infection.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Kate Crimmins's avatar Kate Crimmins says:
    June 25, 2025 at 7:29 am

    Perhaps walking between the spikes?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      June 25, 2025 at 8:59 pm

      Kind of tippytoeing through? It was difficult to tell and I was going to poke it to see, but thought better of it. My mom got a cactus spine embedded in her forearm once – she was short and bending over the countertop and sink to water it on the windowsill. We had to go to the doctor to have it removed as tweezers did not work – yikes. It was a cactus like that one.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. bushboy's avatar bushboy says:
    June 25, 2025 at 7:59 am

    If it is impaled, it’s cactus 😂

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Dave's avatar Dave says:
    June 25, 2025 at 8:14 am

    Cooling off inside of the cactus?

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Debbie D.'s avatar Debbie D. says:
    June 25, 2025 at 10:34 am

    Hard to tell! Interesting macro shot, regardless. 👌

    Liked by 1 person

  7. J P's avatar J P says:
    June 25, 2025 at 12:16 pm

    This needs background music, like Elvis Presley’s “Stuck On You”. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      June 25, 2025 at 9:05 pm

      Yes, not as pretty of a sight as Elvis would sing about JP. 🙂 Now that will be an earworm and a lovely earworm at that. Last night I had many earworms from the Bobby Sherman songs that were being played all day as he had passed away yesterday. He was my first bubblegum music “crush” back in the day and he was almost 82 years old … that sure made me feel old.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. lindalouslife's avatar lindalouslife says:
    June 25, 2025 at 2:51 pm

    Tiptoeing through the cactus!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. AnnMarie Stevens's avatar AnnMarie Stevens says:
    June 25, 2025 at 5:56 pm

    Miss Linda…………………………………………Hey remember this one for around Halloween!……….Yikes!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. singlikewildflowers's avatar singlikewildflowers says:
    June 25, 2025 at 7:55 pm

    Oh my, don’t stand near that with your enemy!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Laurie's avatar Laurie says:
    June 25, 2025 at 8:02 pm

    Is that bug a firefly? I hope he/she is not impaled!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      June 25, 2025 at 9:13 pm

      I thought it was a firefly too Laurie. I did a Google Image search and got two different answers so had to be generic and put “bug”. It looked like it was impaled on that spine. Many years ago my mom got a cactus spine embedded in her forearm. It was a cactus like that one. She was very short and bending over the countertop and sink to water the cactus on the windowsill. We had to go to the doctor to have it removed as tweezers did not work – yikes.

      Like

  12. Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged.com's avatar Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged.com says:
    June 25, 2025 at 9:03 pm

    Oh my, I hope not! That would hurt.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      June 25, 2025 at 9:17 pm

      Yes, my mom got a cactus spine embedded in her forearm once – she got “stabbed” while watering her cactus garden and she had to go to the doctor to have it removed.

      Like

  14. indianeskitchen's avatar indianeskitchen says:
    June 25, 2025 at 10:45 pm

    I wouldn’t want to run into that! When we were on vacation, I bought prickly pear cactus jelly and honey. The jelly was really good, I haven’t tried the honey yet.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      June 26, 2025 at 9:31 pm

      Wow, I didn’t know they made such a thing with the prickly pear cactus – that is interesting. The hair salon where I used to go was very small and owned by a husband and wife and their salon was done in a western theme. So out front he had prickly pear cactus plants everywhere. I first went in the Summer and figured he just pulled them out and kept them inside over the Winter, but when I visited for an appointment in Winter, the first thing I noticed were those cacti under the snow and I figured they’d die, but they were back in Spring. I later learned they survive Winter without an issue which surprised me. So, if you like the honey too, you could grow them in your garden Diane.

      Like

  15. Terri Webster Schrandt's avatar Terri Webster Schrandt says:
    June 26, 2025 at 12:02 am

    Looks like it dug a hole into the cactus and lives there!

    Liked by 2 people

  16. Prior...'s avatar Prior... says:
    June 26, 2025 at 12:28 am

    It does look impaled

    Liked by 1 person

  17. rajkkhoja's avatar rajkkhoja says:
    June 26, 2025 at 12:32 am

    Perfect micron photography . Wonderful Cactus.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog's avatar Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog says:
    June 26, 2025 at 12:44 am

    Sweet pics, Linda!
    On a visit to Tucson, Arizona, the poet E.E. Cummings had a mystical experience while walking in the desert where he encountered a strange cactus-like plant: he touched one spine and jumped “spiritually 40 miles.” His journals are full of references to “le bon Dieu” and frequent prayers for help in his creative life (such as “Bon Dieu! may I some day do something truly great. amen.”).

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      June 26, 2025 at 9:58 pm

      Thank you Tom! That’s a fun story and yes touching one of those big spines, especially out in the desert where they grow so big and tall, would sure make you jump back while uttering a few choice words. My mom used to have cactus gardens on the kitchen windowsill. She was short and so on tiptoes she would have to reach over the counter and sink to water them and a spine from one of the cacti got embedded in her forearm. She didn’t see it right away as it slid right into her arm like a needle would. She said she felt the little stab. Later that night she asked me to get the tweezers to help her remove it and we couldn’t – it was already embedded in her forearm and we needed to go to the doctor to have it removed before an infection set in.

      Like

  19. Story Times's avatar Story Times says:
    June 26, 2025 at 1:43 am

    Poor guy, can’t free himself, needs help!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      June 26, 2025 at 9:44 pm

      Yes, I agree with you Story Times … I almost plucked it out but then it might have done more damage if I snagged him on a spine – more than just “ouch” – likely death!

      Like

  20. Tofino Photography's avatar Tofino Photography says:
    June 27, 2025 at 2:00 am

    The Loggerhead Strike impales its victims on cactus spikes, barb wire etc.

    Nasty habit.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Prior...'s avatar Prior... says:
    June 27, 2025 at 4:19 pm

    Hi Linda, me again, and just wanted to say I could not leave a comment on the arctophile post – so I will leave it here.

    I loved your bear collection and it seemed to be in excellent condition – the bears have been well cared for. I loved the pillow with the “don’t feed the bears, they’re stuffed already”

    And thanks for linking that post on my recent short fiction because it fit so well!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      June 27, 2025 at 6:58 pm

      It just dawned on me you wouldn’t be able to leave a comment as I closed comments. Both Shelley (Quaint Revival) and Brian (Bushboy) have suggested closing comments to eliminate SPAM and it has helped as I had a lot of SPAM comments, 50-100 daily sometimes. I’m glad to give you a smile about bears. Who could not smile when you see their cute faces? I loved the video of Queen Elizabeth and Paddington Bear at Buckingham Palace during the Queen’s Jubilee festivities. It was so done so cleverly.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Prior...'s avatar Prior... says:
        June 27, 2025 at 7:33 pm

        Hi – I have comments close on my posts too – and it does reduce spam!
        sometimes I will go in and open up comments to keep a post active, but mostly have them close after 60 days (I think it is 60 days).
        and speaking of Paddington Bear – in our holiday ornaments box, we had a cute little Paddington stuffy as an ornament.
        I think I still have it even tho we did get rid of 75% of the ornaments.
        The other bear ornament I have is one from a college roommate, kara, who I only knew one semester – she got pregnant and dropped out (and we were at a Christian college so it was more of a big deal). I did not know her that much but she was classy and very nice – and I still have her bear – with some kind of glue that looks like honey dripping on it – so cute

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
        June 28, 2025 at 8:42 pm

        They both sound very cute Yvette. I thought the Paddington video was very cute. I didn’t realize you could open comments on a specific post. That is interesting to know. I got a ton of SPAM and would do it a couple of times a day because there was so much and I was concerned I’d miss a legitimate comment in the pages and pages of SPAM! After I was writing a a reply or comment to you Friday, I lost my internet. We had a substation where an animal chewed on wires on a circuit board, the main wire broke earlier in the day and there was a tiny blip in the power, but the back-up circuit which powers a large area, not just my city, but neighboring cities, was affected. Then the backup wire gave out as it was so hot and the grid was already taxed. So, no power for internet either.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Prior...'s avatar Prior... says:
        June 28, 2025 at 11:22 pm

        wow – that animal caused a lot of a rippling effect with their chewing!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
        June 29, 2025 at 8:22 pm

        Isn’t that amazing Yvette? This has happened before, so they should really put something there to deter them. I still have an AT&T landline and I’ve had to have AT&T come out three times to repair the outside sheath of the phone cable; this is the cable strung from pole to pole like the electrical lines are, not just the lines that connect to your house. The squirrels like something in the material so they chew it. My boss and also a fellow blogger both had squirrels get into their vehicle engine compartment and chew the wires because those wires have a soy-based coating and the squirrels like the taste. The squirrels did not get electrocuted but in each case, the vehicle had to be towed and it cost several thousand dollars to be repaired!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Prior...'s avatar Prior... says:
        June 30, 2025 at 4:18 pm

        ouch – that is terrible about the squirrels causing all that damge – and it sure must have been annoying and so costly

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
        June 30, 2025 at 10:25 pm

        I hope they come up with a fix before another poor critter wanders into a substation hungry.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Prior...'s avatar Prior... says:
        June 30, 2025 at 11:37 pm

        yes – I hope so too – and maybe fiber optic (below ground) will come soon

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
        July 1, 2025 at 7:53 pm

        I’ve been hearing good things about fiber optics as to high speed internet connections. Um, I was around when we had dial-up. I never had a computer at home until after Y2K as I didn’t want problems as they predicted loads of problems as we rolled over to 2000 and nothing happened in the end.

        Liked by 1 person

  22. Amorina Rose's avatar Amorina Rose says:
    June 28, 2025 at 11:56 pm

    I think it is smart enough to have figured out a way to get a free drink.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      June 29, 2025 at 8:29 pm

      I’ll bet you are right Barbara. It was probably an optical illusion that made it appear like the cactus “got it” … my mom had a cactus like this one with the long spines and she was very short and leaning over the countertop and sink at an awkward angle to water the plants on the windowsill and she got a cactus spine in her forearm and had to go to the doctor as it slid right under her skin and I couldn’t remove it with tweezers! We knew it would get infected if we didn’t get it removed soon. File that tale under “weird and wacky” for sure!

      Liked by 1 person

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