But keep it under your hat. I have a friend whom I think is the bees' knees; she has a science background, she's funny and thoughtful, and she is completely upside-down bass-ackwards on this topic. For example, last fall she posted something like this:
It wasn't this exact bit of propaganda, as hers was more butterfly-centric, but the message was the same. Leave the leaves! More leaves now = more butterflies tomorrow!
Yeah, and you notice how the poster above just trails off ("beetles, bees, moths, and more")? Guess what the "more" is. That's right! Our old friend the tick, and in this neck of the woods, the Lyme-bearing deer tick is everywhere.
Don't take it from me; watch the Consumer Reports video at this page and note the expert advice (spoiler alert: "ticks like to live in leaf piles"). They are not alone in this assessment.
Hey, I like butterflies as much as the average guy, but if it means no ticks, au revoir, Monsieur Papillon. I've known too many people whose lives have been derailed by the disease from those bloodsucking freaks, including a police detective who had a brilliant career thrown into chaos and a mother of four who's been suffering the effects of Lyme for years. And that's just one disease the little arachnid bastards spread. Here's a CDC list of fun things you can get from your friendly neighborhood tick.
The Law of Unintended Consequences is always around to ruin everyone's fun. The thing is, most of the time the consequences are unintended because they are not foreseeable. In this case, the potential danger is 100% visible and being ignored anyway.
Well, I doubt I can ever change my friend's mind on this, but we can always focus on the things about which we agree. Like ice cream. I just hope she doesn't go vegan.
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