Ticking the Boxes ... Warning revolting subject!

This morning whilst getting dressed I noticed something I didn't much like the look of attached to my torso. On closer inspection, I decided it must be a sheep tick and Lady Marian when consulted, confirmed this. OK, so we know what it is, what do we do about it. Tweezers, no, (unless they're precision tweezers). Burning them's a no-no but Lady Marian did decide to put some surgical spirit on the area before we realized that this too is frowned upon by the 'Good Ticking Guide'. I phoned the chemist to ask if the had the approved remover. I phoned the surgery to see if they'd remove it and was told I'd have to go to the Minor Injuries Unit. So I geared myself up with a cup of coffee and was about to go out when checking the site again I noticed .... he'd gorn!

Danger! Tick on the loose! We searched the area where he was last seen. I undressed and shook all my clothing onto a light coloured rug but no sign. Eventually, Lady Marian found him and kept him contained while I finished showering. So ... problem solved. Well, maybe not. We were unable to be sure we had the whole tick. Lyme disease is also a risk. I decided to go to MIU anyway so off I went. After only an hour and a half I was seen and told he was all out and given a leaflet on Lyme disease and what to look out for. So that's that!

All except the challenge I set myself of blipping the little b****r. I'm not at my best with a macro lens and my little Sigma 50mm isn't the best of lenses (or maybe it's me). I set up the tripod, released him from his container and put him on the Lyme disease leaflet. I found the best method was manual focus, Live View and found I could increase the magnification on the rear screen. I lit him with an LED torch and after about twenty five shots including a pathetic attempt at getting different focuses for focus stacking while the little creature moved around the page at comparatively high speed. Anyway I got this one. The print is probably Arial 14 so you can see he's not very big.

Not quite sure what to do now. I've become quite 'attached' to him :)

I hope you've had a day free from parasites.

David