Tossing Pebbles in the Stream

This blog is my place to sit and toss pebbles into the stream. The stream of Life relentlessly passing before us. We can affect it little. For the most part I just watch it passing and follow the flow. Occasionally, I need to comment on its passing, tossing a pebble at it to enjoy the ripple affect upon Life's surface.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Black Fly Season

Just when you can count on the weather to be pleasantly warm and you can get your hands in the soil to plant the garden, they arrive THE BLACK FLIES, THE LITTLE BLACK FLIES!!!!!

They showed up yesterday!

You either learn to love these little biting flies, so numerous here or you are very unhappy only being willing to venture out of doors with your body totally covered and a head net on.

The first year I lived here I ignored the flies and came in after a day of plowing with the back of my neck so badly bitten it was swollen and bleeding. My son, one of those head net cowards, came to enjoy Winter when there were no biting insects. I came to "love" the little suckers and at least develop some immunity and a instinctive habit of waving my hands in front of my face to shoo them away as I talk and work. The worst of the season only last a month when the mosquitos take over, then the deer flies, horse flies and no-see-ums. Remember without them we would be a grave ecological danger.

I hope you enjoy Wade Hemsworth song in tribute to this insect so symbolic of the North.

6 Comments:

At 4:15 p.m., Anvilcloud said...: We get a few of the blighters around here too. There's quite a lot of forest around here, and some biters make their way into more civilized habitats.
At 10:59 p.m., KGMom said...: I think we have little black flies here in central PA--they are erroneously called gnats. In fact, our state gov. sprays the river here to keep the eggs from hatching. The black flies bite, and love to aim for eyes and ears to fly into.
At 1:15 a.m., Alyssa said...: How really weird! Just today we started being bitten by black flies! I hate it when they fly under my glasses and I swat my glasses off! We don't live near water but they still are in our yard in full force. But I think horse flies are the worst - they really hurt!!
At 10:39 a.m., Janet said...: We already have wasps, flies, noseeums, mosquitoes. We need more frogs.
At 2:42 p.m., possum said...: The mosquito is our state bird... they just say it is the cardinal so they don't scare off the tourists. BUT WE KNOW THE TRUTH! Then there are ticks. When we have a warm winter, we can have ticks all year round. Obviously I am not a very good Buddhist - because I HATE TICKS! Sorry, just had to vent. But, if that is the price we have to pay for having flowers in bloom even when it snows on them, I guess it is worth it.
How's your piggy runt doing?
At 7:14 p.m., amelia said...: We have had them for a few days now and I hate them too. Our poor dogs are besieged every time they go out especially today being wet and humid.

Roll on mosquito season!