They hatched. Swarms of them. Walk into my woods and they rise, buzzing and biting - to greet you. When I garden, I slap at my arms and legs constantly. Last night, sitting inside at my computer, I killed at least a dozen of them.
It is easy to get romanticized ideas about rural living. Especially in my part of the country where the woods are pretty benign. No venomous snakes. No carnivore that preys on humans. Just a lush landscape of flowering vegetation, rich soil, trees and creeks and meadows.
It would be easy to become complacent. Except for the mosquitos. At night, I scratch the poison ivy rash on my arms and the scattering of mosquito bites on my legs and listen for that annoying buzz. It's funny how something so small can make us humans feel humble.
8 comments:
Here, here! You know it's the buzzing that bugs me more than the biting. When i"m trapped in a room with an unseen mosquitoe I actually roll up my sleves so it can bite me and get it over with.
I grew up in the country, and I really miss the quiet and being able to see the stars at night. I envy you! Enjoy enjoy!
One thing we don't do is bother keeping our windshields super clean. However, we do have to scrape the bugs off now and again so we can see.... On the positive side, the other night my wife and I were getting ready for bed, with the bedroom window open, and a frog outside went graawwk....graawwk. My wife said it was going to keep her awake. I started laughing. And then the frog went grawk-grawk.
our weather upside, at least according to the paper:
too cold for mosquitos...
Oy. Mosquitoes are bad; black flies are worse. I don't even know the buggers are there before they've had their meal. And I'm allergic to them. Believe me, it's hard to romanticize the outdoors when there's a lump on your arm the size of a softball, or your eye is swollen shut...
It's funny how something so small can make us humans feel humble.
Stop it! Stop drawing uplifting, noble morals from life's annoyances! This is like that post where you sat on a stoop you made and realized it was ok to be angry sometimes.
All of this makes it harder for me to spew pure negativity all the time.
Here's my version of the mosquito post: "Goddman cocksucking vermin. Clear evidence of pure malice in the design of nature. I bet they don't even serve a useful ecological purpose."
Here's my version of your stoop post: "I am so pissed. And I'm pissed at myself for being pissed. And goddamnit, I made this damn stoop all wrong."
Now how can I think things like that with you making everything seem so decent and all-is-right-with-the-world all of the time?
Rob: I love your versions. I am going to have to start writing some posts like that. God knows, I do think stuff like that sometimes.
LOL at Rob's comment.
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