Bugging me

Here in the Great North Woods we are having an amazing time with black flies. My lovey wife came in after a bit of gardening and looked like her husband beats her up. Bug bites on her eye lid puffed it out and it looked nasty for a while. She’s seems to shrug these bites off and looks much better after a day or two. 

The next time I mow the lawn I’ll wear a face mask to prevent inhaling a swarm of those critters. Actually, it’s not a bad idea to mask up when doing yard work. Between the bugs, pollen and crap the lawn mower kicks up, it’ probably not a good idea to breath that stuff. Besides, for some reason I have all these quality masks lying around the house. 

Eventually the black flies will slack off. Mosquitoes, horse flies, deer flies, and moose flies will take their place. There are also these little critters I don’t remember the name off. The look like a small housefly, but seem to really enjoy biting me in the ankles. 

Then there are ticks. Oh lord there are ticks. When I was kid I didn’t even know what a tick was as we didn’t have any. Now they are so abundant they literately kill moose. Tick infestations on a moose can get so bad they die of a sort of toxic shock. Nasty. 

It’s a bad year for bugs, but it’s actually just a normal year. Some years we’ve had very few. While that’s pleasant, it’s also a bit disturbing. As much as they can be unpleasant, bugs are normal. When they are scarce there’s something wrong. Plenty of birds, fish, and other critters depend on the bugs. It’s all part of a functioning ecosystem. 

Doesn’t mean I have to enjoy them.

-Sixbears