There’s a massive bug hatch drifting around my neighborhood this morning. The morning sun streaks right down the middle of the street in front of my house and the bugs are lit up in gold.
The birds are going nuts and flying erratically, not knowing which way to go to suck down more bugs for breakfast.
This happens fairly often. Not quite sure where they’re coming from. I’m a couple of hundred feet from a heavily wooded ravine that has a creek and large, swampy flood plain.
I’m a few blocks from the river in a stretch that has an A rating for biodiversity.
They could be just coming out of the trees. Our dead end street is filled with them, especially old oaks. A couple of the oaks came down in the past few years. One by wind, one died standing. My neighbor started counting rings on one of the slices. He gave up at 200.
In the evening, sitting and watching the bug hatches by way of street lights is a form of entertainment.
We’re easily entertained.
Around here, the topic of spraying the streets to reduce the bug population never comes up. People will never win that battle here, so why even try.
The majority of the bugs are harmless and for the others, that’s why God created Deet.
Now and then a new comer to the neighborhood will start whining about the bugs, something must be done about the bugs.
We all nod, placate them with agreement we don’t mean.
When they walk away, we laugh.
They won’t be living around here very long.
bob long
28 Jun 2011‘anudder gem.
I miss bugs. We used to have lot’s in the city.
Now, da’ only bugs we got left be recordin’ your phone calls.
‘anudder gem.
bzzzzzzzt
Sanders
28 Jun 2011You don’t live on South 8th Street in Fargo, North Dakota…do you?
Thanks for the memory of the street I knew growing up…ha!
Ken G
28 Jun 2011By 10 AM, they had disappeared.
Was looking at your pictures. Where I live in Illinois would be perfect if it had mountains. I’d settle for hills higher than 50 feet.
Erin Block
28 Jun 2011Great post, Ken. Enjoyed it, and reminded me of last summer when I moved into my home in the mountains. The neighbor walked over to introduce himself, and warn me about the winters. “Most people leave after their first.” Some people can’t deal with bugs, or snow, or a great many other things. I’m happier not living by these people. 🙂
Ken G
28 Jun 2011That’s one of the reasons I keep moving further away from Chicago. It’s hard to believe I was a hard core city punk at one time. Now it makes my skin crawl. Not out of fear, but disdain.
Biting flies I can do without. Deet seems to attract them. Or maybe it’s just me.
Erin Block
28 Jun 2011My dad swears by taking brewer’s yeast tablets during the summer months. A natural deterrent of flies and mosquitoes he says. Seems to work although I have never tried, and I suspect it makes one smell, although, so does Deet…