Beginning the July 3rd-4th 2020 weekend I started attending this blog once again after a long absence; I'm not very good at tradition or routine. Uninterested in social media, such as Facebook and Instagram, etc I have come back to a familiar 'station' to exhibit my images to no end but my own satisfaction. Please bear with me. Or not. Doesn't matter one way or another.
Lets start with something alien to the outside world today, July 6th, 2020, since I've recently came indoors from the out-of-doors wearing mosquito netting and a good lather of mosquito repellent on my exposed fleshy parts and good old Pyrethrin barnyard spray for the the legs and boots. The last few days we've had very hot temperatures and big thunderstorms with hail as big as tennis balls; I so long for the cooling days of autumn and the cold days of winter. Give me a blizzard anytime when I (and all my relations) are safe at home with plenty of food, drink, and heating fuel.
Anyway, back to reality. Temps have indeed cooled down. Almost cool at 73 degrees F; humidity tolerable, but the bugs i.e., mosquitoes, bull and deer flies are terrible when there is little wind -- and downright horrible everywhere else. But this isn't as bad as I've seen it, for when you have to cover your nose and mouth to prevent them from entering them, just so you can get into the house from the car, you know it's bad, real bad -- but up here and other places similar to Minnesota in makeup, in the 1800s, mosquitoes and flies were so bad they were known to literally suffocate horses and cattle that ingested them as they breathed. Check Snope on that or another reliable historical source, if you won't take my word for it.
Draft animals were fitted with feed bags over their noses and mouths to help prevent that. It did happen. And think about not having window screens in your house during that era, nor sprays to kill or repel the hordes of flies and mosquitoes. Smudges of dense smoke sometimes helped man and beast alike; but it isn't pleasant when you're pressed to get things done. Autumn and winter were a godsend.
The following images should take your mind off that:
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Lets start with something alien to the outside world today, July 6th, 2020, since I've recently came indoors from the out-of-doors wearing mosquito netting and a good lather of mosquito repellent on my exposed fleshy parts and good old Pyrethrin barnyard spray for the the legs and boots. The last few days we've had very hot temperatures and big thunderstorms with hail as big as tennis balls; I so long for the cooling days of autumn and the cold days of winter. Give me a blizzard anytime when I (and all my relations) are safe at home with plenty of food, drink, and heating fuel.
Anyway, back to reality. Temps have indeed cooled down. Almost cool at 73 degrees F; humidity tolerable, but the bugs i.e., mosquitoes, bull and deer flies are terrible when there is little wind -- and downright horrible everywhere else. But this isn't as bad as I've seen it, for when you have to cover your nose and mouth to prevent them from entering them, just so you can get into the house from the car, you know it's bad, real bad -- but up here and other places similar to Minnesota in makeup, in the 1800s, mosquitoes and flies were so bad they were known to literally suffocate horses and cattle that ingested them as they breathed. Check Snope on that or another reliable historical source, if you won't take my word for it.
Draft animals were fitted with feed bags over their noses and mouths to help prevent that. It did happen. And think about not having window screens in your house during that era, nor sprays to kill or repel the hordes of flies and mosquitoes. Smudges of dense smoke sometimes helped man and beast alike; but it isn't pleasant when you're pressed to get things done. Autumn and winter were a godsend.
The following images should take your mind off that:
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| Ice melt on Mikinaak Creek |
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| Popple leaf under the ice |
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| No mosquitoes here, just deer tracks and spruce trees |
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| Winter sundown spectacular |
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| Winter evening sky walk1 |
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| Winter evening sky walk2 |
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| Almost sundown |
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| Almost sundown2 |
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| Field full moon |
Comments
Great pictures (and writing); good to have you back!
As we entered the 4th of July weekend, I double-checked my beer supply to make sure I'd have enough on hand, in case deer camp visitors from the Iron Range or other erstwhile places would stop in to say "Hey, you got beer?" Hate to deprive family, if I can avoid it.
So in checking, I discovered, frightfully,I only had 43 cans of Schmidt and 15 cans of my former G.E.S. replacement beer, Busch Lite, on hand. I texted Joe and asked him to pick me up another 30-pack, should he occasion Roseau before the 5th of July. He did not. Fortunately, due to the coronavirus STAY HOME policy in place, no one from out ventured in. My inventory remained stable; I had just enough to see me through until after the holiday. Whew! Stress comes in all forms even in retirement.