Sunday, January 13, 2013

Skeeters


The other day it was pushing 40 degrees outside and when I went over to check out how much snow was in the box of my truck, I saw something flying around the box. I happened to have my camera as I was planning to take some pictures of my chainsaw project, so I took some pictures of what was flying around and on the snow. SKEETERS, fuck can't be safe from the little bloodsucking bastards even in the middle of the winter!!
Because we had a few warm days and nights (warm for this time of year, above freezing during the day and night) the skeeters must have woken up from their hibernation and probably were laying eggs in the snow. When the snow melts in the Spring and puddles form the eggs would hatch. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. They weren't interested in biting me, seemed like they were more interested in the snow.

The Finns have a term for describing skeeters in winter. (I could tell you what the word is, but can't spell it and can't find it either on-line or in the dictionaries we have.) It refers to when you have the top surface of the snow melting and then freezing hard enough to walk on. That usually happens in late winter or early spring.

4 comments:

  1. I don't often have a problem with skeeters here, surprising with all the water we have here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. this isn't fair: the little bastards will be sucking on us soon enough.
    the Ol'Buzzard

    ReplyDelete
  3. K,
    I expect that the bugs are worse out by Seney. King Salmon, Alaska (after KI) was terrible - the damned things kept warm in the tundra - spongy ass shit.
    I do remember fishing the Carp or I want to say the "Two Hearted" where we were spraying one another in the face with mosquito replellent.
    I have seen a moose stick its whole head under water to keep the bugs out!

    Ron

    ReplyDelete
  4. BBC, it rains too much there. They need calm water when in the larvae stage. The rain causes ripples on the surface and the larvae drown when the water is choppy.

    ReplyDelete

No Anonymous comments,it's not that hard to think of a nom de plume.