Heat, haze and humidity are the buzzwords
BUG GUTS & BEAUTY
Deep in the heart of August it finally looks like the gardens will produce something. This is the moment that people have been waiting for and hoping that the summer will extend itself a few weeks into September 2016.
Hot, hazy, and humid become the buzzwords of the moment and even the mosquitos are too fat to lift off the arm. Splat! Slap! and another red stream glides down the arm. It’s mosquito and blackfly season.
Talking to the old timers they sure remember a time when the mosquitos and blackflies were far larger and more aggressive. There are stories of babies being lifted off the ground. Of maiden aunts perishing from relentless attacks of the blood suckers. And fishermen smirking at how wimpy the non-fishermen were when it comes to tolerating insect bites. Welcome to summer.
It has been a Chamber of Commerce season, just enough rain to keep the plants from gasping, blue skies on the weekend and rain during the week. The plants have loved it and are stretching as fast as they can to get out of the ground. Some say it’s because the plants are trying to get away from that scoop of fertilizer that was put down. Others say that the heat and humidity are encouraging the growth. Whatever the case the tomatoes, zucchinis and cukes are pouring off the vines. Corn plants are turning their ears to the gossip of the fields and ministers are having to ask their congregation not to fill the collection plate with the bounty of the fields.
The harvest gear is being prepped. New treads are being put on the tractor wheels. Trucks are being greased and pre-positioned in the early fields. The sprayers are imitating the grasshoppers as they creep over the potatoes challenging blights and other ailments. It is summer.
The yellow worm crawls along the highways in the early morning light, munching on the youngsters stepping into its path. In the afternoon lines of patient pups, calves, horses, and parents wait for the kids to come home. School has begun. Remember those days of wishing one was on the other side of the classroom window?
Enjoy the summer. Can’t wait for the balloons to lift off in their celebration of perfect flying weather. Firemen will muster in a challenge to who’s best. Water will be squirted, lights flashed, and sirens sounded as everyone celebrates a great summer. Welcome the heat, haze, and humidity.
Orpheus Allison is a photojournalist living in The County who graduated from UMPI and earned a master of liberal arts degree from the University of North Carolina. He began his journalism career at WAGM television later working in many different areas of the US. After 20 years of television he changed careers and taught in China and Korea.
