A few months back, after a series of near catastrophes (read here and here; I never wrote about the car accident) we had come to the conclusion that Indiana was trying to kill J. All in good fun, to say such a thing, but there were some close calls, and some of these things we are still recovering from.
We specifically thought it was after J. Anything that happened to me, well, I had gotten in the way of 'it' getting to him. Then, summer arrived.
I haven't had a chance to post images, but Indiana seems to be a veritable cornucopia of insect life. The numbers of wasp species is stunning; the Dobsonfly was shocking; the giant butterflies skiting about have sent interns and J after them with nets for a key scene in the video. All of these constantly send me to my favorite bug ID site to see what is what, and what it does.
Which brings me back to my hypothesis that Indiana is trying to kill me. Don't get me wrong-- Texas tried to kill me once in August, more than a decade ago. I had enough mosquito bites to make my knees swell and send me into a fever. Apparently my immune system has had enough and developed an allergy to them (as it does with everything else I get too much of: cats, contact lenses, strawberries). In Florida, I grew my allergy to the black fly, lovingly called a "no-see-'em." My feet may still be scarred. Those were places I was visiting. They were temporary. I actually live here. On purpose! And the chiggers of Indiana are welcoming me with open arms-- I have the welts to prove it.
Welts, sunburn, ragging rivers have not stopped the filming of my project. Occasionally, we are stung by nettles (oh, good, I found them first), swarmed by gnats (they go straight for the eyes, then up the nose), chased by wasps, and generally cut off from bathrooms, food and water (starting to keep all these things in the car).
Still worth it...
1 comment:
when i lived in a hunting cabin down a secluded wooded road in maine we had to keep the porch light on so you could see your way from your car to the house. it used to attract every type of bug known to man, including one beauty called something like the moonlight moth. i tried to find a picture but couldnt, and after thinking about it decided you wouldnt want to see it anyways. i thought they were pretty but they were undeniably creepy. they were the size of a large skillet and got their name from how crazily lit up their white bodies and wings get under full moon light. pretty, but giant disgusting insects all the same.
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