Mosquitos

Last time the previous owner of the house stopped by here was more than a year ago. It was the day the septic was installed, and she had to see that the job was done and turn over the payment for the work. We chatted about her lovely tulips and about where they'd had gardens in the past. She pointed out the area in the back corner of the lot, but said it became very frustrating to work out there because of all the mosquitos.

As I planted raspberries yesterday afternoon, I knew what she meant. As it drew closer to supper time, I was slapping myself like crazy. However, when planting bare-root canes, there's a lot of water necessary, going into the holes so as to ensure no air-pockets around the roots. Water plus dirt equals mud. Muddy muddy hands. Swat the mosquito here. Swat the mosquito there. Gary took one look at me when I came home and suggested that covering myself with a thicker layer of mud --and covering all the skin instead of most of it-- would be more effective at protecting me from mosquito bites.

When I went out to plant the strawberries today, I was careful to start earlier in the day!