Silverbear is in the hospital.

No problem.

We were travelling in a 24' RV, and that skeeter was longer than it was.. I'm glad we missed the season there. When we were getting ready to go in the morning there were a few flakes of snow in the air

CT,
That sign is pretty good!

I think what happened this year is that ice went out on the lakes and the snow pack melted really late. There was still ice on most of the lakes up here for the fishing opener mid May. A week later when our lake was open it rained quite a lot which left standing water in places. Then instead of a slow warm up it got HOT immediately with temps in the mid 80's and up to 90, what might be expected toward the end of July, but not now. Conditions were perfect for a huge first hatch and it was something else. You swat at one and kill three. Keep you mouth shut or you'll breathe them in. Really nasty when normal is more than most folks will tolerate. This is after all lake country where most of Minnesota's 12,500 lakes are located... right up against Canada and Lake Superior. This, too, will pass. patience...
SB

Good to see you are out.

It's a hundred degrees here, but no skeeters.

I'm from MI, I know skeeters. I left, they can stay -

Although we do have the West Nile virus here, born by skeeters.

Mosquitoes, the best disease vector ever created.

Me tough as bear and smart like.minnow. That's a good one! Can I use it?

Greg58 said:

Me tough as bear and smart like.minnow. That's a good one! Can I use it?

Click to expand...

Feel free...
SB

silverbear said:

Thanks for the good words you guys.
Spent a lot of time napping today, so I'm being a good patient even when nobody's watching.
My brother tells me the mosquitoes weren't as bad today, so maybe there's hope.they'll be tolerable by the end of the month. Dragonflies are appearing, so that's good. Maybe the first hatch of mosquitoes is coming to an end and the ones who didn't feed crash landed. That leaves the stealthy ones to breed the next generation of more robust predators. Dragonflies, start your engines...
SB

Click to expand...

In building a pond for a turtle I found over 20 yrs. ago and leaving my pet bullfrog to attend it......I became the "dragonfly whisperer". It wasn't until about 5 yrs. ago I realized that I could walk up to a dragonfly and just pet them on their tail! I have become one with the dragonfly and they like the fact that I hate mozzies and they love to eat em'.

My bullfrog still eats them both! True story.

Tom,
I like your T shirt. I see it is from Bemidji, MN. Bemidji is a shortened version of bimidgiiwon which means "talking water" in Ojibwa. In other words it is a reference to the babbling brook or spring which is the source of the great Mississippi River. From humble beginnings of quietly "talking water" in the far north a great river travels to the sea.
SB

Scott,
I'm partial to dragonflies, too. Whenever I would see one stranded in the lake as a kid I'd cup it into my hand or raise it up with a canoe paddle and let it's wings dry out. I've stared into many an alien looking eye wondering what this winged marvel thought of the monster boy holding him. In time the sun would dry wet wings and the dragonfly was once again airborne searching out enemy mosquitoes. How else can a seven year old be a hero? I still rescue them six decades later.

Interesting how different cultures view aspects of the natural world. In Europe the attitude toward dragonflies was negative and in the Christian world they were aligned with satan, feared for the chance they might put out an eye (on purpose of course). In North America the attitude was quite different among native people who saw the dragonfly in a very positive light, admired for it's warrior qualities of speed, dexterity and exceptional skill as a predator. No doubt it also helped that they ate mosquitoes.
SB

They really are amazing flying creatures and I find it hard to see that humans could be threatened by them? They are in fact very frail, much like our species but they do take care of the much more threatening species......the mossy.

Nature is a wonderful thing that requires a harmonious balance.....man has a way of throwing off that balance without even thinking.

I love your stories and humor silverbear.......it's great to hear you are healing well!

good to hear you are out and healing
positive karma sent your way

Dragonflies are extremely good to have around.
<Warning science'y stuff>
As nymphs (babies) they live in the water happily chewing on baby mosquitos. as adults they are more than happy to catch them on the wing.
<end of science>
I remember, as a girl (mumble..mumble) years ago in southern Ontario, we used to see dragonflies frequently. Now I remember from before we moved out here that they were nigh impossible to find. I blame pesticides. And now they are having mosquito problems, go figure.
Oh and see what you can do about encouraging bats to live near you, they can eat over 10,000 of them (mossys)a night.
Oh yea sorry about more science'y stuff.

And I am also very glad that you are feeling better.

We get nice dragon flies here all the time. Bright red ones -



But I got's me a backup plan too, a lounge lizard.



Rather a deck lizard, he lives under the deck. Or I guess if I was having cocktails out there he could be a lounge lizard.

Either way, I win! It's good to have creatures that live with you and eat bugs -

Silverbear take it easy us old farts don't heal as fast as we used to.
Tell them to build an airport farther away from your place for the skeeters to land on instead of landing on you.
buzzard

I am very glad to hear that you are out, silverbear!
I pray that you heal up quickly.
Keep your mind sharp and that darned chain even sharper. You are too good of a person to be spending your good riding season hobbling around on the mend.

Silver bear I can't imagine needing 10 cords of firewood, I have two cords put up for this year. You must be in pretty good shape!

Hey SB glad to hear your gettin better! I heated with wood for the last 30yrs until moving to the coast. Summers were spent cutting/splitting wood with the rather vicious ill tempered saws. Had a few run ins myself. Take it easy and get better!

Nice to see these new posts this morning.

Steve, you are quite right about the caring and kindness of this forum. Best forum on the internet that I know of. Cool bike stuff, too.

First off, I've been sleeping a lot, like six to seven hours of naps through the day and good sleep at night. Rest is good medicine for sure. Leg is mending nicely I think as the swelling is down, color is better and pain is minimal. I've had this leg since 1945 and it's a good one. I'll be up and around doing stuff pretty soon, but not yet... patience old bear.

More good mosquito vs dragonfly stuff. The photo of the red one is beautiful. Whoever designed those wings knew what was what, eh? Didn't know about the nymphs eating the mosquito larvae. Good for them and good science stuff! Once the May Fly hatch has come and gone and I've taken a few photos I'll bore everybody with their amazing life cycle. Science stuff is pretty cool and observing our relatives in the natural world is always interesting. Got an email from a neighbor saying he had seen a yearling black bear coming down my drive... so I'll need to keep an eye on Aaniimoosh The Wonder Dog who is braver than she should be... don't want anything to happen to my little friend.

I've burned wood in one place or another for most of my life and believe no other form of heat is quite as satisfying. Especially when you can watch the fire through a glass door when the snow is falling outside the window and the temps are in the basement. It gets cold where I live, minus 63 is the record, but minus 20-40+ is common enough and long stretches below zero are normal for the dead of winter. First snow is in October and last is in May, so that doesn't leave a lot of time for bike riding. I live in a 1957 Spartan aircraft trailer and put a wood stove in it for the only heat. No running water in the winter. Kind of a hard life in some ways, but one which agrees with me. So having firewood is pretty important and the drier it is the better the heat. Five cords would be more than enough for a normal winter, but the last one wasn't normal and who knows what we'll think normal is with the earth changes we are seeing and more which will come. Anyway, I thought it would be prudent to have two winter's worth put up and then I'm ready for anything.

For me that wood stove is life itself. The wood is a gift of the forest which allows me to live here in comfort with the wonder dog as companion. We get along fine, thanks to that stove and the birch firewood. Putting it up is good purposeful exercise and carrying in fresh dry wood each day through the winter is also good. I'll be seventy next birthday and am grateful for these old legs and hands and arms that still have some strength in them, a heart that still pumps, eyes that can see and all the rest of it. Life is good...

Coffee cup is emptied out and so am I.
SB

Got to have coffee!