Thursday, September 27, 2012

country problems

Google tells me my problem is "no-seeums" or biting midges.  I'm trusting the Google because I don't have a better explanation yet.

We live out in the middle of nowhere.  It's awesome.  It's also awesome that I have a trail around the perimeter of the property where I can run every day without having to drive anywhere else.  My goal of running every day was pretty easy during the summer when I could just get up and run early before it was terribly hot and before the craziness of each day began.  Now that school is in full swing, running first thing is out of the question.  It's dark when I get up and we have some really dark dark here.  The kind of dark where every star is visible and you cant see your hand in front of your face.  This leaves me to run when I get in from school which tends to be toward the evening hours.  You know, about the time the bugs get really active.

The fire ants are nice enough to build those little mounds so I can avoid them.  The spiders keep moving around but even when I run through one of the big webs, when I stop flailing my arms and screaming like a little girl, the spider is terrified and he gets away from me fast.  The deer and the snakes flee from my path and the dogs only jog with me for a few seconds before getting bored.  Last year the only problem I had was accidentally ingesting a stray gnat from time to time. 

But a couple of weeks ago something started biting me.  It took us a long time to finally figure out that it was happening while I was running and it wasn't until last night that I had enough information to pass along to Google to get a good idea of what it was. 

I've tried dousing myself in deet flavored bug repellent.  I've tried keeping my shirt on.  But they're still getting me.  I apparently run through them and the gravitational pull of my sweat traps them against my skin.  And these bites are nasty ones.  They itch like the devil.  They do not reveal themselves for about 24 hours, but then they swell up and itch for several days.  These guys make mosquitoes look like little leaguers. 

I'm looking for suggestions.  G suggested that I stop running but I'm on track to meet my goal by the end of the year, so that's out of the question.  If you have ideas, I'd love to hear them.

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