Oh this to me is a riot and too precious not to share - Cooked up some hard-boiled eggs that after they have sufficiently boiled I pour out the hot water in the sink and immediately add cold water from the refrigerator dispenser followed by filling the pot with ice cubes also from the dispenser - Well guess what came out of the cold water - yep mosquitoes - can you believe 

Oh no not ponds Lonely Mountain - nice thought - thanks - but it would take gallons of soap - these ditches run along all our property that are about 8 feet deep and 10 to 12 feet wide so that our driveways go to the road across a cement covered culvert - every street has them on both sides of the road and some are bar ditches where the soil makes a bar between the ditch and the road.

In Austin they did not use this ditch system but then they are built on higher ground and the soil is not the constant wet of this Bayou land and so they have a large sewer like system that is under the roads that takes the run off rain which I think is typical of many cities.

My son tells me the county used to have a vehicle drive around and spray each Spring but like many services it was cut a few years back.

  oh my!

I find all this "buzz" about mosquitoes interesting.

First, we also had, for several years, a truck that would go around spraying until it was discontinued due to chemical poisoning.

Second, we are surrounded by three or four sets of foothills, surrounded by mountains second only to Everest in size.

This valley and surrounding hills are full of birch, cottonwood, spruce, and Balsam, intercut by five major rivers.
I mention this because inside those forests are millions of mosquitos, and you need to be prepared to be lunch if not covered up and sprayed well.

Except, that within the city, there are no mosquitoes as in the past. And three of those five rivers also cut through the city, with various trees, ornamental and native, here and there. So, while I never thought about it, why aren't the hordes from the bush, also in town...hmmmm.

Maybe there's too much good eating for them in the Bush. Then. what is their range?

Probably because they spray for them. Its real easy to call up vector control and ask. Typically they don't have a problem telling citizens how they manage mosquitos.

Patricia I've decided they have a mind of their own and all these scientific type people, as good as they are at tracking cannot read the minds of bugs - my bet is the mosquitos adapt to what suits them and they don't go around advertising their plan or filling us in on their activities, leaving us to guess, to  questions just as you question... they must eat something that satisfies more than the blood of humans or they would in mass descend on the interiors of building full of those working, eating, playing, sleeping within these buildings in town.

All I know is, unless we end up with an extended spring rainy season, we have till mid June when by then we will have experienced at least 2 weeks of typical summer temps of mid to mostly high 90s and low 100s which dries everything out and mosquitoes decrease so that humans and mosquitoes can co-exist - granted with assistance but the overhead fans will be on full speed to handle the heat, the earth will be dried out and ditches will be growing grass without a trickle of water to be seen therefore, the mosquito propagating nursery will be gone.

Now what happens to the mosquito population in woods and forests during the summer season I've no knowledge - that would be interesting to hear about. 

And yes Rammel, that would be interesting to learn - what is the range and do mosquitoes travel in packs and how long is their life span - are there different types of mosquitoes I wonder and if so, do they live side by side or do various parts of the world foster different types of mosquitoes... hmm a book on mosquitoes would be great to read - I wonder if the children's library has such a book...

Barb, yes there are different types of mosquitos in different parts of the world. I did a bunch of reading on it when they were going to introduce GM mosquitos. Turmed out the GM mosquitos that they were bringing in to "eradicate Zika virus, were vectors of dengue fever! Different varieties have different ranges. They feed on the blood of any warm blooded animal. They are attracted to exhaled carbon dioxide. Since humans are less hairy, they're more accessible for feeding on. Humans use a lot of insecticide over urban areas.

My daughter is a PhD Entomologist... Bug Dr.

hmm I wonder then if it is different types of mosquitoes that carry different diseases - or if a disease is carried by a colony and their breeding grounds are more limited therefore same mosquito but limiting fly range limits the infectious disease  - here the risk is West Nile, Dengue, Encephalitis or Meningitis

Hmm interesting the article I read indicated Dallas Fort Worth is the worst city in Texas for mosquitoes however and a big however in my mind - the measure is using information from pest control companies, in particular Terminix  - Dallas especially but Fort Worth is not far behind is a more affluent area. Although Austin is affluent the population size is much smaller where as Dallas Fort Worth is competitive with Houston however, Houston does not have the overall wealth =there are sections like any city but as a whole it is more a blue collar type income bracket { The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex has a median household income of $76,916, while the median household income in Houston is $62,894} and therefore, homeowners are not as likely to call on a pest control company but rather use the old solutions that have been around for over 100 years.

I did find out a lot from this article, for example we have thirty-five

https://alaskatrekker.com/planning-trip/alaska-mosquitoes/

 different mosquito varieties, but much of the personal information was antidotal.

It is different types of mosquitos that carry different types of diseases. They were bringing in a different type that didn't carry Zika and sterilizing them so that when they bred with the zika carrying ones there wouldn't be any.. or something stupid like that. They were claiming they were sexting all the mosquitoes and only bringing in one sex. Do you know how hard it is to sext mosquitoes? The fail rate is high! Anyway, everywhere they had a trial both Zika and Dengue went up. SMH

Sorry I left y'all last night but was dozing sitting in the chair to the computer and barely could shut down the house till I piled into bed clothes and all - Patricia I'll read the article you found later today - just making coffee and not able to go back to bed but a bit early for me since it is only 10 after 6: and pitch black outside...

Good morning..

Sounds like this topic has been bugged!   To which those little buggars followed me last evening when I was cutting the grass. They, the mosquitoes  weren't  bad but they were there. I do have a bug jacket but not a fan of being enclosed in the netting, if need be I will give in and wear it.

Need to pick up blister packs this morning then home to bake, delivered all the tarts but came up short. While sitting talking with friends one friend gave us a conatiner of chocolate chip cookies,she went home with a container of buttertarts.  Will make some for the mechanics now.

Kyle and I played hide and go seek yesterday...he lost one of his hearing aids and the game was on! Eventually we did find it hidden under the workbeanch in the garage. Who says getting old gets boring?

MG, so happy to read the good news! We worry when our furkids aren't up to par. You cook like I do. I leave the onions out of some dishes that we share with Jesse.

OLM, my friend lived in a dry cabin with solar and back up generator for times when no sun. Although they did have tv she said the one she enjoyed most ws looking out the window at her bird tv. Mrs Grouse would visit and bring her family when hatched. She said you could set your clock by them.

Better get the day started....nice rain over night without the thunder and lightening.

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Of course I have to get my two cents in about mosquitos. Last year I found out that native populations of malaria carrying mosquitos are spreading in the US and as of 2023 have reached Maryland. I imagine South-Central PA will be next. Penn State usually has some good presentations online, and mosquitoes are not exception. https://extension.psu.edu/mosquitoes-and-mosquito-borne-diseases The PA Department of Health also has a fact sheet, issued in 2023, regarding Malaria. https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/health/documents/topics/documents/diseases-and-conditions/Malaria.pdf

It is still cloudy and humid here and slow to dry out. Tomorrow mostly sunny and in afternoon it is supposed to be windy. 

Oy! Beware of Malaria!
I remember as a kid being dosed daily with Quinine then later with Paludrine. I learned later that it affected the liver and could lay dormant for years in the body. 
Those bouts of high fever, terrible sweating were very debiliting.

Keep away from anopheles!
Adult Anopheles can  be identified by their typical resting position: males and females rest with their abdomens sticking up in the air rather than parallel to the surface on which they are resting.

Good Morning Evryfriend!  We spend last evening with granddaughter Ali and family.  That was fun!  They just moved into a new house and the first thing each one of the three kids did was show me their rooms!  Then I saw Ali's new greenhouse.  Boy! does she have flowers growing there and in the field too!!

I have to listen for Cindy.  She's doing some of the work she does from home and when she's finished, we'll be leaving!  I wish you all a great day!  Make it your own in every way!  And don't forget to let us know how you did that!  We're the nosy type! 

Good Morning Ladies, Again!
I wrote a long post starting at 5:20 a.m., only to try to post it: lost my internet connection, and my post. I need to remember to save them locally before I attempt to post them. So, I'll start by saying that logging on and seeing all of your replies feels like getting presents to me!

Barb, so glad you didn't fall out of the chair last night when you were nodding off. At 4:48 this morning light was already edging around the window blankets. Curious. I wondered if it was the ambient urban lights, street lamps, porch lights etc that made it seem pitch black at 6:00 to you. It actually gets light enough by 5:00 for me to feel comfortable with having to change an empty LP tank, if I run out. I wait until then to get up. I so hate juggling a flashlight in the cold and dark.

Amy, enjoyed the "Hide and Seek" story! Funny😄 Your friend was very blessed to have her grouse family. The grouse here are too shy. I rarely see them. I think its because they were hunted so heavily before we bought this property. The first couple of years I only ever heard one, sad, desperate, lonely male thrumming in the woods. It sounds like someone trying to start an ATV thats out of gas. I do have wild turkeys. They aren't as regular or punctual as your friends feathered visitors. Its different groups that wander through 2-3 times a day. My favorite is a big black fellow who does a titsy toed, hop, hop, pounce dance and gobbles up bugs. I'm imagining its ticks.

Oops, out of time! I'll resume later.

MarsGal, I get a smile every time I see your name. I see a mental image of the Martian Girl from the Loonytoons cartoon, Marvin the Martian.😄

Thank you for the link, I'll read it ASAP. Today is a busy day. My husband is here with supplies and we're expecting our daughter and her family sometime this morning. My son-in-law proclaimed they were coming to hunt morels, he can't wait any longer! So we're getting camp ready. While my husband, a night owl, was still sleeping I fished the swings out of the storage container and hung them up. When Ron got up he transfer tools and supplies then went to take his meds and eat. I started assembly of the Weboost. He's currently mowing the play area so they don't get as soggy. My signal booster project is on hold. I can't be outside while he's mowing:fumes.It is currently overcast, sprinkling randomly and 44°F. No frigid wind so nicer than its been all last week.

Bubble, Yikes! Thanks for the warning! Its so cold here I don't thinkwe have that kind of mosquito. But I'll look into it.

Good Morning Jane it sounds like you're having fun!

OLN, my cousin nicknamed me Marvin way back when I was 16. My one and only Marvin the Martian glow-in-the=dark tee shirt is just about ready for the rag bin. It has gotten pretty holey, but I refuse to give it up till the last minute. It is 25 or so years old. I don't remember the girl, but I do remember the dog.

OLM it is dark because the sun doesn't peak over the horizon here till 6:30 with little to no affect for another 15 to 20 minutes because of all the monster size loblolly Pine - I'm north of Houston in the southern side of W.G. Jones State Forest which is essentially the southern extension of Sam Houston National Forest - I've 9 of these monster pines in the front yard, one in the back along with a couple of Oak and a couple of Ash and so I do not get to see the sunrises or magnificent sunsets that was my daily in Austin. As well there are no long evenings or dawns - it is sun then dark or dark then sun - none of this long light before the red, orange, yellow sun rises or sets.

Awake so early for me I've had two breakfasts and just finished lunch - full to the gills now -

Interesting hearing of your experience with pest chemicals and finding a safe zone to live in - sounds like something to reach out and alert RFK Jr. - can't hurt regardless your politics - he currently is the one in charge and you can at least test the waters to see if there is a response. 

Appears the overcast is staying with us all day today - it is at least shielding the work Sally and Paul did on Thursday to reroute the Trumpet Vine which did involve some cutting that needs to heal - my son talked with Emigdio so that he is prepared to plant my new climbing rose and the three Wax Myrtals - I notice H-E-B (our wonderful Texas grocery chain that is so much more) has some fig trees available and I may have one delivered before Thursday so Emigdio can plant it as well. They grow quickly and where I'm past the ability to make fig preserves the birds will love them and they are a great screening tree that grows wider then tall. 

Been tender hooks watching the Astros this year - they are rebuilding and have not got it down yet - loosing as many or actually more than winning which is not easy to watch - great win yesterday against our Texas rival the Rangers although, we lost by one to them the day before and so the game this evening is anxiety time - decided no knitting watching the game tonight in case I get as we would say, as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs scrambling my knitting tension to the pits. However, I do need something going that I can hide in if they do badly.

Reminds me of when a Kid listening to the game on the radio and I had - what were they called - a wooden object with a hole inside the middle and these metal hooks surrounding the hole on top - we used anything from string to maybe wool and had a hook that you would slip the wool wrapped around each hook so that out the end of the wooden object was this long tail of knitted looking tube that we sewed into circles - that was just enough hand work to keep my hands busy during any game excitement that did not affect the tension - what were they called - need to see if I can find one online - whatever they were called that is what I need this year to keep my hands busy which settles me with the team being so iffy.

tra la found it... https://pieceworkmagazine.com/knitting-spools/

Barb, we called it corking. We would get an empty thread spool and Dad would put 4 small nails in it for us. Used to do long strands then sew them together in a circle.

https://own-two-hands.com/tag/corking/

Baking done, laundry done.....me done...early but pj time is about now!

Anyone heard from Callie or Phyllis?

Just had a dandy hard pelting rain along with high winds and a bit of noise and lightening. We have two tall pines that swayed in the wind and I love listening to the wind in them at night but...

Amy your right we have not heard from either Callie or Phyllis in a bit - hope they are just busy and having fun

corking - interesting but you too did that actually monotonous hand work but heck you could stick it in your pocket and pull it out waiting for anything or even while walking.

All the talk about skeeters reminded me of a funny story. Shortly after I got out of school jobs were hard to find. I managed to get one as a Lab Assistant in a research place. In our particular lab we had a fish tank (just for our entertainment). Every Friday afternoon a guy from a different lab would bring us some mosquito Larvae to feed the fish, and hold them for the weekend. One week we left early, but the mosquito Larvae was still dropped off. Unfortunately the flask with the Larvae was not stoppered. When we got to work on Monday morning the whole room was a haze of flying mosquitos. We ended up going to another lab and getting a spray can of fying insect killer. After the room cleared it was good for a laugh. 

Barb, I'll have to look up loblolly pines. They must be more dense than the Ponerosa that we have here. The sun comes up behind the mountain and the whole sky gets light that early. My camp is in a kind of bowl. Probably an old caldera. I don't know much about Texas geography. This is fascinating. Is the landscape flat? I'm so exhausted I'd look it up but I'm clear out of go power tonight. If you don't want to tell me more, I'll probably look it up tomorrow. I'm intrigued.

My daughter and her family found 2.5 gallons of morel mushrooms. My SIL wants to come back next weekend and hunt for more. Its like a giant Easter egg hunt. I have 240 acres of forest and meadows to search. They dry a bunch and use them all year.

I used to spool knit when I was a kid too.

I follow RFK Jr. closely. He is aware.

No whole sky lite here before sunrise - land... according to where in Texas - there is flat - there is hilly - there is forest - there is seacoast - there are mesa's - there are canyons - there are mountains - there are long and large underground caves - there are many rivers with thick cypress - there are the high plains - there are a variety of geographic centers.

The area I live in, north of Houston, is on the southern edge of east Texas forest but within the Bayous of Houston - (Buffalo, White Oak, Brays and Sims) - As many areas in the south, dawn and dusk is short unlike northern areas. Where I live I see very little sky, which I miss having lived in Austin for 55 years on the edge of a Mesa and saw the sun crack the surface each morning where as here I don't actually see the sun till well after 9: and never see it set and only see the moon when it is high in the sky and at that between the tree tops.

My experience is that every area and forest land is different - My daughter lives in western North Carolina in the area of the Blue Ridge Mountains and she also is surrounded by trees yet, visiting I notice she sees more sky than I do and yes, her sky is light before the sun rises which from what you are saying is your experience in Oregon where as, my morning experience is similar to the northwest Mountainous area of Mexico where I used to hike and where there is no electricity - people still have fires in the corner of their hut 365 days of the year for light and for cooking - we would bring mirrors with us so they could be left to be used behind a candle throwing more light into the huts. Few huge size trees and more sky but again hardly any dawn or dusk.

As I understand it, the closer to the equator the less twilight there is because the sun's path is nearly vertical near the equator, causing the sun to rise and set more directly, resulting in a quick transition between daylight and darkness.

Hope that helps to understand my morning's experience waking about 6:10 to 6:20 seeing out my window pitch black that did not lighten up till going for 7:

Shoot lost again - still tomorrow - the game starts around noon... Kept going to the kitchen to heat up my coffee - can't keep doing that all season - have to get something that will keep my hands busy and help settle me down. Sunday or not I think I'll do laundry tomorrow - then I can at least fold while watching.
 

Good morning..

Another nice long soaker of a rain during the night! No fireworks last night and I hope it will b the same tonight.
A day of rest here, just have to pick up a few thigs at the grocery store and home to play in the sewing room.

Rick, were the fish holding their tummies when you came in Monday morning?

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Thank you Barb! That was very informative! I had no idea Texas had that kind of variety. Most of what I thought I knew about Texas landscapes I absorbed from "Walker Texas Ranger" and old westerns. Bayous even, how cool is that! My son actually lives in Texas.He lived south of Houston for awhile, but now lives in West Texas. I've asked him many times, but he never mentioned those things. I do know about the equitorial dropping and popping of the sun. I spent a month in the Bahamas when I was 17. Its the time part. I'd never thought about it being later when the sun came up nearer the equator. I guess I assumed it popped up when it started getting light farther away from it. Thank you for sharing that. I love learning things "new to me." Oregon is very similar to Texas in that it has a way more diverse landscape that most people assume.

Good morning all,
Its 38°F, soggy from overnight rains and windy. Gusts to 29 m.p.h. expected. I feared I'd be barely moving this morning, but I'm doing pretty good. While my family went out morel hunting yesterday, my gout and RA kept me from tramping about. Instead I worked on my signal booster. The assembly directions and videos were not that helpful. I guess my reading of their directions was not that helpful either. I repositioned the antennae and booster components dozens of times before I found a configuration that did not create oscillation feedback. The readout finally gave me the literal green light. Then I moved on to positioning and directing the outside antennae to find the strongest signal. Still working on that.   It involved a lot of climbing up and down ladders, and raising and lowering telescoping sections of the rod. Muscle groups I haven't used in awhile.

Ron went mushrooming with the family, then apparently diverted to hike the most rugged section of our property. He inspected the fence and just about every copse and hollow of that mountainous forest. He reported a bear den and a number of needed fence repairs. He kept up a good front until the kids left, then went in and took a nap. I went to bed, wiped out, at 8:00; he was back up and working in the tiny house.

Quote from: Amy on May 18, 2025, 07:16:36 AMRick, were the fish holding their tummies when you came in Monday morning?

Unfortunately for us I don't think the fish got many of them. They were busy flying about a lab with the door closed.

Good morning, 48 and cloudy today, with rain late afternoon and overnight. Meet and greets, such as they are with our smaller group finished, morning routines are done, coffee's on and here I am.

The pigeons and smaller birds are back, I got a kick out of Farrah sitting by the window as some of them discovered my balcony and explored the railing and seemed impervious to Farrah watching behind the glass.

Bubble posted some cute photos of Lynn picking mulberries, she's always engrossed in whatever tasks she sets herself.

Where I live in Alaska's interior, on a large plain surrounded by a number of foothills and mountain ranges, the city is on the plain and halfway up the foothills on the North and Northeast sides. The sunrises and sunsets are very short and dramatic in the winter. In the summer, they're not as noticeable as we have close to 24/7 daylight, this close to the North Arctic. The University proper on a foothill with a better view and they post some amazing photos of the sun and the Aurora.