Troubles in Paradise

Paradise doesn’t seem so paradisiacal these days. To begin with, the chiggers have hatched, as they always do in early June. I learned this the usual hard way. The morning after I walked out to the pasture to see the wildflowers I woke up with a wealth of wildly itching red spots. Chiggers always head for snug spots – the armpits, the waistband, and, worst of all, the groin. It is impossible to see a chigger with the naked eye, but I know they are out there, thriving in our shady yard. From now until late September I would be ill advised to venture outside without taking elaborate measures to repel the little monsters.

Another annual pest hatched last week: the hackberry butterfly. Our property is thick with hackberry trees so every June we are plagued by thousands of their companion butterflies. Ordinarily I love butterflies, but when these pests are about I can’t even walk out on the deck without being accosted.

Here the hackberry butterflies mob the pot of thyme.

The hackberry butterfly seems to have an insatiable thirst. It lands on exposed flesh and rolls out its proboscis to sip moisture.

Just walking on the driveway one is covered with butterflies. They follow us into the house where they continue to plague us. The best thing about these creatures is that they soon will mate and die, unlike chiggers.

To top off our miseries, thanks to El Nino, it rains almost every day and every night.

Plants are thriving in the continual rain and the woods have never been more lush with greenery.

Still, we humans would appreciate a little sunshine to boost our sagging spirits.

  

Copyright 2015 by Shirley Domer