Nature's bugspray

Every summer as we head to DuNord I do some serious wondering/fretting about bug levels.  DuNord is a little piece of paradise for sure, but sometimes the bugs don't allow me to realize that.  The thing is- they come and they go.  A week may start out with the flies nearly driving me out of my mind, and just when I'm ready to throw everything in the car and get out, they disappear.  Other weeks start out relatively bug free only to spring a mid-week hatch of black flies on us.  I've never been able to put my finger on conditions or events that trigger either the birth or death of the fly population.  I guess it's always been enough to know that things can change dramatically at anytime- which is more soothing knowledge when the flies are bad than when they are not around.

2011 was one of our best bug weeks yet.  Almost no mosquitoes or flies for the most of the week.  This was a huge surprise, given the wet conditions of this summer.  But there was something about Thursday of that week that brought out the flies.  It started with a nip or two on the ankles at breakfast.  By mid-afternoon we were at the beach with towels over our legs to ward off the onslaught.  So I geared up in my full bug avoidance regalia for the evening auction out by the lake. 

As we settled onto the benches for the event I noticed that there were quite a few dragonflies buzzing around.  As the evening progressed, the dragonflies increased in number.  And these weren't your dainty little damselflies.  We're talking the big mamas that conjure images of prehistoric bugs, or aliens.  They were dipping, looping, sailing all around us.  And as the dragonflies increased the flies decreased.  It was nature's bug spray, dancing all around us.  More beautiful and less toxic than the type that comes in a bottle.  I thought a perfect auction item out there at camp would be for someone to capture and train up a boxful of these critters- auction it as a person fly protection system.  Wouldn't I love to open the box at my feet as I cooked dinner.  Standing there sizzling up my peppers for taco night while dragonflies buzzed all around taking care of the pests.  And then once they eat their fill they land back in the box for a nap, until I need them again.  Man, I'd pay big bucks for that.