Open Thread – Alaska State Bird
~~The Alaska State Bird~~
Good morning, Mudflatters! I bet that woke you up! Behold the lowly mosquito, better known as The Alaska State Bird. They’re not quite as big as what you see here, but they are BIG, especially at this time of year. This guy (or gal) was almost the width of a penny. The “first crop” of mosquitoes, as they are known, are also very slow and heavy. You can easily feel them when they land on your arm, and it’s quite simple to brush them off before they do any damage. Later in the year they get smal, quick and vicious. But for now, the state birds are big, clunky and slow. Fortunately, there aren’t many mosquitoes around where I live.
Once, up in the Susitna Valley, I watched as Spouse hopped out of the car and ran across a lawn and into a friend’s house while I waited in the car. Following him was a giant black cloud. I couldn’t figure out what it was at first, but then as one mosquito after another began landing on the windshield I realized that the ominous mass was a swarm of mosquitoes that looked like a cartoon cloud of bees, following feet behing Spouse who was running almost at top speed. It was almost Hitchcock-ian. Fortunately, he made it back alive and we only ended up with 10 or 20 of them in the car when it was all over. The Alaskan version of The Birds.
Enjoy the open thread, and remember that this thread remains active throughout the day for off-topic posts!
the problem child IS MY NAME – Thanks. I was still half asleep and sipping coffee when I went looking this am and just kinda clicked around when I wandered into the wrong place.Woke me up , that is for sure !!
Thank you TBNTJudy for the information. I have been educated today about the Alaskan State Bird. I don’t know why but I have always associated mosquito problems with the tropics. Wow!
Also, too: http://www.blueq.com/shop/114-catId.117440611_114-productId.0.html
austintx, this one seems safe for work: http://spoilmycar.com/index.php?c=1&n=15709231&i=B001HS6L7K&x=WTF_Sarah_Palin_Car_Magnet
Holy Cow !! To see if I could find the “wtf ? {picture of Palin}” bumper sticker – I googled that term.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There were all kind of links that you could wander around to /on. The only thing I was looking for was a bumper sticker , and about 3-4 clicks later I was looking at a XXX-rated photo shopped picture of sarah !! I am warning you – DO NOT DO IT if you are offended by that kind of thing. Again , I was looking for the bumper sticker and BAM. Got out of there quick. Oh – and sorry , did not find the sticker.
@99 GlobalVillage: West Nile Virus and encephalitis are two that I can think of.
This probably sounds terribly ignorant, but I am interested to find out so will ask anyway, do your mosquitoes spread any bad diseases like they do in the tropics? We have been hit very badly this year with dengue fever outbreaks. This is a disease I know a lot about because I contracted it about 20 years ago and it is a dreadful disease spread by mosquitoes.
If one is to commit atrocities on a group of humans, one must convince oneself that this group of humans is less than human. Our forefathers did this with the issue of slavery. The American system of slavery was far more cruel and violent than that of most other countries. In order to commit this cruelty, slave owners and those who supported slavery had to convince themselves that blacks were less than human. “They’re not like us; they are more like animals than we are.” In Hitler’s Germany, Germans convinced themselves that Jews were less than other humans, thus freeing themselves of the guilt and responsibility that comes with committing atrocities. Today in America, our society (not all, but most) have convinced themselves that a “fetus” is not a human being. Thus, they are able to commit abortion without feeling the guilt and responsibility that comes with murdering a baby. I believe that President Obama is a Christian. I pray that God will show him, and our society as a whole, the truth about the sanctity of life.
71 London Bridges Says: May 10th, 2009 at 12:15 PM
I saw my first Sarah Palin “wtf?” bumpersticker today. What is a Palin wtf? bumper sticker, you may ask? The original version was a “W” wtf?, but I digress. It is a bumper sticker with the characters wtf followed by a ? and then followed by a picture of Sarah Palin. What does wtf stand for? A clue:
What The F_ _ _ , rhymes with duck. Amen
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I saw one of those on a car at Publix about a month ago! Loved it….want one for my truck!
Mosquitos seldom bite me, for some reason. I think it’s the garlic. I use lots of garlic in so many things.
I know lots of folks swear by the Skin So Soft bath oil, but I’ll just keep seasoning with the garlic! Don’t tell anyone, but I don’t like the smell of the Skin So Soft!
With reference to mosquitoes, before we lived in Seattle, we were in the Fort Lauderdale area and I have to say those mosquitoes were viscious there. I lived in Weston which borders the Everglades. I still have scars on my arms and legs from the bites it got. I am particularly sensitive and probably allergic but I have lived in Colorado, Wyoming, CA, FL and NY and those FL skeeters were the worst. I have visited Alaska but it was in late August, so I didn’t have any “state bird” encounters. I did see some beautiful scenery and will never forget it. I guess those darn things are nasty, no matter what state they swarm in!
@ 69 PepperzMom (GA) Says:
May 10th, 2009 at 11:50 AM
“In GA, they are bigger than your picture. Just thwopped one that was the size of my palm. Reminded me more of a huge daddy longlegs spider, ”
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This sounds like a “Crane Fly”….they look like large mosquitos or Daddy Long Legs with wings but they are actually true flies. They neither bite nor sting humans….Some may have what appears to be a stinger but it’s a structure (ovipositer) for laying eggs.
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@ 48 Say NO to Palin in Politics Says:
May 10th, 2009 at 9:47 AM
“skeeters aren’t too bad here in MO but dang I HATE the ticks and chiggars. We have teeny tiny seed ticks too, buggers, size of small little specks-”
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Be wary of these so-called “seed ticks” as they are most likely the larval or nymph stages of the “Deer Tick.” They can look like flecks of black pepper or a tiny freckle. The Deer Tick ” (L. scapularis) is the primary carrier of Lyme disease. Two other tiny ticks species can also carry Lyme disease.
The common Dog Tick is MUCH larger than the Deer Tick, easier to identify and is not a Lyme carrier (although can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in endemic areas). Missouri is a low risk state for Lyme Disease but still has cases reported every year.
Ticks suck…..literally and figuratively.
Ouch. Bill Bennett, don’t mince words– tell us what you really think!
This may be the only time he and I have agreed on anything.
GA Peach a/k/a Lance the Boil aka Crust Scramble Says:
May 10th, 2009 at 7:08 PM
So, Bill Bennett doesn’t think sarah’s the future of the gop.
___________________________________
I think that is the general feeling among most republicans these days, and why wouldn’t it be? She doesn’t appeal to independents or moderates, she has proven herself to be exceptionally divisive, she has shown she has no depth of knowledge, she continues to be unable to work with people who are not 100% supportive of everything she says and does, and treats those who disagree with her, or even point out flaws in her abilities, as evildoers who must be silenced before they can spread their wicked lies about her.
She is not the face of the GOP, she is not the future of the GOP, in fact she is exactly what is wrong with the GOP and is, part and parcel the reason for their continued abject failure on all fronts.
So, Bill Bennett doesn’t think sarah’s the future of the gop.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/10/i-dont-think-palin-is-the-future-of-the-gop-republican-says/
MinNJ Says: May 10th, 2009 at 1:50 PM
OMG, Pepperzmom(GA)! How did you handle that kind of culture shock? Whoa…I’m thinking of moving to North Carolina, but I don’t think I could live without NY PBS, which is even better with the new president who is from NBC, I believe. Sunday afternoons are entirely devoted to the Arts.*swooning* It’s really scary to leave this area…!?!?
The change from NY to FL was by choice – was on the ‘crazy train’ of work overload and had a friend who lived in the Daytona area. After about 6 years, had an opportunity for a promotion located in GA. Been stuck ever since. Took early retirement after 16 years of work hell for a gov’t tax agency.
Am ready for a move again, but with housing/job markets, need to have a locked down job before making a move, ideally back to the NY area.
As for PBS, considering how many fund raising pitches that are shown, there’s not really much on PBS that I’m watching. Ken Burns series is about all.
Sorry for the late reply MinNJ…got diverted elsewhere online…
#84 Lainey Said: OMG! 😮
It is amazing what we survived, Lainey. I guess I was just too big of a bug for that stuff!! 😉 Plus, we used to stand on this X-ray thing at the Buster Brown Shoe store. It was something they used to determine shoe size, supposedly, but I really think it was a sales tool. No one realized that the x-rays were dangerous, and the the kids loved the machine because they could see their bones while they stood there.
@seagull junker palin–LOL!
@austin– the seagull link is hysterically funny!
Hope you ended up going to see Bonnie! I LOVE her. Only saw her once but what a show she puts on…
It’s my cousin Seymour!!! He was always a shifty one….
seagull junker palin – Do you know this guy ?? The Cheetos cops are lookin’ for him.
http://www.thecutereport.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/seagull.gif
@austintx
We would run out and breathe in all that fog not realizing, of course, that what was killing the mosquitoes might also be killing us. Oh, the blissful ignorance of those days; the fog in question was DDT.
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OMG! 😮
I was born in Anchorage and at the age of six, my family moved to Metlakatla on Annette Island. We stayed there for three years.
One late spring day, we headed out to Smuggler’s Cove for a picnic. When we got there, the mosquitos weren’t too bad, but as evening came on, it began to be apparent that this was going to be a busy mosquito night, so we prepared to leave.
Before we left, however, I found I had to answer natures call. After going behind a tree, I was only seconds into the job when I glanced down and realized that I had proved such a strong attraction that I could no longer see my Most Significant Bit. I had metamorphosed into the mosquito equivalent of a free blood bank, and there was definitely a run going on.
Images of my family finding me sucked dry like a deflated balloon jumped into my head and I promptly buttoned up and waited to get home before finishing.
Sorry, that post didn’t make sense! GNH vs. greed, insatiable greed.
Thanks Wired for the great article. GNH “Greed, insatiable human greed.”
A friend told me about this article in Thursday’s New York Times.
I commend the wise people of Bhutan and I would like to adopt Gross National Happiness as my own credo.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/world/asia/07bhutan.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=bhutan&st=cse
new thread up with news of yukonbushgrma
Aren’t there ways to break up ice flows that would potentially destroy towns? Where is the leadership? (Hint: We know she’s in Alaska, or that’s what we’re told.)
OMG, Pepperzmom(GA)! How did you handle that kind of culture shock? Whoa…I’m thinking of moving to North Carolina, but I don’t think I could live without NY PBS, which is even better with the new president who is from NBC, I believe. Sunday afternoons are entirely devoted to the Arts.*swooning* It’s really scary to leave this area…!?!?
goodness………”60 mile” run of ice moving down the river, whoa!
http://www.adn.com/news/environment/flooding/story/789947.html
“A massive ice jam in a canyon eight miles downriver was causing waters to rise swiftly around the village. The river washed over the nearest road Saturday afternoon, said Corey Bogel, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Fisher said that as responders flew to the village, they spotted a 60-mile run of ice heading downriver toward the jam.”
bubbles Says: May 10th, 2009 at 12:14 PM
pepperzmom-you got bee’s? we haven’t seen a bee in years in the lower east side of manhattan. they put poison on our property and killed all the squirrels and two of my neighbors little dogs and the stray cats
Yup…squirrels and skeeters and bees…oh my!
Had a coyote wandering around about 10 days ago…no idea where it went. I’m in Cobb County and have an abundance of wooded areas surrounding me. Expansion of county government center/jail ongoing, so lots of critters are being forced out of their own space.
Used to live near Cunningham Park in Bayside, Queens, and worked in Rockefeller Center for many years before heading south (first to Daytona, Fl, then to GA). Can’t wait to get out of redneck-ville…
What good luck!
Bitten by
This year’s mosquitoes too.
— Issa
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there.
CNN Political Ticker
Republican says no Palin
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/10/i-dont-think-palin-is-the-future-of-the-gop-republican-says/
Happy Mother’s Day to all!
I guess I must have missed Shannon on Oberman May 7….here it is for anyone else who missed it.
http://shannynmoore.wordpress.com/
also too btw……Celtic Diva has some interesting stuff going on……remember all those expensive those campaign clothes? and Arctic Cat items…….ruh roh
I saw my first Sarah Palin “wtf?” bumpersticker today. What is a Palin wtf? bumper sticker, you may ask? The original version was a “W” wtf?, but I digress. It is a bumper sticker with the characters wtf followed by a ? and then followed by a picture of Sarah Palin. What does wtf stand for? A clue:
What The F_ _ _ , rhymes with duck. Amen
pepperzmom-you got bee’s? we haven’t seen a bee in years in the lower east side of manhattan. they put poison on our property and killed all the sqirrels and two of my neighbors little dogs and the stray cats…b
“Behold the lowly mosquito, better known as The Alaska State Bird. They’re not quite as big as what you see here…”
Hah! In GA, they are bigger than your picture. Just thwopped one that was the size of my palm. Reminded me more of a huge daddy longlegs spider, but this one was flitting here/there before it decided to land on my front door. Nope that sucker tweren’t gonna get in my house!
Sigh…yes, there is a downturn to getting all the rain we’ve had (much needed I must add – our prime drinking source, Lake Lanier, is up almost 10 ft. for the year 2009. Last summer – it was almost 20 ft below normal pool.), and it involves multitudes of identified (and sometimes painful) flying objects.
Now…I just need to get the last nest of burrowed yellow jackets killed off, to get the fire ant hills squashed (Amdro – a fire ants worst enemy, homeowners best friend) and continue to avoid the huge trio of bumble bees (can hear buzzing ’em 10 ft away) adoring my knockout roses.
PS: can anyone explain to me how a rose bush that is only supposed to be about 3 ft high can instead turn into a 7 ft tall, 6 ft wide behemoth that on occasion has 200 plus buds open? Nope – haven’t fertilized it once since it was installed in 10/04. Landscaper keeps knocking it back down to 4 ft up/wide, but it keeps growing. I have currently about 12 stems where 8-12 roses are budded/in full bloom and everything in between, and was pierced this morning by a thorn that was as big as my thumb.
Yep…it’s spring!
That is our state bird, not yours. After all, we have more than ten thousand lakes.
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers in Mudflat land!
Okay, I lied. Read the article about Bruton. Wow. What a loss. I have seen Delbert and Marcia Ball up here at the Festival at Sandpoint. I hadn’t heard Marcia before, but I’ve been listening to Delbert for years. Bruton had some high-class talent, and he worked with high-class talent. I never even heard him, but I will miss him after reading this article.
Now, REALLY stepping away from the computer…
austintx: I looked online, and most of the reviews don’t even mention Bud, which I find interesting. At any rate, I have put it on my list to look for at the library. I’ll let you know the outcome.
Okay. I’m dragging myself away from the computer to take the dogs for a walk. Happy Mother’s day to all the moms.
61 UK Lady Says:
May 10th, 2009 at 10:50 AM
austinx – Yes I do, you inspired me to listen now “I can’t make you love me”. Are you going tonight?
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Probably so. The evening will be a emotional rollercoaster. No telling who will show up. It will be dedicated to this man :
http://www.austin360.com/music/content/music/stories/2009/05/0510bruton.html
this should be interesting to follow………..it may or may not help the Ben Stevens and other AK corruption investigations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/us/politics/08justice.html?_r=2&hpw
austinx – Yes I do, you inspired me to listen now “I can’t make you love me”. Are you going tonight?
TBNTJudy – Full speed ahead. Did you ck. on the “Little Red Book” ??
Gosh, Austin, I’m so sorry to hear that. There is a lot of loss in your life right now. 🙁 I hope Bonnie pulls it off; if anyone can, she can.
TBNTJudy – It’s gonna be a ruff one tonite. She lost a very dear friend from here on Sat. morning. I also knew him.
@austintx: (Raises her hand and waves tentatively) I’m not UK Lady, but I LOVE Bonnie Raitt. I have seen her only once, and it is not enough!
@Closet Mudpup: Just saw your post @24…Wow!! What a awesome link. Thank you!
UK Lady – Do you like Bonnie Raitt ?? She is playing here tonite.
@Say NO: We called them lightening bugs. I love to see them when I go back to MS. They are magical..
austintx…….that cheetos deal is so comical
@Bea: That motherearthnews is a wealth of information. Many moons ago, I read their article on a solution to deskunk your dogs or yourself, for that matter. I cut the article out and have had to dig it out on many occasions, the most recent being just this past Feb.
@austintx: LOL!! Where did you find that seagull?
@Say NO: We called chiggers redbugs, and God, they are awful. Hate the seed ticks, too.
@UK Lady said: “I would rather chew my own arm off and eat it than spend 5 minutes with that bunch of nutjobs.” ROFL!!
BooBooBear – I’m a proud 93%er !!
bugs, lol, speaking of glowing things, we have Fire Flies here, little dancing lights in the trees, magical, I love them!
In a current poll, the results show 93% believe that Bristol is the mother of Trig, not Sarah. Thanks to http://www.palindeception.com the word is getting around with some interesting facts.
fog sprayers, ugh also too, in one little mountain town I marched my 19 yr old self down to city hall to demand they not spray my alley because they’d be putting poison on my organic garden, it worked, lol.
also too, later in a larger town, no garden this time, but 2 little kids……I’d run them into the house and close all the windows like a crazy woman when I heard the buz of them coming, hubby never quite understood.
skeeters aren’t too bad here in MO but dang I HATE the ticks and chiggars. We have teeny tiny seed ticks too, buggers, size of small little specks! We are down to one Guinea hen, sigh, they are fab for eating ticks and chiggars.
We leave on the back yard flood lights (energy saving type) for hours just so the bats eat, eat and eat the many critters in the air.
Wolf spiders, ugh, so freakin big……I know spiders are beneficial but they must live outside, lol. I sprinkle Diatomaceous Earth behind things in the basement and along walls, we also have Brown Recluse spiders, not good to get bit by those, it’s poison acts like a flesh eating virus and can result in amputation or death from blood poisoning. Nope, spiders are not welcome in my house.
In Colorado we had tons of black widow spiders, ugh.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
UK Lady – Easy now……..just messin’ with you.
Aaarrgghhh! austintx – that was cruel!
I would rather chew my own arm off and eat it than spend 5 minutes with that bunch of nutjobs. (kids under 18 excluded).
UK Lady – Dreaming of Christmas with these folks ??
http://www.palindeception.com/blog/uploaded_images/Christmas2007photo-795115.gif
Canadian Neigbour
Lots of people in the UK call them midges, but not me!
I call them “!%$**&^% little *$!&**%”!’!!s”, I get an allergic reaction to their bites and of course they think I am one of the tastiest women on the planet.
I’ve had to have medical treatment in more countries than I’d care to mention, perhaps Alaska isn’t the holiday destination I should be dreaming of.
Greytdog Δ Says:
May 10th, 2009 at 5:03 AM
Paula, don’t know if the Neem tree grows in your environment, but I planted a couple in the backyard.
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There is a large pond about 100 feet away from our doorstep and I’ve been researching non-toxic anti-bloodsucker info. I’m going to seem if Neem will grow here. Thanks for the tip!
My anti-itch cure is a paste of dishwashing liquid and salt, mixed so it’s thick and applied to the bite. The salt dries up the bite and the soap helps it cling.
Speaking of natural solutions to summertime pests, I found a great article on Mother Earth News about making your own natural pesticides, using things like garlic:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1980-03-01/Safe-Homegrown-Pesticides.aspx
39 TBNTJudy Says:
May 10th, 2009 at 9:03 AM
When I was a child growing up in MS, we used to cheer when the “fogging machine” came by to kill the mosquitoes. We would run out and breathe in all that fog not realizing, of course, that what was killing the mosquitoes might also be killing us. Oh, the blissful ignorance of those days; the fog in question was DDT.
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We would chase the truck spraying on our bikes in Houston.
BTW – If anybody is missing Cheetos – here is the villain :
http://www.thecutereport.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/seagull.gif
When I was a child growing up in MS, we used to cheer when the “fogging machine” came by to kill the mosquitoes. We would run out and breathe in all that fog not realizing, of course, that what was killing the mosquitoes might also be killing us. Oh, the blissful ignorance of those days; the fog in question was DDT.
Why brush the first crop off? You could put a dent into the summer’s crop by killing the first couple thousand that land on your arm.
Biggest misquito’s I ever saw were near the Seabrook, NH, nuke plant. Salt water marshes produce hugh skeeters. Gets scary when those glowing thingees are flying around after dark.
Our state bird up here in the north Country is the black fly.
My son spent last summer in Alaska and called us wusses fro thinking our black flies were bad!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms that read the post.
I well remember when I first found out about the state bird in Alaska. My husband and I were backpacking in the Sierras – just a months before moving to Alaska. I was reading some science essays by Jay Gould and ran across the statement that the two highest mosquito concentrations in the world were Siberia and Alaska. I almost cancelled the move right then and in fact spent several years with a bandana wrapped around my face while hiking there. With the help of Cutter’s I finally learned to accept them.
Where I live on the edge of the everglades it is very important to refrain from scratching the mosquito bite. Once you do it will bleed and become a big ,unbearably itchy sore. You cannot burn it with a match even if driven to set yourself on fire.
Don’t miss them skeeters much. Living in the desert, we don’t get many. It gets too hot along with the low humidity. At this time only those that hatch in swimming pools of foreclosed homes here in the city are a problem. There are plenty of foreclosed homes in Las Vegas and the prediction of more to follow in June.
The picture of Sleeping Lady sure brought back fond memories of Alaska. Thanks for the great photo.
Happy Mother’s Day!
my comment with the links is still in moderation, but i’m about halfway through part one of the two-part program on alaska political corruption and highly recommend it.
If you drink enough scotch you can’t scratch and you don’t care…:)
I have never tried external application, but it might work.
austintx Says:
May 10th, 2009 at 7:39 AM
When I spent some time in Costa Rica , DEET worked for me.
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It sure does!! It removes paint and varnish too! Wash your hands throughly after application! If you have an aerosol version (not recommended), for Gods sake, do not breath it in or let it fall on any surface you care about. I learned the hard way. NOT boat friendly. I only apply it to clothing AND triple bag the stuff in ziplock baggies. Eventually it eats plastic too and it ruins some clothing.
It does work the best though. I even paid $40 (for $2 worth at the time), when we were at a remote location “up the coast” one summer. It was worth every penny. It works for the Alaskan “mascot”, blackflies too. In fact any insect that bites.
is the single malt scotch applied internally or externally?
Do they carry off small dogs?
In the old days in Florida they were called “Swamp Angels,” and cracker houses were built with a screened in front porch for a reason: you stomped off the skeeters in there before going into the house proper.
I have found that single malt Scotch is an effective deterrent.
did sarah palin skip the alaska seafood marketing group thing because of potential investigation of political corruption involving this particular seafood group?
http://alaskacorruption.blogspot.com/2009/05/clean-up-ii.html
i was over at c-span watching the “entire” WH correspondents dinner and found a two-part program about ted stevens and alaskan political corruption.
i have not yet watched the videos but thought people here might be interested in watching them. they were taped march 15 and 23, 2009, before — i believe — the case against stevens was dismissed.
part one for some reason is “private” at youtube but can be watched at c-span: http://www.c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?ProgramId=HP-A-41121
part two is at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryrtCCzijlU&feature=PlayList&p=6174869307553B87&index=5
the photo of the AK state bird gave me the creeps…although I don’t remember black clouds of them where I grew up, I had my share of counting bites and contests of which kid had the most! My mother always dotted me with calamine lotion.
Happy Mother’s Day all.
hey austintx-thanks. the girl is having a great time. her hubby flew out from ohio to see her. they drove somewhere south of los angeles so he could kayak. they are going to australia for a sea kayaking race in august. so he wants to stretch out in the pacific. i am going to find some brunch. i am starving. be back later. enjoy the day…love b
When I was working as a pilot in AK, I got to experience the mosquitoes in a wide range of locations. I had at first assumed that once I’d seen some of AK’s famous mosquitoes and ooh’ed and ahh’ed at the size of them, that was about it for the legendary mosquitoes. Until the day I encountered the mosquitoes at the Drift River tank farm. I was trying to get south through Lake Clark pass and was turned back by weather, so landed at the airstrip at the tank farm to wait an hour or two for the rain to ease up (and visibility to improve) in the canyon. It may seem a stretch to describe mosquitoes as intimidating, but these actually were – they were huge and they were hungry. After an hour with those mosquitoes, I headed up the canyon toward Lake Clark Pass with the attitude that I’d rather deal with low clouds and tall mountains than spend another minute with those mosquitoes.
BTW, if any of you ever get the opportunity to visit Lake Clark Pass and/or Lake Clark National Park, I assure you that is one of the most awesomely beautiful areas I have ever seen. I never got the chance to put boots on the ground there, but always looked forward to flights between Anchorage and King Salmon because it meant another opportunity to be enchanted by the surreal beauty of that wondrous area.
http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.lake-clark.html
Happy Mother’s Day to all who have children and for those who have helped to raise others’ children!
In Maine, we are “enjoying” black fly season…even people taking a leisurely walk wear netting over their heads. Black fly bites both bleed and itch like crazy.
The noble black fly is the state bird of Maine!
When I spent some time in Costa Rica , DEET worked for me.
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/avoid-mosquito-bites
bubbles – How is your daughter holding up ??
last july fourth ol’ bubbles[me] went to ohio to hang out with my daughter and her hubby. after breakfast i took a nice shower and washed my hair with an almond shampoo. i put on a pretty dress and spritzed on some chanel no.5 and out the door i went, ready to take stroll around the lake and greet the neighbors……well….’nouf said about that. the neighbors were still laughing when i left a week later…them mosquitos were fierce….happy day to all..love b
I spent 10 days or so in Alaska in August, and mistook the mosquitos for F-18 fighter jets. If those are the small ones, I’ll pray for you.
Just bought some more moskito nets. I like to have a quiet sleep.
12 aeroentropy Says:
May 10th, 2009 at 5:59 AM
You can keep the benadryl -I’ll take the itching of the mosquito bites over the haze I get from that drug AQday! Just me, but I can hardly look at the package without becoming a zombie. It doesn’t even work as a sleep aide for me – I get really unpleasant nightmares.
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Try benadryl creme asap after a bite, it takes a wee while but it does bring relief. I have all that on hand and a couple of epipens, because my husband has severe allergy problems. I have had more than my fair share of scary trips to the emergency room with my eldest son and hubby.
If anyone else has any other helpful relief/solutions for allergic reactions from bites please let me know . WD40 does NOT work, his nibs informed me…:)
Our blood thirsty mosquitos or as UK posters might call them ‘midges’, haven’t come out in full force yet where I am. I dread when they do. The bites look like welts on me. My forearms look like half golfballs under the skin.
In preparation for them, I have stocked my freezer. With popsicles. The ones on the sticks not the freezy plastic pouches. May sound like one of those old tales but for me, it aids in the cooling from the inside out. Cousin asked for one for young daughter in hospital after allergic reaction to a drug as the counter drug took time to get into system & she was scratching away. Nurse laughed then but now has popsicles ready for Ash!!!
As a young kid, my grandmother gave me these. Those old leotards kids wore — I would scratch until I was flame red. I’m itchy thinking about them! Benadryl didn’t exist back then!! So now of course use the Benadryl but while it takes effect and still scratching, don’t get in my way of the freezer!!! I will take you out!!!
Happy Mothers Day AKM!,
The mosquito might be your state bird, but I KNOW your horseflies are worse! They must be your state mascot, because I could have sworn that I was bitten by a pit bull! I was bitten on my hand, bitten between my thumb and fore finger, It was quite bruised and swollen for more than a week. Actually, the bite I received from a rather large dog, was not nearly as bad!
Apparently your state bird does not respect our boarder and there is no solution in sight!
When we traveled to AK in our trawler, weather forced us (and quite a few others) to take refuge at Dundas Island for 3 days. The “legend” from all the boaters we came across, is that no deer exist on Dundas any longer because THE MOSQUITOES ATE THEM! It is written in yachting magazines and books as well.
The folks we know that make their annual voyage to AK have mosquito netting on board to attach to their hats/baseball caps, in order to protect their faces when they have to pull anchor there.
They proudly showed us pictures of faces swollen beyond recognition, from the demarcation of the baseball cap down.
Dundas Island has the only safe harbour between Prince Rupert B.C. and Ketchican AK, where we all must land to go through customs.
When you arrive at Dundas because of weather (we spun in circles, “on the hook” for 3 days and 2 nights) , of course there are none of these devils about. The weather clears, you happily, unsuspectingly, go out to pull anchor as your last preparation to set sail and…….well lets just say if one were forced to make a choice between waterboarding and the Alaska state bird, I MIGHT just flip a coin!
I’ve included a link to google maps so you can see where Dundas is, and you can see the open ocean that you are exposed to as you make your way from there.
If you had any Palin blood in you, you could see Japan from Dundas Island….lol
Zoom out to get a better idea of the location and check out the great photo!
http://maps.google.ca/maps?rlz=1C1CHNG_enCA324CA325&sourceid=chrome&q=Dundas%20Island&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&
that’s supposed to say “any day” – i had a little posting help from one of the kittens, again!
You can keep the benadryl -I’ll take the itching of the mosquito bites over the haze I get from that drug AQday! Just me, but I can hardly look at the package without becoming a zombie. It doesn’t even work as a sleep aide for me – I get really unpleasant nightmares.
I suffer from mosquito bites but let me share what works for me….oral Benadryl. I don’t have allergies but mosquito bites give off histamines, so an antihistamine will help. Stops the itching like no topical cream can.
A little humor from my favorite cartoonist
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/cartoonsandvideos/telnaes/telnaes05062009.html
I am “reposting” this from the last open thread for, Mothers Day, enjoy the video!
This is the cherry on the ice cream after Wanda at the WCD, the entire SNL was very good tonight! Timberlake is such a talent!! This is as good as his…..in a box!
In an SNL digital short sure to spread like wildfire and just in time for Mother’s Day, Justin Timberlake and Adam Samberg, along with Susan Sarandon and Patricia Clarkson, give a whole new take on what it means to celebrate one’s mother.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/10/motherlover-snl-justin-ti_n_201285.html
Re ‘Alaska State Bird’ mosquito
In August of 2002, my husband, son, and I drove to Alaska. Our son, at the time was a Chicago high school junior, planned out the trip to drive the Alcan highway to Anchorage. Because of this open thread, I am reminded of one souvenir that we brought back that I leave stuck in a vase with dried foliage–an Alaskan State Bird bird house!
I like the gift of the daily Open Threads. It’s working for me.
Paula, don’t know if the Neem tree grows in your environment, but I planted a couple in the backyard. The Neem branches are used to keep critters from the grains/rice in India, and Neem has become very popular here in FL for holistically combating (oxymoron?) fleas and skitters. I’ve noticed my dogs rubbing up against the little Neem saplings lately, and I did put a smaller sized bird bath near one of the trees as an experiment. You might want to see if Neem will grow in your area. Much safer than DEET and much kinder to the environment. We’ve also converted our yard fogger to using neem oil minutely diluted in distilled water. I added in lemongrass and citronella oils to the mix cuz Neem all by itself is pretty rank.
Ack ! I’m gonna have nightmares !
Our mini-bombers are here but will come full force after the spring waters settle and leave nice pools of water for breeding. Deet. Lots of deet.
Yeah, the mini-bombers are here in Florida too. With the heat and humidity, these little nasties are out in full force – and to our rescue? The mighty might wolf spider – he jumps, he leaps, he scuttles, and he’s HUGE – but he does eat the creepier crawlies and the skitters . . . so we co-exist – he’s just not allowed to do his aerobatics in the house – or he becomes a spider pinata. We also added in a couple more birdbaths/fountains to the yard this week – for the birds (the dogs think the one in the middle is just a really neat-o doggie drinking fountain) – and with the bubblers in place, the birdbaths won’t become mosquito habitat. So far this morning, we’ve had cardinals, grackels, jays, sparrows, and morning doves come for breakfast and a swim.
Sorry, my computer took so long pasting that I went to sleep and forgot the link.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-merkley/words-designed-to-kill-he_b_199373.html
The real (not O’) Merkley speaks!
Words Designed to Kill Health Care Reform
[quote] I was shocked when I read a memo from Republican strategist Dr. Frank Luntz laying out plans to dismantle any effort to give all Americans access to quality health care. Dr. Luntz, the man who developed language designed to promote preemptive war in Iraq and distract from the severity of global warming, is at it again — this time with a messaging strategy designed to sink our historic opportunity for health care reform.
[snip]
In his memo, Dr. Luntz lays out multiple ways that opponents of health care reform can trick and manipulate the American public. One strategy that stood out to me is to call efforts to reform our broken health care system a “bailout for the insurance industry.”
[snip]
Unfortunately for the vast majority of Americans who support reform, however, Dr. Luntz’s new game plan to stop change is being embraced by leaders in the Republican Party. In a briefing where Dr. Luntz presented his strategy to Republican House members, Rep. Mike Pence from Indiana, the chairman of the House Republican Conference, made it official by saying, “Frank is back.” [end quote]
Happy Mother’s Day everyone! I will be out amongst the Michigan mosquitoes doing some yard work today (o: