One of these adages is “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight;
red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning.”
This refers to the way the sun reflects off the cloud cover thereby
creating a prismatic effect which makes the sky appear different colors at
different times.
Actually, it’s pretty accurate in predicting inclement
weather for the beach-goers and water-lovers.
Then, we arrive at the one about food. The Shore is covered with crops to include
soy beans, potatoes, wheat, tomatoes, and corn.
Although I get awfully excited about Shore produce, I get
especially giddy about its corn. Driving
down this narrow strip of land, one can see corn growing for mile upon
mile.
The corn adage is “Knee high by the Fourth of July.” This means that a good, healthy, abundant
crop can be expected. This year’s crop
was head-high on July 4th which may mean we’ll be paving roads with
corn cobs.
Finally we have the adage I coined to describe the bug
situation on The Shore. “If it’s June,
you’ll be swarmed with mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds until November.”
Of course it’s not as catchy as the weather and corn adages
but, it is every bit as accurate.
If you’ve never been to The Shore, you are missing swarms of
hungry mosquitoes buzzing about your head, arms, and legs. They regularly bite through clothing and, if
you wear glasses, sneak behind them to try to attack your eyelids.
Bug spray sometimes works, but not always. I regularly mow my lawn and can attest to the
voracity of these annoying creatures.
While we’re on the subject of bug juice, let me try to
explain something about its chemical make up form a non-scientific view.
With the diseases spread by skeeters, local “officials” are
quick to help control the spread of maladies such as malaria, West
Nile virus, dengue fever, and yellow fever. This year we have a new disease called Zika,
which is a virus spread by – among other methods – mosquitoes.
Those previously mentioned officials suggest we empty plant
saucers and clean rain gutters to eliminate breeding areas for these buzzing
pests. Aerial spraying is too expensive
and would likely take precious tax dollars away from vital programs such as the
local library.
In the meantime, we’ll deal with malformed babies, flu-like
symptoms, and death in lieu of spending monies for pest eradication. Job well done!
Still, you can use bug spray on your exposed body parts to
repel any flying threat bent on exsanguination.
Keep in mind that I sprayed up with this juice and it literally melted
my watch crystal.
On my lower extremities, this lubrication came in contact
with kitchen chair leg. It actually
removed the paint and glued it to my leg.
If it removes paint, how good can it be for your skin?
In any case, I’d like to change my personal adage to “I wish
Accomack County
