The rain, the bugs

I love all the rain we’ve been having lately. I think it’s precipitated to some degree almost every single day for the past month, which is unheard of in Texas, especially considering that for the past several years we’ve been living under drought conditions. The rain has also kept the temperatures down; normally it’s in the upper 90s by now, but we’ve been holding in the mid to upper 80s. Steamy, but a little cooler than usual.

However, you know who else also loves all this rain? Mosquitos. I have never experienced mosquito infestations like we have right now. I can’t even go out to get the mail without being eaten alive.

I mentioned some time last month that I went jogging one morning and was attacked and followed by a cloud of mosquitos. This happened to me again yesterday evening as Doc and I went for a walk. Eventually I just strolled boldly down the middle of streets instead of on the sidewalks, to be as far away from grass as possible.

Doc said that every time we passed near an area where they were hanging out, he could see them approach the backs of my legs, flying in formation to the strains of the Imperial March from Star Wars. He acted as my rear guard and smashed any that landed on me. I still managed to end up with a couple dozen bites on my legs, face, and arms. His cotton full body armor kept him relatively bite-free.

I wonder if I have West Nile virus?