Yesterday afternoon the Minch was so quiet and placid
that last evening the dreaded midges arrived.
This morning there was an eerie stillness over the sea
and the midges were pleased and were still here.
Don't they know that it's still May?!
This is a Common Bistort. It grows wild hereabouts but I love it so have a patch growing in the garden. It spreads. It will soon be a bigger patch.
It has absolutely nothing to do with midges.
And I hope you do get some wind to blow your pesky visitors away.
ReplyDeleteThank you Red. Just strong enough to keep the midges down would be good.
DeleteYour photos are spectacular, both the scenes and your skill with the camera. I'm not sure what midges are but I am sure they are pesky and probably bite. The naughty things.
ReplyDeleteThank you Terra. I think when I was in California I heard they were called no-see-ums. They do bite but for many like me who are not badly affected by the bite it's as much the fact that they get in your eyes, ears, hair and anywhere else that is exposed. The strange thing is that if I'm bitten in New Zealand or France I react very badly so I assume that over four decades I've developed a certain immunity to the Scottish or at least the Hebridean variety.
DeleteIt's a shame you have to pay the price for lovely still weather. I think I've seen that plant here, thought it was a weed and it is only a few inches high, maybe a distant relative.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Pauline most things in life come with a price of one sort or another but I do think this is a rather high price to pay for a warm sunny calm day.
DeleteYes Graham, wall to wall sunshine yesterday and today. This is summer. There is also a water Bistort that grows in boggy ground.
ReplyDeletePretty good here today too. Water Knotweed or Bistort is a major problem in some areas. I'd like a little stand for my pond though.
DeleteI so envy you that amazing outlook, GB. As for the midges, what do you do about them? I can't stand them, as I attract anything that bites, and it's the one thing that puts me off visiting Scotland.
ReplyDeleteFrances, there are swarms of them but they don't bite me at this time of the year, July and August are when the females bite. I have a net bag I wear. Its a pain it doesn't have a smoking tube in it. Cleggs are far worse, they are as big as an eagle and you don't feel them settle on you. Then they sink a damn great proboscis into the middle of your back where you can't reach. Devils they are but wise devils.
DeleteAdrian, PLEASE tell me whereabouts on your person you wear this bag, before my imagination goes completely wild.
DeleteFortunately Frances they don't fly if the wind is over about 12mph and as it's usually above that here we are usually midge-free. What you do not want, and what midges do want, is a lovely worm, enclosed, sheltered garden. I wear a midge suit when they het really bad. It's essentially an enclosed hooded jacket of mosquito netting. They are effective but a little hot on a warm day.
DeleteIf not for the midges, we'd all be green of envy at your stunning view. Every time you mention the midges, though, I think to myself that well, at least I don't have those to fight with where I live... :)
ReplyDeleteThe midges don't ruin the view Monica. They just ruin life outside the house on a rare calm day.
DeleteOh drat they're back.....I hope the winds pick up soon and keep them at bay while you're outdoors so you can enjoy pottering around in your garden.
ReplyDeleteI've lived with them for 40 years Virginia. Another few won't be a problem.
DeleteI am always so popular with midges. I just wish the experience was more rewarding for me!
ReplyDeleteIt won't be of any comfort at all Jenny if I tell you that you are not alone. So I won't.
DeleteA rellie mentioned in a comment to a post I'd done on geraniums on facebook that geraniums keep the mosquitoes away. I wonder if that would work for midges too? Might be worth a try....
ReplyDeleteDeeDee if geraniums are a deterrent then I suspect that you'd have to have a huge number of them. The few that I have around the garden don't have any effect. Midges are attracted by carbon dioxide (as are mosquitoes) so stopping breathing is an effective way of stopping them finding one.
DeleteDo you know it is funny, but I used to get eaten alive by midges and mosquitos...but since developing a blood disorder 23 years ago, they rarely bite me now...I wonder if they can sense it? I am not complaining! I used to come up in huge welts and sores where they had bitten.
ReplyDeleteGreat view, despite the little blighters.
Serenata it's not the biting but the nuisance factor of them getting in your eyes and ears that irritates me more.
DeleteOf course there is that!
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