Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Dear Jack, Where's my Frost ?


First frost is usually a grim time here.  We are never ready to say goodbye to our summer garden.  This year is different.  With more than a month of regular daily rain the mosquitoes are winning.  If tonight's frost is hard enough, there will be fewer biting flying insects tomorrow.  Indian summer can begin and that is one of our favorite times to work outside.  Crisp clear air and no mosquitoes make for pleasant time outside.  We can then shed some of our layers of protection.

Ed is wearing a Solumbra long sleeved shirt and a helmet drape.  His only exposed skin is part of his face.  It is still possible to inhale a flying insect via either nose or mouth but they can access neither his ears nor the back of his neck.  With only a small area of exposed skin, his kill to bite ratio is way up.


Becky  is completely covered in white.  Her trip to the ER to have a deer tick removed prompted these precautions.  As anyone concerned with Lyme disease prevention knows, the pants tucked into the socks are a must.  Purple gardening gloves do add just a touch of flair.

Now it is time to compost the still living basil and peppers.  If we wait until after the frost, pleasant smelling plants will be transformed to slimy disgusting smelly  mush.  The sky is cloudless and blue perfect for a nice cold starry night. Come on Jack!  Let's have that hard frost or even a freeze. These *@!*# mosquitoes are just asking for it.

2 comments:

Lyn said...

My goodness! You do live dangerously there! I will never complain about mosquitoes again after seeing the lengths you have to go to to protect yourselves. Hoping for a frost for you.

Anonymous said...

Well, I hope you got your frost, but I am very happy we missed out here in Northeast PA! I got worried when I heard the weatherman on the 11PM news talk about what a clear night it was and how some areas would get a light frost, because all of my houseplants are still on the porch, there are still tomatoes on the vines, and I'm hoping for another small harvest of basil! This forecast for 7 nice sunny, warm days in a row finds me optimistic!