I just wanted to take a few pictures of the garden. We had already decided it was too hot and sticky to go far afield, but the peak flowering of our garden is just about over. So I thought, well, why don’t I go out and get a few of shots of the gardens before they pass into history.

I forgot I’m a premium gourmet luncheon for every flying, biting insect — apparently for miles around. There are the no-see-ums, the tiny biting things and the mosquitoes. Ticks, fleas, chiggers, midges and who-knows-what those things are? We switched to a kind of heartworm medication to protect the dogs from skeeters, fleas and ticks. It works. Without the dogs to munch on, there’s only we humans, with or without cameras.

I thought — how stupid am I? — since I was going outside for only a short time I didn’t need to spray myself with poison. I was out in the garden for perhaps 15 minutes. I never shot so many frames so fast in my life! The only thing that could have upped my speed was to put the camera on motor drive and use it like a photographic machine-gun.

Speed or not, I must have several hundred bites. I itch. Oh how I itch. They bit my toes. I hate when they bite my fingers and toes. They got my wrists, ankles, toes, shins, face, neck. Everything not covered by clothing, and some parts of me that were. I counted on autofocus because speed was of the essence.

I’m not going back out there until the trees turn colors. Because it’s my hoof and I’m the buffet.

Related articles

• Chiggers in the Garden (easternshoregardener.com)
• bet way of how to get rid of flea bites? (howtogetridoffleabites.wordpress.com)
• Hedgehog in the Garden (zebbakes.com)

Categories: #Photography, Arts, Blackstone Valley, Home, photo, Seasons, Summer, Weather

Tags: #Photography, biting insects, daylily, flower garden, garden, hedge roses, Home, midges, mosquitoes, no-see-ums, photographs, photos, postaday, roses, thorns, tiger lily