Get Ready For The Flood Flies!

Ready!

It seems like it is just the right set of conditions for the flood flies to come out. We are predicting that it will be today…at least for our area! It has been pouring down for the last few days and the earth is moist and saturated enough to stimulate the flood flies to come out. It is also the correct conjunction of the stars…well, we have noticed over the many years of living here that they tend to come out around the full moon. Let’s see! We are prepared.

Any-one who has read any of our flood flies posts will know that this is the nuptial flight of the termite queen. Yes, it sounds very romantic but what it actually means is that a whole bunch of termites crawl through every nook and cranny of your house and cover the whole place with their wings. It entails a BIG clean up job for days and it is not fun.

Last year, we turned off all the lights and ran into the bedroom as soon as we spotted the swarms of flies at dusk. But, we still got caught out; they managed to squeeze their way through the crack in our door and ended up crawling all over the place. They don’t bite but it is not a nice feeling to have creepy crawlies walking all over you in the dark!

This morning, Gnome took out the silicone to seal any obvious cracks. We are going to tape the all around the bedroom door this time!! If you have ever encountered this phenomenon you will understand why we go to such extra-ordinary lengths. They make such a devastating mess! Here are some past pictures:

Flood Flies!!

The Mess!

Flood Flies Wings.

Arrrgh:

Close-up Flood Flies Wings.

Let’s hope that they don’t make such a mess this year!

A Quiet Sunday!

Hello!! We are having a quiet Sunday today. The last few weeks, the weather has been hot and dry and extremely punishing. We have just had a few days rain which has been such a relief. I am trying to get new photographs of the farm and things that we have been doing together…not ready yet…but I thought I should write something!

I am not sure if I mentioned that Gnome and I have taken up drawing as a hobby. It helps to while way some quiet time and it’s quite nice to do once you get into it. Sometimes it is difficult to start (too tired, too hot, feeling lazy, can’t be bothered, etc, etc) but once we pick up our pens, we start to let things flow. Over the course of a year, we have been drawing on and off. Gnome seems to like drawing buildings and structures probably because of his meticulous and practical mind. I prefer trees, plants and animals…and I don’t like doing straight perfect lines! Anyway, here are a few pictures to show you what we have been drawing. My aim is to move onto scenes from our farm and a few drawing of our pets and animals. I s’pose Gnome might move onto barnyard scenes!

Oh, if our camera gives up…we could post up drawings instead!

Gnome’s Drawings:

A Boat.
Lighthouse.
More Boats.

Munchkin’s Drawings:

Animals.
Elephants.
Log Cabin.

Have a quiet, relaxing Sunday!