July 29

It is virtually impossible to walk down to Asnebumskit Pond to inspect the wildlife without looking like a man possessed with fits. I can only imagine my appearance, seen from a distance, as I flail my arms about, occasionally cursing obscenities and smacking my head.

I mentioned deer flies several days ago, and they have been particularly bad this year. The wet June is now showing its harvest in full, including a mosquito boom for good measure.

Deer flies are notably insidious, and we seem to be suffering far longer this summer than normal. There is a growing part of me that wishes for a hard frost to take care of this problem, though I imagine the farm might object to this solution.

Our desperation foments all kinds of creative solutions, and here is a sampling of what I’ve seen around town:

An easy deterrent is to hold a fern branch in one or both hands, waving them about the head. Alternatively, I’ve come across hikers who resort to sticking a branch or fern in the back of their cap, with foliage pointed upward; the deer flies are prone to be attracted to the highest point of the moving object.

Once I saw a jogger with a blue plastic cup sitting inverted on top of his head, several flies affixed to the cup and several others flying nearby. (I later learned that Florida researchers have evidence that deer flies are partial to blue, and that a quirky home remedy is to coat a blue object with sticky substances).

More common is to dangle a bandana behind the hat, covering the neck which is so very subject to attack.

These are all indications of our New England desire to shoulder onward and enjoy what little summer Mother Nature affords us, even if we look ridiculous and unstable in the doing.