Our garden is on a slope and the chicken run is at the bottom of it. There’s a hedgerow behind it and some fruit trees that we planted in front of it. This part of the garden seems to have its own micro climate which can be damp and humid; there’s some nice mud where the hens have strategically removed the grass, some rotting windfall apples from the trees and some fallen and now slowly festering Autumn leaves. These things combined seem to create the perfect conditions for midges. There aren’t just one or two midges, there are gangs of them; clouds of minuscule flying bugs all determined to achieve one common goal – to eat me alive.
I’ve always been a target for being bitten or stung and have always reacted quite badly when it happens. When I say react badly, I don’t mean I run round screaming and flailing my arms, I mean the bites or stings balloon into disproportionately large lumps! These little blighter’s are really crafty though – first, they’re tiny, minute, they get anywhere and everywhere. Secondly, they work in gangs so as fast as you bat one away another one takes its place, and thirdly – they’re infuriatingly relentless. When I first encountered these midges, I swatted a few away and thought that was the last of it. No, what happens is, they get you and a few hours later a small, round, flat, red circle appears on your skin. Overnight, this seemingly innocent blemish turns into an itch of epic proportions which you absolutely. must. scratch! There have been times when I’ve woken up in the morning with a face full of red bites looking like I’ve got some medieval illness or have been struck by a curse.
This will probably be the case tomorrow morning as the midges were out in force tonight but one day, one day I’ll find a way to get my own back but until then, I guess I’ll just keep on swatting!
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