Haiku Moments

[Ropey]

sometimes I wonder
why some stray into harsh realms
and to get it wrong

 

[beautress]

snippets of heaven
fall on the hopscotch of time
to restore footing​

 

[Ropey]

I just remember
heaven is a set waypoint
back to this homestead

 

[Mindful]

Ropey.

 

[beautress]

Piccolo wandered
into a net of fat fleas
and some "no-see-ums"​

 

[beautress]

overnight torture
Piccolo's guests went for me
eyes, face, neck, and all

"How to Rid Your House of No-See-Ums"

Here in Charleston, we love living near the water. Unfortunately, in many parts of town, stagnant water puddles serve as honeymoon destinations for the frisky gnats and biting no-see-ums that lay their larvae in damp locations and reproduce like tiny, flying, infuriating rabbits. The good news is that you can fight back when they come into your home. This is one of those cases where the old wives' tale turns out to be absolutely true. Fill a bowl with a half-and-half mix of dish soap and vinegar, and set it out on a counter. The vinegar attracts the little buggers, and the viscous soap drowns them. My wife and I tried this for two weeks at our house in North Charleston, and the body count was well over 200. Yes, we counted. We wanted to gloat. How to Rid Your House of No-See-Ums

​

 

[beautress]

fleas lead a charmed life
females suck mammals before
they can lay an egg

Credit: wikipedia

Flea (abive side view) looks narrow from the top (below)
The eggs below appear as little white dots on pale skin:

 

[beautress]

fleas can cause illness
and it can be pretty bad
itching is intense

Part of the answer is here:
​

 

[beautress]

overnight torture
Piccolo's guests went for me
eyes, face, neck, and all

"How to Rid Your House of No-See-Ums"

Here in Charleston, we love living near the water. Unfortunately, in many parts of town, stagnant water puddles serve as honeymoon destinations for the frisky gnats and biting no-see-ums that lay their larvae in damp locations and reproduce like tiny, flying, infuriating rabbits. The good news is that you can fight back when they come into your home. This is one of those cases where the old wives' tale turns out to be absolutely true. Fill a bowl with a half-and-half mix of dish soap and vinegar, and set it out on a counter. The vinegar attracts the little buggers, and the viscous soap drowns them. My wife and I tried this for two weeks at our house in North Charleston, and the body count was well over 200. Yes, we counted. We wanted to gloat. How to Rid Your House of No-See-Ums

​

my floors are covered
with baking soda powder
ceramic tiles, grout

created a bath
New Dawn, Apple cider too
in a shallow dish

so far, no takers
not many survived the floor
baking soda trails

trash cans a problem?
banana peels, coffee grounds
hourly sprayed Raid

why do I bother
must be the swollen shut eyes
or diarrhea

Piccolo now stays
indoors with no questions asked
outdoors now are out!

when my truck is back
it's gonna be shopping day
for baking soda
​

 

[Mindful]

We get mosquitos in Central Europe, would you believe. Big time.

Maybe one day I'll tell you about the flea infestation we had, when I lived in England. Brought in by my cats. Then they multiplied. It was quite a story. I laugh about it now.

 

[beautress]

This little varmint
is biting midges larva
looks like a small hair

These biting midges
tenth-of-an-inch biting banes
fill a house,1 day

here is a virus
caused by such tiny creatures
they will make you sick:

one other picture
illustrates no-see-ums there
life cycle poster

These varmints are very tiny from 1-3mm, most about 1mm.
​

 

[beautress]

We get mosquitos in Central Europe, would you believe. Big time.

Maybe one day I'll tell you about the flea infestation we had, when I lived in England. Brought in by my cats. Then they multiplied. It was quite a story. I laugh about it now.

Well, this really isn't a brag, but her little outing resulted in a huge problem in less than a day, because she wanted to cuddle (very unusual) when she came indoors after being outside all day. It's been very, very wet here in East Texas for the better part of a year. By the next morning, the upper part of my chest above the area covered by my nightgown, was covered with a rash that ran in lines. You can't even see the fleas. Their larvae looks like a short (very short) hair. Somewhere above, I posted a larvae, many times magnified, but in real life they looked like a short brown hair. I may have been looking at the shell of the larva, because it was very narrow and not at all transparent, but a reddish brown color. Needless to say, the itching is intense, and the larvae prosper in the dampness around the eyes, so the eyelids are all red and horrid-feeling.

One day. Under 24 hours. It's a high price to pay to get away from a curtain-climbing cat who was pooping right next to her new cat box that costs $14 to refill with the best kind of cat litter. Nobody told me my cat might not like the stuff. The old one , she just made the litter sail out by the pawfull of her scattering it all around. lol. Miss Piccolo is a total twit some days, a bundle of love others. She's the most bi-polar cat I've ever owned, but she is a very charming person when she's not in a snit. After suffering her itching issue, however, I'm gong to be a little kinder to her when she's at her worse, and no more go out and get sunshine until I look into how much savings it will take to de-flea from 2 to 4 acres around the house. I live on 14 acres with a small stream-fed lake. Plus it's been raining every other day since early fall in 2018. We've never had anything like this. I'm not complaining, but it is likely to be an uphill battle with so many tiny predators around here that cause a lot of pain. She must have brought in 10 types of no-see-ums from her day in the yard, not to mention a couple of types of fleas, most of them too small to see from a foot away. And the short hair larvae are a terror around the eyes, both of mine of which are very swollen right now. I only saw one black biting fly today. The black ones are about 2mm, maybe 1.5mm. The little yellow and/or reddish pink ones are 1mm tops. There's one really ugly one that is gray and black near miss Picolo's empty fish-food cans. They move creepy. They move like fleas, but they're not fleas, but instead of jumping a few inches, they jump a body-length (2mm) in rapid succession.

Please send up a little prayer. The numbers of all of them went way down when I started tossing the baking soda around. I'm heartened that the black and gray creepers with wings went from hundreds down to 20, and this morning, there was only 1 or 2. I'm about ready to get an eye patch and see the doctor about my left eye. The hair critters got me there. I hate em. They got me up at 1:30 am this morning, and it's now almost 6 o'clock.

 

[Mindful]

We get mosquitos in Central Europe, would you believe. Big time.

Maybe one day I'll tell you about the flea infestation we had, when I lived in England. Brought in by my cats. Then they multiplied. It was quite a story. I laugh about it now.

Well, this really isn't a brag, but her little outing resulted in a huge problem in less than a day, because she wanted to cuddle (very unusual) when she came indoors after being outside all day. It's been very, very wet here in East Texas for the better part of a year. By the next morning, the upper part of my chest above the area covered by my nightgown, was covered with a rash that ran in lines. You can't even see the fleas. Their larvae looks like a short (very short) hair. Somewhere above, I posted a larvae, many times magnified, but in real life they looked like a short brown hair. I may have been looking at the shell of the larva, because it was very narrow and not at all transparent, but a reddish brown color. Needless to say, the itching is intense, and the larvae prosper in the dampness around the eyes, so the eyelids are all red and horrid-feeling.

One day. Under 24 hours. It's a high price to pay to get away from a curtain-climbing cat who was pooping right next to her new cat box that costs $14 to refill with the best kind of cat litter. Nobody told me my cat might not like the stuff. The old one , she just made the litter sail out by the pawfull of her scattering it all around. lol. Miss Piccolo is a total twit some days, a bundle of love others. She's the most bi-polar cat I've ever owned, but she is a very charming person when she's not in a snit. After suffering her itching issue, however, I'm gong to be a little kinder to her when she's at her worse, and no more go out and get sunshine until I look into how much savings it will take to de-flea from 2 to 4 acres around the house. I live on 14 acres with a small stream-fed lake. Plus it's been raining every other day since early fall in 2018. We've never had anything like this. I'm not complaining, but it is likely to be an uphill battle with so many tiny predators around here that cause a lot of pain. She must have brought in 10 types of no-see-ums from her day in the yard, not to mention a couple of types of fleas, most of them too small to see from a foot away. And the short hair larvae are a terror around the eyes, both of mine of which are very swollen right now. I only saw one black biting fly today. The black ones are about 2mm, maybe 1.5mm. The little yellow and/or reddish pink ones are 1mm tops. There's one really ugly one that is gray and black near miss Picolo's empty fish-food cans. They move creepy. They move like fleas, but they're not fleas, but instead of jumping a few inches, they jump a body-length (2mm) in rapid succession.

Please send up a little prayer. The numbers of all of them went way down when I started tossing the baking soda around. I'm heartened that the black and gray creepers with wings went from hundreds down to 20, and this morning, there was only 1 or 2. I'm about ready to get an eye patch and see the doctor about my left eye. The hair critters got me there. I hate em. They got me up at 1:30 am this morning, and it's now almost 6 o'clock.

Your fleas seem quite prolific.

My cat picked them up from the cats' hotel.

I'd like to live on 14 acres.

 

[beautress]

We get mosquitos in Central Europe, would you believe. Big time.

Maybe one day I'll tell you about the flea infestation we had, when I lived in England. Brought in by my cats. Then they multiplied. It was quite a story. I laugh about it now.

Well, this really isn't a brag, but her little outing resulted in a huge problem in less than a day, because she wanted to cuddle (very unusual) when she came indoors after being outside all day. It's been very, very wet here in East Texas for the better part of a year. By the next morning, the upper part of my chest above the area covered by my nightgown, was covered with a rash that ran in lines. You can't even see the fleas. Their larvae looks like a short (very short) hair. Somewhere above, I posted a larvae, many times magnified, but in real life they looked like a short brown hair. I may have been looking at the shell of the larva, because it was very narrow and not at all transparent, but a reddish brown color. Needless to say, the itching is intense, and the larvae prosper in the dampness around the eyes, so the eyelids are all red and horrid-feeling.

One day. Under 24 hours. It's a high price to pay to get away from a curtain-climbing cat who was pooping right next to her new cat box that costs $14 to refill with the best kind of cat litter. Nobody told me my cat might not like the stuff. The old one , she just made the litter sail out by the pawfull of her scattering it all around. lol. Miss Piccolo is a total twit some days, a bundle of love others. She's the most bi-polar cat I've ever owned, but she is a very charming person when she's not in a snit. After suffering her itching issue, however, I'm gong to be a little kinder to her when she's at her worse, and no more go out and get sunshine until I look into how much savings it will take to de-flea from 2 to 4 acres around the house. I live on 14 acres with a small stream-fed lake. Plus it's been raining every other day since early fall in 2018. We've never had anything like this. I'm not complaining, but it is likely to be an uphill battle with so many tiny predators around here that cause a lot of pain. She must have brought in 10 types of no-see-ums from her day in the yard, not to mention a couple of types of fleas, most of them too small to see from a foot away. And the short hair larvae are a terror around the eyes, both of mine of which are very swollen right now. I only saw one black biting fly today. The black ones are about 2mm, maybe 1.5mm. The little yellow and/or reddish pink ones are 1mm tops. There's one really ugly one that is gray and black near miss Picolo's empty fish-food cans. They move creepy. They move like fleas, but they're not fleas, but instead of jumping a few inches, they jump a body-length (2mm) in rapid succession.

Please send up a little prayer. The numbers of all of them went way down when I started tossing the baking soda around. I'm heartened that the black and gray creepers with wings went from hundreds down to 20, and this morning, there was only 1 or 2. I'm about ready to get an eye patch and see the doctor about my left eye. The hair critters got me there. I hate em. They got me up at 1:30 am this morning, and it's now almost 6 o'clock.

Your fleas seem quite prolific.

My cat picked them up from the cats' hotel.

I'd like to live on 14 acres.

My mama said "It's lonesome at the top," Mindful. It never struck home till my husband died. He was the top. His only consideration was the comfort and cheer of everyone else. While he worked hard, he never would admit it. He worked really, really hard at making sure everyone else was happy before his dementia took control of his life. Even then, he was the best of good company. Some days without him seem like a mountain crumbling to the sea, to borrow a phrase from "Baby, I'm Yours," a song popular when I was young. His gift to me was a share in the American dream. And now here I am, barely able to stave off the taxes and electrical bills that dwarf my social security that was supposed to put food on the table in old age. lol

 

[Mindful]

We get mosquitos in Central Europe, would you believe. Big time.

Maybe one day I'll tell you about the flea infestation we had, when I lived in England. Brought in by my cats. Then they multiplied. It was quite a story. I laugh about it now.

Well, this really isn't a brag, but her little outing resulted in a huge problem in less than a day, because she wanted to cuddle (very unusual) when she came indoors after being outside all day. It's been very, very wet here in East Texas for the better part of a year. By the next morning, the upper part of my chest above the area covered by my nightgown, was covered with a rash that ran in lines. You can't even see the fleas. Their larvae looks like a short (very short) hair. Somewhere above, I posted a larvae, many times magnified, but in real life they looked like a short brown hair. I may have been looking at the shell of the larva, because it was very narrow and not at all transparent, but a reddish brown color. Needless to say, the itching is intense, and the larvae prosper in the dampness around the eyes, so the eyelids are all red and horrid-feeling.

One day. Under 24 hours. It's a high price to pay to get away from a curtain-climbing cat who was pooping right next to her new cat box that costs $14 to refill with the best kind of cat litter. Nobody told me my cat might not like the stuff. The old one , she just made the litter sail out by the pawfull of her scattering it all around. lol. Miss Piccolo is a total twit some days, a bundle of love others. She's the most bi-polar cat I've ever owned, but she is a very charming person when she's not in a snit. After suffering her itching issue, however, I'm gong to be a little kinder to her when she's at her worse, and no more go out and get sunshine until I look into how much savings it will take to de-flea from 2 to 4 acres around the house. I live on 14 acres with a small stream-fed lake. Plus it's been raining every other day since early fall in 2018. We've never had anything like this. I'm not complaining, but it is likely to be an uphill battle with so many tiny predators around here that cause a lot of pain. She must have brought in 10 types of no-see-ums from her day in the yard, not to mention a couple of types of fleas, most of them too small to see from a foot away. And the short hair larvae are a terror around the eyes, both of mine of which are very swollen right now. I only saw one black biting fly today. The black ones are about 2mm, maybe 1.5mm. The little yellow and/or reddish pink ones are 1mm tops. There's one really ugly one that is gray and black near miss Picolo's empty fish-food cans. They move creepy. They move like fleas, but they're not fleas, but instead of jumping a few inches, they jump a body-length (2mm) in rapid succession.

Please send up a little prayer. The numbers of all of them went way down when I started tossing the baking soda around. I'm heartened that the black and gray creepers with wings went from hundreds down to 20, and this morning, there was only 1 or 2. I'm about ready to get an eye patch and see the doctor about my left eye. The hair critters got me there. I hate em. They got me up at 1:30 am this morning, and it's now almost 6 o'clock.

Your fleas seem quite prolific.

My cat picked them up from the cats' hotel.

I'd like to live on 14 acres.

My mama said "It's lonesome at the top," Mindful. It never struck home till my husband died. He was the top. His only consideration was the comfort and cheer of everyone else. While he worked hard, he never would admit it. He worked really, really hard at making sure everyone else was happy before his dementia took control of his life. Even then, he was the best of good company. Some days without him seem like a mountain crumbling to the sea, to borrow a phrase from "Baby, I'm Yours," a song popular when I was young. His gift to me was a share in the American dream. And now here I am, barely able to stave off the taxes and electrical bills that dwarf my social security that was supposed to put food on the table in old age. lol

I don't know how I could bear someone I loved having dementia.

You're living alone on 14 acres? Or more?

 

[Mindful]

I noticed in the US, many real estate companies were developing housing areas for people who needed to downsize. Couples and singles. A totally independent lifestyle with less obligations.

What made me have that big garden? Buy all that stuff?

 

[beautress]

We get mosquitos in Central Europe, would you believe. Big time.

Maybe one day I'll tell you about the flea infestation we had, when I lived in England. Brought in by my cats. Then they multiplied. It was quite a story. I laugh about it now.

Well, this really isn't a brag, but her little outing resulted in a huge problem in less than a day, because she wanted to cuddle (very unusual) when she came indoors after being outside all day. It's been very, very wet here in East Texas for the better part of a year. By the next morning, the upper part of my chest above the area covered by my nightgown, was covered with a rash that ran in lines. You can't even see the fleas. Their larvae looks like a short (very short) hair. Somewhere above, I posted a larvae, many times magnified, but in real life they looked like a short brown hair. I may have been looking at the shell of the larva, because it was very narrow and not at all transparent, but a reddish brown color. Needless to say, the itching is intense, and the larvae prosper in the dampness around the eyes, so the eyelids are all red and horrid-feeling.

One day. Under 24 hours. It's a high price to pay to get away from a curtain-climbing cat who was pooping right next to her new cat box that costs $14 to refill with the best kind of cat litter. Nobody told me my cat might not like the stuff. The old one , she just made the litter sail out by the pawfull of her scattering it all around. lol. Miss Piccolo is a total twit some days, a bundle of love others. She's the most bi-polar cat I've ever owned, but she is a very charming person when she's not in a snit. After suffering her itching issue, however, I'm gong to be a little kinder to her when she's at her worse, and no more go out and get sunshine until I look into how much savings it will take to de-flea from 2 to 4 acres around the house. I live on 14 acres with a small stream-fed lake. Plus it's been raining every other day since early fall in 2018. We've never had anything like this. I'm not complaining, but it is likely to be an uphill battle with so many tiny predators around here that cause a lot of pain. She must have brought in 10 types of no-see-ums from her day in the yard, not to mention a couple of types of fleas, most of them too small to see from a foot away. And the short hair larvae are a terror around the eyes, both of mine of which are very swollen right now. I only saw one black biting fly today. The black ones are about 2mm, maybe 1.5mm. The little yellow and/or reddish pink ones are 1mm tops. There's one really ugly one that is gray and black near miss Picolo's empty fish-food cans. They move creepy. They move like fleas, but they're not fleas, but instead of jumping a few inches, they jump a body-length (2mm) in rapid succession.

Please send up a little prayer. The numbers of all of them went way down when I started tossing the baking soda around. I'm heartened that the black and gray creepers with wings went from hundreds down to 20, and this morning, there was only 1 or 2. I'm about ready to get an eye patch and see the doctor about my left eye. The hair critters got me there. I hate em. They got me up at 1:30 am this morning, and it's now almost 6 o'clock.

Your fleas seem quite prolific.

My cat picked them up from the cats' hotel.

I'd like to live on 14 acres.

My mama said "It's lonesome at the top," Mindful. It never struck home till my husband died. He was the top. His only consideration was the comfort and cheer of everyone else. While he worked hard, he never would admit it. He worked really, really hard at making sure everyone else was happy before his dementia took control of his life. Even then, he was the best of good company. Some days without him seem like a mountain crumbling to the sea, to borrow a phrase from "Baby, I'm Yours," a song popular when I was young. His gift to me was a share in the American dream. And now here I am, barely able to stave off the taxes and electrical bills that dwarf my social security that was supposed to put food on the table in old age. lol

I don't know how I could bear someone I loved having dementia.

You're living alone on 14 acres? Or more?

Yep. Don't worry. The good years were worth the price I had to pay for them. For another year with him as the young, vital superstar I married, I'd put up with it all again. 44 years. I choose to recollect the good times, but loneliness is hard for me because I was so spoiled on his kindness. My growing up home was harsh, but then, times were different back then. Dad suffered with bipolar disorder after he returned home from WWII before I was born. All I know is mom telling me he woke up screaming for weeks, from his 18-month stint in a Japanese prisoner of war camp which few men survived from what I've read on the subject. I survived being beaten like I was one of his jailers, which landed me in the hospital the last time he beat me. I don't know what the family doctor told him, only that he never beat me or my four siblings like a savage again after that. It took me 25 years after his death to realize that what stress comes from war is hard for a man to shake, and those exposed to death and dismemberment all around him in the type of facility he was held at is all but certain to give those held in that way lifelong ptsd (post traumatic stress disorder) was assured. I have but one memory before I was 4 years old, and it was of my grandparents taking me to an American Legion Christmas Party. It was of people celebrating Christian hymns, and I was disappointed to misery because everyone knew the words to the songs but me. Wonder if I could capture the moment in haiku? Well, I feel a haiku could be coming on...

feeling heart of joy
with merry music all night
unknown words the welt
​

 

[Mindful]

Can you forgive your dad for that?

 

[beautress]

Can you forgive your dad for that?

Already did. God must've given me a long life to make sure I had time enough to forgive him. I try to live it in a way that would show the Lord I'm sorry for my fault of failure to fully forgive him for such a long time for his life of meanness to his most obedient wife and 5 children. PTSD is a heinous mental disease and is exacerbated by time spent in a prison of one's enemies who is not acting in accordance with international mercy measures for prisoners of war. My older brother and I were disinherited by him, even if it wasn't much after he married 4 different women in the 4 years following mom's death. He made sure to let me know my mother's tiny frame did not compare to the big tits he was enjoying after she died. If there were a corner to escape to after that kind of beating up on a married child, I couldn't find it.

 

[Mindful]

What a story. Can't think of anything to say. But you don't seem to harbour any bitterness. No railing against the machine.

So much ugliness and hate on here today. Hatred of one's country I don't understand. Almost taking the side of Iran, in this latest crisis.