I would like to say a word or two about mosquitoes.

Just how do they fit into this world?

Mosquitoes fall blissfully out of my mind once cool weather arrives. When they begin to make their presence known in the late days of Spring, I longingly think of October with gusty sighs.

Oh, how I hate them.

I think, perhaps, my reaction to them has worsened over the years...if that is possible. I mean, I spent a childhood fighting with my sister about who got to use the melon scoop when it came to helping Mother preparing the cantaloupe for our meal and now just the juice alone would endanger my life. That, along with other fruits I used to consume. So, if I can develop a food allergy as an adult, could I develop an allergy to mosquito bites?

First off, I get these rather large welts, something more akin to hives than an insect bite. The funny thing is that I rarely feel the bite. Perhaps it is because I am too busy puttering in the soil or pushing about the mower. Perhaps they sting and I just don't notice. In any case, I know it later. Boy, do I know it.

Summoning a will power that always seems to fail when it comes to B's peanut butter cookies, I usually manage not to scratch them. A hot shower later, the dirt is gone and so is the itch. I think I dodged a bullet. I am wrong.

One, two, or even three days later, the itching starts. I scratch and I scratch and I scratch. I spray on, spread on, and pat on any number of anti-itch creams, ointments, and gels. The hives that initially shrunk come back in the form of wide welts that can have streaks of red flesh spreading out from the center of the bite.

Eventually, the creams, ointments, and gels work long enough to break the itch cycle. I find some measure of relief and recapture that will power. One would think that the ordeal would be over...at least until the next bit of time spent out of doors. However, those darned bites have a fourth cycle in the form of red, and I do mean ruby red, spots on my skin. Seriously, they look like some form of wretched pox, one that lingers far longer than a person would generally think possible.

Am I exaggerating? You be the judge.

My last exposure was fifteen days ago (thanks to the lovely mowing job of my talented ex-writing student-now-turned-brilliant-college-student done last week). My legs I have a mixture of itchy welts and red spots, and I have gone through nearly 2 ounces of Band-aid brand itch relief gel spritz (a new type based on camphor rather than cortisone like the half dozen bottles, jars, and wipes that are currently resting on a shelf in my bathroom closet).

~~~~
Jen: The answer to your question, I believe, is pirate style, down on my forehead.