Gnats

This morning on our walk, Raven and I encountered a few swarms of gnats. I don't know if he even noticed, because they were more human eye level, and being a dog, he was more distracted by birds and squirrels.

It seems like we don't get too many gnats in Minnesota--maybe the mosquitoes population overwhelms them! But I remember encountering gnats in the Catskills of New York state, where my grandparents lived on a farm. Every summer in August, my dad would take three weeks off work, he and mom would pack up the station wagon, and the six of us (including me and my 2 sisters and one brother) would head off to New York to visit my dad's parents.

We drove from the midwest across the Indiana Tollway, the Pennsylvania turnpike, often stopping to visit interesting sites, like the football hall of fame, or Storybook Gardens. After our long drive, we finally arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's, and I remember enjoying their old house and farm so much, with its fascinating history, old push button light switches, big front and back porches, and best of all, lots of corn on the cob, fresh from Grandpa's garden.

I don't ever remember being bored there--I loved to read, so I got lots of time to do that. I do remember playing a form of badminton with some tamborine like objects we used to bat the birdie around with. But I remember most batting the hundreds of gnats swarming around with the tamborine, and hearing them hit it as we swung through the throngs of bugs in the air.

It's funny how a few gnats can bring back wonderful memories of childhood. Maybe I'll be nicer to the Minnesota gnats than I was to the New York version. But then again........

Till next time,


Suzi