Mmmmm….. tastes a little like chicken.

Poor Margaret. It’s bad enough that anytime a mosquito finds her the word goes out that there’s a new buffet in town and they come from miles around to sample the new cuisine. But here on the coast of central Florida, they have another delightful little biter known as the “No-see-um”. Or, the Sand Fly, if you want to be more exact. They are so small that they are almost impossible to see without a 62 power magnifying glass… thus the double dashed name. But boy do they pack a wallop with their bite. Margaret is turning into a walking advertisement for every type of bug spray invented within the past 75 years… that doesn’t work. She slathers on several types of bug-be-gone juice every morning and every evening she gets out the calculator and totes up the number of new bites. The really sneaky thing about them is their size. Mosquito’s are big enough that you can see and feel them on you skin or even hear the hum when flying around you. But these No-see-um’s are so small and lightweight that you don’t know they are on you until it’s way too late to brush them off. Verrrrry aggravating. Dr Phil… no, not the one on TV… Joan’s husband, says that in time your body becomes somewhat immune to them. It would seem that full time residents are hardly bothered at all by them. But that’s hardly any solace to someone at the beginning phase of the process. How many bites does it take to attain this immunity? 10, 100, 1000, 10000… add your own zeros to the question. And in what time frame? A week, month, year? No glutton for punishment, Margaret says we’re not staying around to find out. The same road that brought us into the state will also take us out. This buffet will be closing very soon.