Joe Wouldn't Like It Here

My sister said that our brother-in-law (my other sister's husband) has mastered his goal of keeping bugs out of his house. As this was an instant message on Facebook, I didn't get details. But it is no secret that Joe is not fond of hiking in the woods, communing with nature and encountering all kinds of nasty little critters.

My new place is in the woods. I see a forest of redwood trees out my back door. The new place is a converted barn and somewhat funky, although everything works. I even have indoor plumbing! (Don't laugh. When I lived out here 25 years ago we had an outhouse for a toilet, and an outdoor shower.) Not all the windows have screens, but I don't really care. I open the windows anyway to let in fresh air. So far, the bugs that have come in have been amenable. A few Daddy Long Legs. No yellow jackets, no misquitoes, no flies, no brown recluse spiders. If it ever gets hot out here this summer, I may resort to closing the two screen-less windows at dusk to keep out misquitoes.

We are fortunate in the Bay Area. Our summer weather is fairly dry. Many insects prefer their weather both hotter and wetter. We rarely have Lyme's disease and only an occasional case of West Nile virus.

Yes, some bugs can be deadly. But I've decided to take my chances. The view out my back door is worth it.