Grrrrr ...

I am so over these darn mosquitoes! Are they bad where you live? It seems a lot of people I know from all over the country are saying the mosquitoes are extra bad this year. I know here, we had a really rainy June, and then July has been pretty hot. It's perfect for them. Sad thing is, they bite me more than anyone else in the house. Lucky me. Not only that, but I have really bad reactions to them. I've spent most of this week taking oatmeal baths and Benadryl. Not fun.

I wanted to do some hiking this summer once the trails dried out. Last July Rick and I hiked to Cold Lakes. It was an awesome hike, but it's about 6-7 miles into deep, deep woods. The mosquitoes were thick as air back there last year. If they were that bad then, I can't even imagine what they would be like now with the conditions we have had. Last year I came home and discovered I had over 100 bites. They all puffed up, making me miserable. They bit me right through my clothes. Oddly, they bit Rick too, but he didn't have the reaction I had. 

The other day Rick bought four of these Tiki torches that he filled with citronella. I had them all around me, along with a citronella candle, but I still got bit over 30 times. I wasn't out on the deck but thirty minutes to an hour. I hate the thought of having to use repellent just to sit on the deck for a few minutes, but I guess it's going to be one of those years where I need to.

That top picture was enlarged, by the way. I didn't want you to freak out thinking we have monster sized mosquitoes in Montana. Nope. Those are in Wyoming in Yellowstone. ;)