Tuesday, September 14

more visitations...

yesterday afternoon more unwanted guests appeared inside of Mossy Shed.
i was first alerted to their presence by an unwanted buzzy thing going past my ear,
i ignored the little buzzy thing and pottered about my business.
ten minutes later all four windows in the downstairs of our shed
were filling up with pesky little buzzing blighters.


i can do moths (just)
i can do spiders (if they leave me alone)
i can do mouseys (cause they have nice little noses)
and at a push
i can do ants (although i try not to befriend them inside of the shed)
but dearest readers,
i do not,
cannot,
will not,
possibly entertain the idea of a fly party in our nest.

presented with an abundance of them caused me quite a concern.
after all, splatting one or two flies is obviously not very nice for the fly
nor one's abode, the clean up never being pretty.
i counted over 30 flies upon my panes.
just the thought of swatting so many pesky visitors made me quite queasy.

"what to do Tif, what to do" i muttered away
whilst my boys, lurgified and quite revolting to be close to,
still managed to entertain thoughts of
a grand splattering party within the kitchen.
all the time a little bit of panic was welling inside.
if over 30 were visible then how many were not,
where was their hidey hole,
how many pairs of fly eyes were on me...


this is the moment i told my dear friend lola
i was most pleased to never have read nor seen Lord of the Flies.
i noted after several minutes of studying their behavior,
a few were drowsy, a couple perhaps drunk.
there was nothing for it,
i needed to bring in the big guns...
i reached for Dylan Dyson,
my trusty bagless vacuum cleaner with a cyclone thingy-me-jig.
he has served me well for over 7 years
and i knew he would not let me down in my hour of need.
for the rest of the evening Dylan Dyson was on high alert.
when the cry of "there's another" echoed around the shed
Dylan went to the rescue.

i went to bed last night,
most fretful i would wake to a shed taken over by flies.
this morning however i am delighted to report
only one pesky little blighter has been brave enough to show his face.
i am hoping word has got back to 'fly land'
and they realize the shed is not the place for their partying ways.


as i have come down from my 'high fly alert' state of mind
i have used my time wisely
hanging a few sprightly crocheted garlands in the shop window.
i have a few more to hang, but alas the scoundrel Mr Lurgy
has Our #3 in quite the vice like grip.
i have reclaimed him from school,
and am busy wearing my Florence Nightingale hat.
which i have noted is looking a little crumpled and tired of late...

she is beyond excited for tomorrow ~ Tif

23 comments:

Helmi said...

the crocheted garlande looks original. I like it!
grt, Helmi

Anonymous said...

Oh Tif, I too HATE flys. I feel for your plight. Something must have died somewhere and the flies may have just hatched out and gravitated to the windows 'cus that's what they do. They're kinda young and stupid. I'm glad you had a better way than the "Splatter Way" of dealing with them. Sorry to hear of the Lurgy ridden off-spring and hope they're better soon.
Julie in WA

Pink Milk said...

Bless you, you are having a tough time.

I do hope word has spread throughout the fly kingdom that your mossy shed should be avoided at all costs. Not even flies could be attracted to such a splatty end.

I was held captive in my own dear home today by a huuuuuge spider and only rescued by a tittering postman who scooped it up with someone else's letter.

I sometimes wonder who actually is above who in the food chain.

Hx

Arthur Ransome said...

Dear Tif
Although I try to be as Jain-like as possible, an abundance of flies really puts the wind up me too. Your tale reminds me of long ago when I lived in an old house in Ireland. We'd just moved in, it was cold and miserable and we'd managed to get the water hot enough for a bath. The hot water needed a little cold to get it to the right temperature, I turned the cold tap on and a shower of dead flies came out! It was one of the most horrible experiences I'd had until then. The mystery of where flies go to in the winter was solved - they went into that house's cold water tank to die.

I feel all creepy just remembering it.

Hope the shed really has returned to normal and Mr. Lurgy sees himself out very soon.

Love from Arthur

svimelaura said...

I have to say I totally agree, there is abolutely no way that it's possible to ignore a party of 30 flies! Thank godness you got rid of them! Lovely to read your thoughts on everyday life:)

blue corduroy said...

i am swooning over the garland! just swooning!

oh, and the flies suck.

Amy said...

Oooh I a cannot stand a fly! And the way they gravitate toward the kitchen all the while threatening to land on our food. It turns my stomach. I love the dyson idea!

VickieC said...

Tif,

Woe to all around me if one pesky fly gets into my serene surroundings as there is no rest until said fly is on the other side of my door and dutifully flying in his own space - outside!!!

with sympathy as they are fast critters....

Vickie in Seattle

barbara said...

Oh I hate flies too - you have dealt bravely with this horrid situation!

and your visitor's room is so very charming ...

Esther said...

I love your banners. Your pictures are always so bright and cheerful. I love the guest room from your previous post too. I'd be very happy to stay there for a while.

Ravenhill said...

Your garlands are pure delight! And you do tell a great tale.
emily xo

Planet Penny said...

We've had a similar problem this summer, but I'm pleased to say as the weather gets cooler the numbers are diminishing. My son got pretty good with the vacuum technique, I am hopeless. I'm intrigued to know if you could see the little blighters flying round and round in the Dyson cylinder!
Penny x

Unknown said...

Hi, When we lived many years ago across from a farm. I had the same problem in all my windows at this time of year. I was horrified as I have "a thing" about flies.
I was told then that they are called "corn flies" and they force their bodies through any little crevice and hang out in the windows, when the evenings begin to get colder. YUK. I must admit I put little poison strips inside the closed windows and vacuumed them out after they were dead. I fear that the little mousies are finding it a bit chilly at night also. I commiserate.

Sharon Stanley said...

I feel your pain....the farm, in all it's cow glory, is a fly fest most of the time....when they pasture close to the fence here in the yard, the flies take every opportunity to stop in and say hello...I have killed (swatted...and you are right, it is messy) over 120 on a bad day...I know, revolting, but it is what it is...country living isn't all amber waves of grain and gentle mooing...sorry for your pain....but the garland is divine!!

dottie angel said...

pink milk, roseanna and arthur! thank you for your tales... over the past day more have found their way in, but i am becoming hardened to blitzing them from the shed.

last night i went to bed and a huge wolf spider was waiting to keep me company, not two feet from my pillow!!! i fear i will start having nightmares soon :)

planet penny! well yes i did have to take a look but through squinted eyes. so far i can see nothing but dust bunnies. i have fears of opening up the cylinder and a swarm of them fly out to get me.

thank you for the kind comments on my garlands, indeed it has lifted my spirits which are in quite a shambles today :)

Ticking stripes said...

I have to tell you Tif that flies eyes come not in pairs but in gazillions and they are thus able to see you from any direction which I think gives them a very unfair advantage. Still with Dylan on the case...

Julia said...

I hate flies too. I try to be very buddhist about all living things except flies. If one gets into the house I do not rest until it is well and truly splatted. They are the only things I kill so I think the kind of massacre that thirty of them together would entail would be more than I could take. Well done for dealing so calmly with such a horrid invasion.

Fanny said...

I just discovered your site and love what you do. It's very pretty and full of poetry and sweetness.

mosswood said...

Ha, ha , ha, you should try living in Australia! Our accent owes a lot to do with not opening the mouth too wide less the "blowy" flies in! I've swallowed a couple in my time....... and then there's the rest of the creepy crawlies lurking outside (including bogon moths)

Love, love, love your blog. Have added yours to my faves and look forward to reading more.

Princess and the Pea said...

I'll send my Maddie dog round if you like, it is her favourite pass time to sit in the window and catch flies. She doesn't kill them, just dazes them and woofs for me to come and chuck them out. A very humane team we make!

Pamela Holderman said...

OK I have to tell you, as we do happen to live in the same town, we had visitors of the buzzing kind descend upon our house a month ago... and they were huge and seemed drunk and I freaked too - have never seen flies like this in the house. Do you suppose it was our awful summer and they were trying to get away from it? Two days and we got them all and oh ya the cat is on mouse duty too. Do wish the raining would stop though as my youngest came home to help with yard cleanup today - instead we watched movies...

dottie angel said...

just thinking about flies is making me rather sicky... funny how that happens when they appear in their multitudes!
pamela, gosh yes i am being over run by spiders too!
do hope the rain stops for your yard clear up :)

vicky said...

wow so nice!