Thread Drift

[OakLeaf]

are sweat bees little? never heard of them.

Yeah, they're only like 6-7 mm long, and their sting isn't terribly bad, but it's enough! I didn't realize you don't have them on the West Coast. They get their name because they're attracted to sweat. They're not aggressive, but they will land all over your body, and then when you bend an elbow or knee, or move so that they're in between your clothes and your body, they'll sting.

[Biciclista]

Yeah, they're only like 6-7 mm long, and their sting isn't terribly bad, but it's enough! I didn't realize you don't have them on the West Coast. They get their name because they're attracted to sweat. They're not aggressive, but they will land all over your body, and then when you bend an elbow or knee, or move so that they're in between your clothes and your body, they'll sting.

EW, that's icky.
I'll tell you a secret: One of the best things about Seattle is that we have no horseflies, no deerflies, no bott flies, no sweat flies, no chiggers, no "no see'ems", no ticks and not many mosquitoes. There are roaches, but not many. Our car windshields do not need constant washing to remove bug carcasses. We do have hornets, yellow jackets, all sorts of wasps, bumblebees and ants. No fire ants.

[Crankin]

Please stop raining. Please...
Today we had a 50 mile club ride that ends with a pot luck lunch. It starts in Portsmouth, NH and goes up to York, Maine. MY DH is off this week and he was going to come with me. Got a message yesterday that said the rides are on, despite the fact that every forecast I looked at said either rain all day or clouds, mist, rain, fog, etc all day. Temperatures in the low 60's. Now, this is unusual for this group. They have cancelled in less "weather." But, I think they wanted the lunch. So we got ready last night, got up, ate, and started out. It started raining as soon as we got in the car. It got heavier and heavier as we went north. Finally, after 30 miles, we turned off the highway and headed home.
Am I a wuss? It probably is not raining heavily there, but the visibility in Portsmouth was down to 1/2 a mile, with showers predicted all day. I have rain gear, but I don't choose to ride in the rain, unless I have to, like a commute, or I get caught out there. I actually think I have a better chance of getting a ride in down here.
Now, I just have rice salad for 16 to get rid of.

[bmccasland]

YAAAYYYYY! I have finally finished writing my first Environmental Impact Statement - on the Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Program. Now doesn't that sound just fascinating?

It is now in the hands of our technical writer - an english major, to catch errors, and to make certain what I wrote actually makes sense.
'Cause right about now, my brain is mush.

I had to get it finished by July 2, and I'm one day ahead of schedule! Of course, we'll see how many corrections and clarification my Tech Writer hits me with....


So long as New England's excess rain doesn't come in the form of a tropical storm, we'll take some of it. And from what I've heard in the news, the left coast would love to have the water.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

rain rain rain rain rain rain rain........

[bambu101]

Go Away!

[DebW]

Today I joined in an annual summer tradition in Zurich: the lake crossing swim. It's 1.4 km across. You pay 20 CHF, you get a bright orange bathing cap and a luggage tag. Your bag of dry clothes goes to the other side of the lake by boat, and you get to swim. They start groups of 150 people (I believe it was) every 20 minutes, from 4 pm til 7 pm. There are boats every 75 meters along the way, and police and lifeguards for safety. This is not a competitive swim at all, and most people were swimming breast stroke. At one point the police boats stopped the swimmers so a large ship could pass. At the other end you get a cup of hot bullion - I was shivering after I got out so that was welcome. And later you get a bowl of risotto and a bottle of water for a light meal. Quite the sight to watch the ribbon (a rather wide ribbon) of bright orange caps moving across the lake for hours. Also a nice view of Zurich from the water. I biked around the lake last Sunday (70 km) so the swim was a nice complement. AlpineRabbit did the swim also, but earlier in the day than I did.

Mimi, there are really no ticks in Seattle? That's hard to believe. In New England you can even get them in the winter.