There are Fruit Flies on My Crest – Janice Anne Wheeler
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SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE ~~ latest addition! Settle back for your Sunday Morning Read. I’m so honored that you’re following along. Thank you.
Please enjoy the latest passages from STEADFAST. As of August 1st, 2024 we are undergoing extensive repair and refit and will be for several months. In boating terms we are hauled out “on the hard.” I plan to mix Sailing Stories with the challenges and intricacies of restoring a 90-year-old Sailing Yacht. I’m always open to suggestions as to content….please feel free to weigh in. Thank you. J
Some things simply make no sense, and irony can be wonderful when utilized properly and taken with a grain of sand. The crew of STEADFAST is now SPARRING WITH MOTHER NATURE on the level of Fruit flies. Really? We were forced to leave the exploration of blue water and deserted islands to wonder about and experience the vivacity, annoying habits and mystery of tiny bugs? Geez! I hope you’re laughing. I am. What a great thing these distractions can be, a bit of comic relief in a world where there is an astonishing amount of sad news, conflict and aggression.
There are fruit flies on my Crest. Lots of them. We are still sourcing commodities to rebuild our wooden sailboat and trying to juggle the wetness of the weather with getting things done that must be dry. And there are fruit flies in the bathroom. Not just the bathroom, although that is their weirdest haven. They are everywhere; I have taken to storing my unrefrigeratable items in the hallway. This week, fruit flies have probably taken up more energy, time and research than the really big project at hand (which is going beautifully…more on that next week!).
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Every time I go in, day and night, there they are, nuzzling my battery-powered toothbrush like an overripe banana, which it resembles not at all. They hover atop Crest and floss and Sensodyne. I don’t know much about fruit flies, frankly, except they (used to) occasionally and mysteriously appear near produce that I hadn’t paid enough attention to. If I picked out what was no longer edible, the problem always seemed to simply cease. But not here, not now. What I do know is that when I swing at them, I miss.
No matter how I scrub, soak and wipe, within the hour, you guessed it; there are fruit flies in the bathroom. Switter! You always have an answer. What do you think? Can I rid myself of them? (If you haven’t yet delved into Switter’s World, take yourself there; gripping stuff dashed with wisdom.) As I type that I’m thinking I should not complain as Switter has certainly experienced insects beyond my wildest imagination, so that thought in itself has calmed me down completely. Now all that’s left is the irony. I just took a break from editing this story (you guessed it) and while washing my hands one of the little buggers landed right on my nose! Seriously? I know my nose is substantial but that seems a bit too bold. Of course, I missed. I always miss.
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Poet & Writer Robert W. Service told us long to, “Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out- it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.” I had not heard the first sentence of that particular quote, so thank you Goodreads.com. We are masters, don’t worry, but the pure ridiculousness of having fruit flies attracted to my teeth cleaning tools made me have to tell someone, and you, my readers, were the ones! I can’t just laugh about these things all by myself and I don’t know anyone here yet except the mailman, who hasn’t come through for me this week.
What do they WANT? Where did they come from? They very much enjoy my glass of wine each evening, some choosing to dive right in, an interesting demise. Even I don’t take that particular plunge, although I have always wanted to partake in grape stomping. I wave them away to no avail; by the time I’ve stirred the pot they have returned, lingering on the rim where I place my lips. Hmmm.
I am not apprehensive about the larger animals of the world, in fact, I seek them out. However, I am not a fan of creepy-crawly and/or fast-reproducing six-leggers. Grasshoppers have always made me crazy with their unpredictability and tremendous talent to bring themselves to eye level. Hair on the back of the neck rises, in fact. Grasshoppers give me the heebie-jeebies. I think we all have something that does that to us.
We are listening closely and praying for the victims and the rescuers in the Southeastern United States as my loyal friends at Salty Seas Cruisers Net, an incredible resource, https://cruisersnet.net/ dig out and take stock of tremendous damages and lost lives. Such unexpected impacts are startling to boat and land dwellers alike.
Thanks for following along as I SPAR WITH MOTHER NATURE’S creatures and creations great and small. Please click the little heart! Send me a note about fruit flies, random commentary on what gives you the heebie-jeebies, whatever.
Please restack (below at right) and send this to other people that are also tired of all the sad news in the world. Most of all, ENJOY YOUR LIFE, even the things that bug you.
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Here’s your weekly flash of beauty in case you missed it, but this time it’s a sunset, because, well, WOW. Those rays to heaven!
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