The West Don't Know Like the East Do Know
Saturday 14 November 2009
The Weather is nice. The winds are light. There are flies everywhere.
I am recovering more slowly than I would like from the procedure with the big needle. Walking is still a struggle in the latter part of the day but things are getting better. Now the weather is settling too and I can start recording again. But I will be working in daylight, and in NSW daylight means flies.
The flies are worse on the eastern-side than they are in the west. So much worse that traveling from Perth to the Tablelands is like going back in time. Entomologically speaking
The flies come in waves. Every so often, a new variety arrives. A couple of years ago it was a middle-sized, rugged type with a bright yellow head. Last year, they were blue. This year, no specific strain has turned up, although we are getting a lot of very small, fragile individuals that may prove to be the plague for the year. Understandably, these variations become major topics of conversation, second only to the weather and the price of fuel. These different varieties come from the surrounding deserts, arriving courtesy of the prevailing winds. The wisest or our locals even know which desert they come from – or so they claim.
The west don’t know flies like the east do know - but all that concerns me is how many will go down my throat - and what will they do when they’re there?
I am recovering more slowly than I would like from the procedure with the big needle. Walking is still a struggle in the latter part of the day but things are getting better. Now the weather is settling too and I can start recording again. But I will be working in daylight, and in NSW daylight means flies.
The flies are worse on the eastern-side than they are in the west. So much worse that traveling from Perth to the Tablelands is like going back in time. Entomologically speaking
The flies come in waves. Every so often, a new variety arrives. A couple of years ago it was a middle-sized, rugged type with a bright yellow head. Last year, they were blue. This year, no specific strain has turned up, although we are getting a lot of very small, fragile individuals that may prove to be the plague for the year. Understandably, these variations become major topics of conversation, second only to the weather and the price of fuel. These different varieties come from the surrounding deserts, arriving courtesy of the prevailing winds. The wisest or our locals even know which desert they come from – or so they claim.
The west don’t know flies like the east do know - but all that concerns me is how many will go down my throat - and what will they do when they’re there?
More by Noel Christian
- A Wallaby, a Dingo and a Wild Pig All Walked On a Stage11 Jan 2010
- Apples Under the Earth5 Jan 2010
- Earning Wages Just to Put Them in a Bagful of Holes29 Dec 2009