Ah, Spring

The mosquitoes are back.

Well, really, they never leave south Louisiana. They are a bit less active and annoying during the wet season, that's all. It's not so much trouble not to get "all bit up" as we say.

For those who don't know, we only have two seasons, wet and hurricane, with hurricane being hotter.

So during wet season, i didn't notice them as much. Now Little Girl is back to swelling like a ripe melon with every bite. The poor kid is a huge mosquito magnet, and reacts in what might be a record breaking way. If she wears loose clothing, and i spray her clothes with DEET in an attempt to not get so much of it on her skin , they will fly under the clothing to bite her. Where they bite she turns bright red and looks like she got blown up with a bicycle pump.

If you don't want to get bitten, stand next to the poor girl, and watch her do the "slappy mosquito dance" the whole time you are out there. You will not have to lift a finger to keep yourself bite free.

Since we grow them big here, when she was younger i used to be half afraid they would carry her off for a private mosquito festival in the woods. "Come one and all! Mosquitoes are going to party tonight!" they would have yelled to each other, in whatever way mosquitoes would yell, or buzz, or commune with each other, as they purloined her from the back yard. "She will feed the whole bayou!" they may have gloated.

If it's true that stinky feet attract them, which i have read, she is doubly in trouble. If she doesn't wash her feet twice a day and change her socks regularly. it won't just be the mosquitoes noticing. She could give the Odor Eaters stinky shoe champ a run for the money. Yes, they really do crown a champion of stinky shoes each year, and maybe i should tell her. She, like her mother, has a warped enough sense of humor that she might not just find it funny, but compete. If we could tolerate her in the house as she prepared for that. Never mind.

So, for the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, it's spring. For us, it's the start of the time where i will hear, "Mom, where's the OFF?" multiple times a day.

Come on down for a visit. Bring your slappy hands and some bug spray, unless you can convince Little Girl to stand next to you.


Today is:

Einmanuaur begins -- Icelandic Calendar (Lone Month)
Yngismannadagur -- Young Men's Day (first day of Einmanuaur)

Equinox -- at 1:14am, EDT; related celebrations
Akitu Festival begins -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar
Chunfen -- China
Festival of Dumzi -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar
Festival of Iduna -- Ancient Norse Calendar (goddess of spring, keeper of the apples of youth for the gods)
Haru-no-Higan -- Japanese Buddhist
Harvest Festival and Coming Forth of the Great Ones from the House of Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar
Jare -- Old Slavic Calendar
Kukulcan Snake God in Chichen Itza -- Yucatan (the snake shadow appears only at the equinox, and celebrations are held before and after)
Maslenitsa -- Slavic Pagan Calendar
Ostara/Mabon -- Wicca/Pagan, Ancient Norse Calendar, Old Anglo-Teutonic Calendar
Pacha Pucuy -- Ancient Inca Calendar ("Earth Ripening")
Shunbun no Hi -- Japan
Taoist festival of Shen -- Deities of water, East, and Spring

Extraterrestrial Abductions Day -- another silly made up one, but try telling that to the people who believe in it!

Great American Meat Out Day -- go vegetarian today!

Independence Day -- Tunisia

International Day of the Francophonie

International Earth Day -- the traditional date, still observed in many countries

Kiss Your Fiance Day -- do you really need to be reminded to do this?

Lajos Kossuth Day -- Hungary

National Cherry Blossom Festival -- Washington, DC, US (through April 27; Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival on April 14)

National Jump Out! Day -- sponsored by Discovery Girls Magazine and Fundex Games; encouraging kids to get out and get active

National Ravioli Day

Nowruz/Nauruz/Novruz Bairam/Norooz (begins at sunset) -- Iranian diaspora, Kurdish diaspora, Zoroastrians; Afghanistan; Azerbaijan; Iran (Persian New Year)

Proposal Day® -- a day for singles to propose to their true love; on the equinox, equal night and day symbolizing equal commitment; www.proposalday.com

Single Parents Day

Smile Rejuvenation Day -- another one from the ecard companies, make someone smile today

Snowman Burning Day -- Lake Superior State College celebration of the start of spring

St. Cuthbert of Lindisfane's Day (Patron of Northumbria, shepherds, seafarers, sailors)

Won't You Be My Neighbor Day -- in honor of Mr. Rogers' birthday

World Storytelling Day -- to celebrate the tradition of oral storytelling



Birthdays Today:

Kathy Ireland, 1963
David Thewlis, 1963
Holly Hunter, 1958
Spike Lee, 1957
Jimmie Vaughan, 1951
William Hurt, 1950
Bobby Orr, 1948
Pat Riley, 1945
Lois Lowry, 1937
Hal Linden, 1931
Fred "Mr." Rogers, 1928
Carl Reiner, 1922
Ozzie Nelson, 1906
B.F. Skinner, 1904
Henrik Ibsen, 1828
Ovid, BC43


Today in History:

Sixth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, 141
Maximus Thrax, who never set foot in Rome, becomes the first of the Foreign or Barracks Emperors of the Roman Empire, 235
A Saturn/Jupiter/Mars-conjunction is thought to be the "cause of plague epidemic," 1345
Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment, 1616
France and Spain sign an accord for fighting protestantism, 1627
Nadir Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne, 1739
The Great Fire of Boston destroys 349 buildings, 1760
After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule, 1815
US and Siam sign commercial treaty, 1833
Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is published in Boston, 1852
An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina, 1861
The first AC power plant in the US begins commercial operation, in Massachusetts, 1886
In the first known intercollegiate basketball game, Yale beats Penn 32-10, 1897
The first international figure skating championship takes place, in New Haven, Connecticut, 1914
Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity, 1916
The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso's first United States showing, 1923
A test of a practical radar apparatus is made by Rudolf Kuhnold in Germany, 1934
The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established, 1964
Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, 1985
Ferdinand Marcos's widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering, 1990
Stephen Harper wins the leadership of the newly created Conservative Party of Canada, becoming the party's first leader, 2004
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits Fukuoka, Japan, its first major quake in over 100 years, 2005
Cyclone Larry makes landfall in eastern Australia, destroying most of the country's banana crop, 2006