The Girl, the Horse, the Fly and the Washing Line

At the bottom of my garden stands a tall and slender silver birch tree where the blue tits come and raise their families each year. On the other side of the garden stands the hazel tree where the squirrels feast on its nuts and bury them around the garden, often forgetting where they have stashed them from the amount of hazel trees I now have growing in my garden and flower beds. The silver birch and hazel tree are perfect for tying a good old fashioned washing line to. There is something quite satisfying making the bed with clean fresh sheets that have been blowing in the breeze and drying in the bright, warm sunshine on a summer’s afternoon.

However, this week when I popped down to the bottom of the garden to bring in my washing I was ambushed. Did she see me or smell me? Did I set off a trip wire? Was she lying in wait for me? I’m not sure if it is just one female horsefly or if there is a gang of them but the ambush is relentless. She approaches silently and sveltely, landing on my shoulder just out of my vision. It’s only when she bites do I know she is there. I flick her off and she takes immediate umbrage and angrily heads straight back for me. This time she lands on my knee and yet again I am unaware until I feel her bite. I flick her off again, she circles around me, she is not giving up as she keeps trying to land for another attack. She’s persistent and with her sights locked onto me she’s on my face, my neck and then there we have it, bite number three on my back. That’s it, she wins, she can have the bottom of the garden and my washing line, I’m going indoors.

So if you go down to the woods today be sure of a big surprise or at least go fully clothed, balaclava tightly sealed, the lot!