Dismayed
to be looking for something like a mesh, gnat-resistant face-mask for bicycling, and discovering that some people are making and/or regularly wearing them as a means of "getting around" COVID mask mandates. Ughhh. We will never be free of this virus or the behavioral restrictions around it until people stop spreading it, and it really seems as if some people are just hell-bent on being jerks about all of it. :(
I modified my Amazon search to remove the word 'gnats,' but it still remembered enough of my original phrasing to keep showing me a fair number of over-the-head mosquito nets (which would flap around my head and get sucked into my mouth while trying to breathe during cycling, so NO). I also got a lot of suggestions for those horrible horse hoods people use to keep flies away, because Amazon apparently considers itself the center of a hot market for people looking to buy something like that? At least the pictures made it clear the horses could see out through the mesh a little (I used to ride past horses wearing them when I cycled near the office, and always pitied the horses). Some of the hoods try to be extra-stylish, with built-in ear-covers in matching fabric. So you can add to your poor horse's misery by also putting its ears in jail-and even add tickly fringe right on the nostrils? :O
Also a random offering of Halloween masks came up, including Kabuki demon, mime, Scream ghost, Black Panther, and evil-robot skeleton...
I found something and ordered it, and I hope it works-i.e., that there's enough air-flow to breathe well, but the holes are small enough to keep out the gnats. It's hard to know. Gnats seem pretty tiny when you're trying not to accidentally inhale them, but get one in your eye and it'll suddenly feels pretty darn big. We'll see. The whole point of the mask is that it's the time of year when there are lots of gnats out along the bike path, and I get tired of breathing like a swimmer to avoid them (inhaling back near my shoulder). Eventually, I lose focus and breathe at the wrong time (mmm, lung gnats). I'm hoping the mask will make things easier.
On the mosquito topic, we got a postcard about 3 weeks ago from the local mosquito-abatement people. We didn't used to have any organizations like that in Sacramento at all, until the Zika virus crept into the U.S (there were plenty in nearby farming counties where flood irrigation was used). Anyway, the postcard says "Call or text to report day-biting mosquitos." AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Do they want to answer their phones all day long? One of my first complaints about moving to Northern California was that the mosquitos didn't respect the dusk & dawn rules I was used to. First, it was while camping in the mountains, and then we moved to this part of the city and they'd pester us while we were out gardening. An entomologist friend told me they were a different species of mosquito than what I grew up with in Western Oregon, which was super-annoying. Like regular mosquitos weren't bad enough!
But I guess it could be worse. I could be standing around in the heat wearing a freaky hood that put my ears in jail. Still hung up on that...
I modified my Amazon search to remove the word 'gnats,' but it still remembered enough of my original phrasing to keep showing me a fair number of over-the-head mosquito nets (which would flap around my head and get sucked into my mouth while trying to breathe during cycling, so NO). I also got a lot of suggestions for those horrible horse hoods people use to keep flies away, because Amazon apparently considers itself the center of a hot market for people looking to buy something like that? At least the pictures made it clear the horses could see out through the mesh a little (I used to ride past horses wearing them when I cycled near the office, and always pitied the horses). Some of the hoods try to be extra-stylish, with built-in ear-covers in matching fabric. So you can add to your poor horse's misery by also putting its ears in jail-and even add tickly fringe right on the nostrils? :O
Also a random offering of Halloween masks came up, including Kabuki demon, mime, Scream ghost, Black Panther, and evil-robot skeleton...
I found something and ordered it, and I hope it works-i.e., that there's enough air-flow to breathe well, but the holes are small enough to keep out the gnats. It's hard to know. Gnats seem pretty tiny when you're trying not to accidentally inhale them, but get one in your eye and it'll suddenly feels pretty darn big. We'll see. The whole point of the mask is that it's the time of year when there are lots of gnats out along the bike path, and I get tired of breathing like a swimmer to avoid them (inhaling back near my shoulder). Eventually, I lose focus and breathe at the wrong time (mmm, lung gnats). I'm hoping the mask will make things easier.
On the mosquito topic, we got a postcard about 3 weeks ago from the local mosquito-abatement people. We didn't used to have any organizations like that in Sacramento at all, until the Zika virus crept into the U.S (there were plenty in nearby farming counties where flood irrigation was used). Anyway, the postcard says "Call or text to report day-biting mosquitos." AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Do they want to answer their phones all day long? One of my first complaints about moving to Northern California was that the mosquitos didn't respect the dusk & dawn rules I was used to. First, it was while camping in the mountains, and then we moved to this part of the city and they'd pester us while we were out gardening. An entomologist friend told me they were a different species of mosquito than what I grew up with in Western Oregon, which was super-annoying. Like regular mosquitos weren't bad enough!
But I guess it could be worse. I could be standing around in the heat wearing a freaky hood that put my ears in jail. Still hung up on that...