Our better judgement won out over our reluctance yesterday to persuade ourselves finally to use insecticide spray on our arms and back of our necks -- sparely, to be sure, but against our natural inclination. We wore long pants as usual going through the woods, but I found that even with long sleeves it was too stifling hot striding through the forest trails, and even that precaution failed to completely dissuade the hordes of newly hatched mosquitoes from the larvae having a ball in the newly-formed pools on the forest floor. So we relented, despite our unwillingness to use Deet, the only proven formula that works.

It did mean that we were able to enjoy our walk in the woods without being constantly bombarded by kamikaze teams of voracious mosquitoes. And we simply washed the stuff off when we got home. We still came away with a few stings where we hadn't put on the stuff, but didn't have to cope with the  usual frantic arm-waving in self defence.

Last night our youngest son recounted his experience on his latest three-day camping-canoeing trip along one of his most favourite summertime haunts, the Skajit River in the Cascade Mountain range. British Columbia has been on the receiving end of some unusual summer weather with little-to-no rain where it's needed and hotter-than-usual temperatures. It's the usual season of wildfires, but this year they've really proliferated, with an estimated 500 now burning through forests across the province and some communities evacuated, others on evacuation notice.

Despite the dry conditions, the mosquitoes, he told us, were the worst he's ever experienced and he has experienced plenty of them in his thirty-some-odd years living in the province. There was also as well the plague of deer flies. Not until ten at night did the pests decide to give it a rest. Because our son spent a good part of his time on the river he was spared the worst of the plague. But he also did a considerable climb up a mountain slope to the six-thousand-foot level and even there was haunted by flies and mosquitoes.

Which made him think of the plight of the animals on the alpine, mostly marmots and picas, and likely some grizzlies and Dall sheep who would be defenceless and tormented by the proliferation of those pestiferous bloodsuckers that can make life so miserable.

As for us, we enjoyed a walk made more pleasant by the mosquitoes taking pains to avoid us thanks to the spray we had used. Our first little poodle, Button, used to be plagued by mosquitoes, and was deathly terrified by deer flies which had once descended on her in a flash-mob when we were out in the Gatineaus on a forest trail; we'd had to sweep her up in our arms and run off with her in a rescue but the memory remained with her always.

On yesterday's ravine ramble Jackie and Jillie came across one of their canine friends, seven-month-old Nova, who has developed a high-pitched whine of excitement in an emotional excess of greeting when the puppy comes across those he knows. He's the third dog we've known over the decades to express himself like that, and it's endearing.