The dogs and I piled in with Vernon to head to the mountain this afternoon. I was just to an exciting point with my table, but decided to abandon the 90 degree heat for something cooler!
We had to get clear to the top before we hit some cooler air. There’s stories to tell of the day… but the most unique had to be coming home.
We’re in the side by side, Vernon’s blowing down the mountain like he’s late to a wedding… I’ve got Eden at my feet, Bravo laying down on the seat next to me… and I’m just enjoying the flight down the hill. But I notice something weird with some trees.
It looked like wispy smoke coming from the very peaks of multiple juniper trees. Obviously, they weren’t on fire, so it wasn’t smoke.
Vernon kept zooming.
Was it cobwebs? We have webworms in some of our boxelder trees, but this was floating in the breeze.
Vernon was barreling along.
Ah… Maybe shadows cast in a dusty haze? Then why just the tree top and not the entire tree?
Vernon continued around the corner and then I stopped him. “Look at the tops of the trees! What *is* that?”
You can see it best on the tree to the left, but they all have them.
What??????
Once I got Vernon to see them, he quickly assessed what it was… a swarm of bugs being back lit by the descending sun. Their movement made it resemble a kite’s tail dancing in the breeze.
Without the correct position of the sun, it’s difficult to see, but it’s there.
Now, don’t ask me what kind of bug, because we were back to flying off the Big Horns. My guess would be flying ants because we went through one swarm of them!
Anyone have any other ideas?
Find me here!
Glad it wasn’t smoke. This time of year, I think I see or smell smoke constantly. And I’m down in the coastal plain, not up in the foothills. But, still . . .
I see what you see – we had an invasion of May Flies a few days ago – dead all over our cement in front of the garage – attracted I suppose by the porch light left on all night.