It’s been a year since La Niña’s influence on our weather brought rain – a LOT of rain – to our region. I’m grateful that we didn’t suffer the damage that occurred in the Northern Rivers and other parts of New South Wales such as Lismore, which first flooded early in 2022, only to see two or three more floods of equal destruction within a few months. Whole towns were wiped out by the repeated floods, countless houses were lost or made uninhabitable, and residents were unable to go back to check on livestock or clean up their houses. Those people really suffered.
Aside from being flooded in last October, our little town cut off in all directions, our La Niña hell was limited to the volume of overpopulating mosquitoes. It used to be that locals would cover up at dawn and dusk – prime mozzie-biting time. During the heavy rains, however, the mozzies were omnipresent, disregarding the natural order of things by being up and about, ready to buzz in our ears and bite our exposed flesh, every second of the day. Ugh!
Going for a walk became perilous: there was so much water around that it was inevitable to be surrounded by swarms of the little critters. Picture me, a hapless human flailing my arms around in an effort to ward off the incessant BUZZZZZzzzzzz in my ears that is driving me wild! I dug the old mosquito net out of the shed, the one that covers my head …. only to find that when they get IN and UNDER it, it’s even harder to stop them biting me! UUgghh!!
I’m surprised I didn’t end up with a broken nose or a poked eye, so incensed did I become that I instinctively hit myself in an effort to Just…Make…It…STOP! Uuuggghhh!!!
Eventually, the water subsided and the mozzies vanished, once again adhering to the natural order of things by coming out only at dawn and dusk. Peace is restored in our world!
Annabel Harz: Author and Artist 