I usually get up around 4:30am, get a cup of coffee, and let the dogs out while I am downstairs. We have a small chihuahua and a pekingese that both stay on our front porch, and after a long night they are usually dancing around the front door by the time I get up. So anyway, I wake up, stumble downstairs to start the coffee and head to the front door.
I casually notice that the front porch light was left on all night (which usually happens if someone is expected home late), so I didn't think much about it. I opened the glass door and I am suddenly engulfed in a swarm of moths. For those of you who have never experienced such an occurrence, let me be the first to tell you it isn't a pretty site. I would like to think it was an epiphany for me, one of those moments where you are thinking, "Oh yeah, maybe I shouldn't have done that." Instead it was more of a slap in the face and I couldn't figure out where I was or what I just managed to get myself into.
There were a number of things that could have clued me in...the thousands of insect-sized silhouettes, the common knowledge that bugs are attracted to light, or maybe the fact that we live in the middle of the woods. There is no such thing as a shortage in the moth population where I live (or any insect shortage for that matter). Before the criticizing begins, I should remind you that it was 4:30 in the morning, I was navigating my way through two small, very frantic canines...and it was 4:30 in the morning!
So, my truely retarded moment didn't come until I was reaching to turn off the light and noticed my hand was still on the door. I am a freakin genius! Bugs continued to invade the premises. As I refrained from voicing several four-lettered words of choice, the sounds of the not so discrete buzzing continued. And of all things, the dogs stayed to watch! They must have found some sort of humor behind the whole experience, because they were no longer dancing around the door. Instead, the chihuahua was eagerly snapping her jaws at all of the insects while the pekingese looked at me with that head tilted sideways are-you-an-idiot look on her face.
After herding as many insects out as possible, I headed back upstairs to catch my breath and start getting ready. By that time, coffee was the last thing I needed with the nerve impulses I had going.
As I was leaving the house, my mom was awake and having her peaceful morning cup of coffee and I saw her going for the light switch....dun, dun, dun. Before I could even warn her about the incident earlier, the light was on and moths were on the prowl! It looked almost like the circle of stars that surround a cartoon character's head when they fall, but with moths and a whole lot of swatting. I found myself in a tilted-head position with a I'm-going-to-hear-about-this look on my face. Though, I shared the same fascination that the dogs must have had while they were watching me.
Then the words came out...."Who let all of these moths in?"
My initial response, ever so quietly.... "D'OH!"
I said before that there were several clues that should have prepared me for the moth invasion, but the one that probably stands out the most is this picture I took yesterday. Yes, I said I took this picture yesterday and yes, it was right outside the front door. Genius I said, genius! This is just to give you an idea of what we were dealing with. I'm sorry, are those talons that I see? Sure, you are probably thinking, "Look how pretty." That is what I was thinking when I took the picture...not so much after this morning. Now I'm thinking, "Who gave those blasted birds talons? They are HUGE!"
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