She could hear the grass rustle quietly under her feet and feel the damp under it. Hot on top and damp underneath. There had been so much rain that the ground squished in some spots. She could feel them following her in moving clouds - a thousand pairs of eyes. She kept a hand over her face to shield herself. Pausing briefly she shifted her watering can and continued around the yard. She knew if she didn't finished her watering that she would have to fight even more later and the thought of it almost overwhelmed her.

Watering completed, she dragged her sticky carcass up the steps and sank into the papasan on the deck. Looking around the yard, she felt a satisfaction with how beautiful it was. Pockets of sun and shade shifted frequently in the wind creating a gently moving landscape that hid those millions of eyes - she could just sense them waiting... The heat was more bearable here because of how the Amur maples shaded the deck. With the shade they rapidly came in droves, her peace short lived as they pierced her thoughts. It was stifling hot and the counts were high but she didn't need CBC to tell her that. As she swatted the mosquitoes away, she admitted defeat, retreated indoors unhappily, leaving them to enjoy the beauty of her backyard.