Deer Flies

When I grew up in New England, we had big black biting flies that we called horse flies.  When I moved to Texas, I was introduced to big striped flies, called deer flies.  This week, I have been kayaking at Dunbar Historical Lake in Lubbock.  The mosquitoes are not bad:  I saw one in two nights.  But the deer flies are awful...  Although I did a lot of swatting, I have at least 5 deer fly bites on my body.  They itch, I swell, and the swollen area is hot and tight.  Deer flies are a hazard of outdoor activity in this part of the world...

From my days of outdoorism, I was reminded, as I was writing this, that meat tenderizer helps to quell bug bites.  I keep meat tenderizer for just this purpose, so applied a past to the various parts of my body that are afflicted with deer fly bite swelling.  The sense of ease was immediate.  The swelling did not go down, but the irritation was eased... Not bad!