Four More Nights PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 03 May 2006 16:00

As I posted on our Blog this morning, for a couple of days now, we have been noticing the presence of tiny moths. My first thought was, “oh no, our clothes!” but after thinking it through I realized we have no wool onboard with the exception of a used-daily mohair throw blanket and it is fine. Just the same, I checked our cedar-lined closet to see if there was any evidence of them there, to no avail. Then I remembered our experience with grain moths when we lived in our bricks and mortar home in Horseshoe Valley.

One winter, we started to notice these tiny moths in the very large pantry, across from the kitchen every so often fluttering around. This was during the time that our oversized house had been converted into a Bed and Breakfast and fortunately at that time we had a housekeeper. It took her two days of frenzied sorting and cleaning, repackaging anything that wasn’t sealed and discarding anything that looked suspicious but eventually Joyce discovered the culprit. I had purchased a large, 20lb. canvas bag of fragrant Jasmine rice from Costco and it was sitting on the floor of the pantry. It was one of the last things she went through, but Joyce discovered some tiny holes at the back of the bag from where the moths were emerging. Apparently, these critters are often laid within the grains prior to harvest where they reside until they hatch and then they start appearing everywhere. After a thorough cleaning today (thank goodness the motorhome pantry consists of only one small cupboard above the sink), we are a few pounds of rice lighter, a few containers emptier and “critterless” once again.

Today, again Desert Hot Springs remained quite pleasant, with a high of only 26C, (78.8F) and there was a light wind all day. It seemed like a great idea at the time to open some windows and give us a break from the air-conditioner but after looking around this evening, we noticed a familiar layer of light dust over everything. THAT is another thing that we will enjoy about getting back on the road and nearer greenery again… less dust which equals less work. We have four nights left before our departure (as long as everything continues as planned) so tonight we headed into Palms Springs for dinner at the Fisherman’s Grill and to walk around. The air was a very comfortable 23C, wind-free (downtown only) and perfect for a final stroll through the weekly street fair which was as busy as ever.