#idahodislikes

Now it’s time for the things in Idaho that I’d never be miss, better known as the “most hated” list, and nope, potatoes didn’t make the list.

1. Flies - Flies are the summertime nemesis here, particularly in late summer/early fall. They are EVERYWHERE and are nearly impossible to get rid of or deal with. The pests breed profusely due to a combination of the heat, rotting vegetation from the crops, and the summer fires near Boise, I assume, but it doesn’t matter. I just want them gone. I will say one thing about the flies here, however.....they are dumb. Flies in Florida are escape artists and it is very, very hard to kill them, but in Idaho, with a little bit of patience, you can kill the little buggers. Not that it matters, however, with many, many flies willing to replace the dead one. Sigh....

2. Clay - The dirt in Idaho is largely clay, and I have yet to figure out how to plant in it or to deal with it. You can water your lawn just to see the clay cracking with thirst a few hours later, and when it is wet, it makes a sticky, yucky mess. Sand can be nasty, but at least it’s lightweight and often camouflages itself. Clay is a whole different matter.  There’s nothing quite like trying to get it off of dogs’ paws or the coat of a cat to decided to slip under a gate right after a rain storm.

3.  Inversions - Unless you live in a valley, you’ve probably never experienced one. Consider yourself lucky. An inversion is caused when a high pressure system passes over the valley and traps the air within the valley. Needless to say, it causes bad air pollution because all of the air is trapped, but the winters are the worst. The results in wintertime is a winter wonderland that you just want to kick to the street after a few days. There’s no wind and there’s an eternal freezing fog that cloaks everything: plants, mailboxes, cars - you name it. What’s more, it’s colder in the valley than it is in the mountains. The cloaking effect is pretty....for about two days. After that, you’re ready for the winter wonderland to just go away, but it can last for weeks or even a month or so if you’re really unlucky.

4. Pay - I’m not a proponent for a $15/hr minimum wage, but Idaho is one of the only states that does not supplement the minimum wage at all, and right now it’s stuck at $7.25/hr. What this has done, in terms of me, is it has made it impossible for me, a skilled writer and former 20+ year English teacher, to make more than $15/hr. Most places won’t pay me more than $10/hr. Also due to this is that many people are not willing to pay what some services are worth because it is simply too much coming out of their paychecks.

5. The sun....or lack of. Now, this one will depend on the individual and some will like it, but in the middle of the summertime, the sun will still be out until 10:00 in the evening. I seriously dislike this. My body is geared to go to sleep an hour or two after the sun goes down, so that would mean a midnight bedtime here, and there’s been many, many nights when we’d be out working in the yard and when I come in and it’s that late, it’s a bit ridiculous. It puts a severe whack on the internal clock. The winter can be bad too with a sunset at around 4:30 and a sunrise after 8:00a.m. Many people don’t get home before dark and it can be depressing, but for me, the sunshine is much, much worse.