First Person
Life with Wool: Dog Days, Wool Ways
It’s August, and the dog days of summer are officially here. It’s hot, my friends. Here in Maine, the temperature has even gone over 80 degrees Fahrenheit. For us, that’s like being dropped in the Sahara.
I always envy people who live in places where hot weather means a worry-free life in shorts and flipflops and strappy flowing dresses that flutter in the breeze. But in Downeast Maine, summer excursions into the great outdoors require a different kind of wardrobe—one that protects exposed flesh from hungry summertime creatures including humdrum mosquitoes, horse flies, deer flies, and any of 15 species of ticks, some of which could transmit such joyful maladies as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan encephalitis, and hard tick relapsing fever.
That’s just from ticks, I didn’t even tell you what the mosquitoes might carry.
And so, while everyone else frolics through fields in their flowy dresses and flipflops, we’re advised to wear long-sleeve shirts buttoned all the way up to the neck, tucked into long pants, the legs of which are tucked into very attractive white socks, which, in turn, must be shoved into sturdy shoes. Those of us more prone to bug bites may also wear a hat over which is draped a mosquito net, which I lovingly call my mosquito helmet.
Any remaining exposed flesh must, of course, be slathered in sunscreen.
Finally, in a ritual that reminds me of Meg Ryan spraying her hear with Aquanet in When Harry Met Sally, we give ourselves a thorough dousing of bug spray before stepping outside.
Ahhh, nature!
If you’ve ever wondered why Maine isn’t considered a hotspot for summer fashion—and also, why we complain when it goes over 80—there’s your answer.
I didn’t mention the best part: Upon returning inside, we get to strip naked and play the “Is this a tick?” game with our nearest and dearest before throwing our clothes in the dryer for 10 minutes (to kill any ticks who might linger) and leaping into the shower for a vigorous scrub (ditto).
The only time it’s safe to strip down to the essentials is when heading out for a swim. And nothing cools you down like a dip in the Maine ocean. Our water is so cool that the National Weather Service has taken to issuing warnings on warm, sunny days, cautioning naïve visitors that the air may be warm but the ocean, she is not.
We’re experiencing an unusually high volume of jellyfish up and down the coast this year, something poetically described as a “bloom.”
So, once you ease yourself into the refreshing water, you get to keep an eye out for those. I’m used to the occasional jellyfish. But now we have a new resident to look out for: great white sharks, drawn up the coast by warming waters.
Yes, I know sharks don’t want to eat us. Humans don’t taste nearly as delicious as seals. One bite and that shark would spit out your leg and swim away, people tell me. In the United States, there are an average of only 16 shark attacks per year. Your odds of being mistaken for an entrée by a shark are one in many, many millions. I understand this as well.
But 16 is still more than zero. So whenever I go in for a dip now, I keep an eye out for seals, because where they go, the sharks might follow.
What, you ask, does any of this have to do with wool? Until now, nothing. That 10-minute tumble in the hot dryer prevents me from wearing very much wool when I go outside to play. But you know what doesn’t generally need a 10-minute tumble in a hot dryer after you wear it? Your bathing suit!
Just in time, the wool swimsuit I hinted at last month has finally arrived.
The shape is pleasantly functional, without any of the awkward slits or holes or strands that make you fiddle and fuss when you hope nobody’s watching. It has two layers of fabric, giving excellent coverage and UV protection.
Note: this is not Clara, nor is it Maine. Not certain about water temp. (photo from Simply Merino)
Weren’t those two layers hot? Well, here things get very interesting.
The moment I begin my slow, determined march into the shark and jellyfish-infested waters, the wool fibers spring into action. As my bathing suit absorb water, the wool fibers adsorb those water molecules, breaking down their hydrogen bonds so they can form new bonds with the wool. And as those bonds are broken down, they release energy in the form of heat.
Not electric blanket hot, but a warmth that is best described as… less-than-cold. I’ve dipped in these waters my whole life, and this is a new, subtle, and extremely welcome experience.
Finally, some of you asked how supportive the bathing suit is for those parts of our body that may regularly do battle with gravity. For me, the suit might not be suitable for a beach volleyball competition, but then again neither am I. For what I do and who generally has to see it, the bathing suit was fine.
Most important question: Did I get eaten by a shark? No.
At least not yet.
You forgot duck itch and algae bloom, not to mention the lingering scent of tomalley and shells on one’s hands after picking the meat out of a dozen lobsters!
You nailed it!
…and that’s why they call it Vacationland! Clara, this description is going to convince throngs of people to book a summer holiday—the Maine Tourist Board may even want to use some of your verbiage (Wink). Now, everything you said about summer in Maine is completely accurate but there’s no place I’d rather be.
Me neither! Maine in the summer is really something special. Minus a few annoyances. 😉
I had a wool bathing suit as a kid in the early sixties…. from the fanciest clothing store in Milwaukee. Navy blue, square neck, 2 bold stripes up the right side: one bright yellow and the other white…..ooh lah lah…..
Oh how cool! You had the real deal!
Thank you, thank you for the armchair mini vacation to beautiful Maine. I was there once briefly in a 1980’s August, and yes – I did buy yarn while in state.
Thank you also for reminding us that wherever we live, there is the charming and the not-so-much to be enjoyed and endured. But it’s still home, regardless of whether we sprung up from the soil or decided where to plant ourselves.
I have one of those suits. It isn’t quite enough coverage and support in a specific region for me to wear it at the local pool….yet. I’m trying to figure out a hack. I was disappointed as I was really looking forward to it.
An incredible idea: a wool bathing suit. I’ve only been in a lake in Maine and not very far into it. I’m a Florida Girl by birth and going into the Northeast Atlantic (Jersey Shore, Cape Cod, somewhere in Maine near Boston), was always a surprise.
Wish I’d had one of those suits back then. Also the one pictured is lovely. Thanks so much for your posts; they are always very enjoyable.
Writing you from Maryland. First of all, I love your writing. This week in Maryland, it is quite pleasant. But we have had weeks this summer where the the heat index has been well over 100 degrees for a week at a time. Ticks are rampant. Asian tiger mosquitoes are a real pain. Is there a region in the country where there is not a weather or insect danger? I have often wondered. My son and grandson went to Maine for a High Adventure week in Katahdin, had all the weather and bug issues you discussed and absolutely had a blast. I have always wanted to visit Maine. Thank you for your great writing. As far as sniffing yarn? Sniff the Plied Yarn. It smells quite pleasantly of barnyard. I love sniffing it.
Wonderful!! I coukd picture it all.
Our cousins in Scotland know your pain as far as wee flying beasties with sharp teeth are concerned!
Our oceans are warming. We have blue fin tuna, octopus and fin whales playing off our UK west coasts where they have seldom been seen before.
Global warming… and its not going to end well unless we all collectively do something about it. Our grandchildren will be the ones to pay the price of the oil barons shouting down the science, which ironically they were the first to become aware of the 20 or 30 years ago. They sacked their own scientists for speaking uncomfortable, inconvenient truths.
Oh great, sharks! Lemme know if you see any off the dock at Town Landing Rd, my fave swimming spot!
As for ticks, I’m a gardener and I just do a check every night. Right now it’s so dry here in Maine I haven’t seen one in months.
I’m all for cool weather if I’m going to be doing anything in the great outdoors where touching plants happens except walking or biking on a wide paved or gravel path, all because of ticks. Got Babesiosis late spring of 2024 while gardening in northern PA. Even though I never saw a tick, most likely a nymph, I figured out pretty quickly my symptoms had to be tick related. Was successfully treated but became allergic to one of the meds a day before the end of the course. My mom’s neighbor almost died until after 10 days in the hospital when they finally diagnosed Anaplasmosis & got her on the right antibiotic. All tick diseases can do a lot of damage if not diagnosed properly & quickly. So now I must dress as you described, covered head to toe, except there is a spray I use that you coat your clothes with (not while on you) that’s suppose to last up to 6 washings. Ticks have taken the joy out of working outside or hiking & exploring unless it’s cool.
We’re all set for our annual three weeks in Maine starting at the end of next month – thank you for this report! I hope that people who don’t know about the bugs and the chill, the jellyfish and the sharks, will perhaps find a more agreeable place to vacation and Maine will be a little quieter for us than it has been in recent years.