The crew had put their kayaks in the river and were waiting. On this morning we were paddling the Sipsey River near Aliceville, Alabama, from Cotton Bridge Road to Lewiston, about 11 miles.
I had taken one of the shuttle vehicles to the take-out and was lugging my boat to the river when my cell phone rang.
It was Gerry Jeffcoat. I asked him what he was up to.
“Listening to rain crows and watching snake doctors,” he said.
I requested a translation.
The good doctor was incredulous.
“You’re not a true Mississippian if you don’t know what a rain crow and a snake doctor are,“ he said.
Let me get back to you, I said.
I asked fellow paddler H.D. Taylor, who was already in the river and who is expert in these matters.
“A snake doctor is a dragonfly,” he said. He wasn’t sure about rain crows.
A rain crow is a yellow-billed cuckoo, and its song sounds like a car engine that has thrown a rod.
According to BirdNote, a non-profit that produces two-minute programs about birds that are aired on public radio, Midwestern farmers thought the call of the rain crow heralded rain.
The etymology for snake doctor is more complicated.
In the South snake doctor refers to the folk belief that dragonflies followed snakes around and would stitch up injuries they sustained. It is thought if you see a dragonfly, a snake is nearby.
Dragonflies are also called mosquito hawks (as are crane flies).
That is because they eat mosquitoes. Given the chance, hundreds of them a day.
It’s really not much of a match. The head of dragonflies is mostly eyes; they have almost a 360-degree vision.
Dragonflies must be the envy of aircraft designers. According to researchers at the University of California Berkeley, they can move straight up or down, fly backward, stop and hover and make hairpin turns—at full speed or in slow motion. They can fly 30 miles per hour.
Recently I had a sidewalk conversation about mosquitoes with Kristi DiClemente, chair of the history, political science and geography department at MUW. Most mornings Kristi walks her terrier mutt, Wicket, past our house.
I complained to her about the quantity of mosquitoes this year — clearly we have a snake doctor shortage in the neighborhood.
“I’ve heard if you eat bananas, you’re more likely to attract mosquitoes,” Kristi said, not quite sure if it was so.
Had she seen me making my early morning rounds with coffee in one hand and a half-eaten banana in the other?
I found confirmation of Kristi’s banana theory on a website titled Pest Control Heroes.
Diets containing sweets, beer, snacks rich in salt, alcohol and foods high in potassium will result in more mosquitoes, according to that website. Bananas, along with raisins, potatoes, spinach and prunes are rich in potassium.
Several websites mention beer as a surefire mosquito attractant.
Foods that are thought to repel mosquitoes: garlic and onion, apple cider vinegar, lemongrass, chili peppers, tomatoes, beans and lentils.
Dragonflies have been with us for 300 million years or so and at one time were much larger — fossil remains provide evidence of dragonflies with 30-inch wingspans.
Along the way they have acquired dozens of nicknames, names that reflect the mythical qualities attributed to the bug: devil’s darning needle, horse-stinger, ear-cutter, eye-poker among them.
So, yeah, when my buddy calls again and tells me he’s listening to rain crows and watching snake doctors, I’ll show off my new-gained knowledge. I’ll ask if he’s got his snake boots on and an umbrella in hand.
Birney Imes ([email protected]) is the former publisher of The Dispatch.
Birney Imes III is the immediate past publisher of The Dispatch.
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