It was a challenge, lugging the unwieldy clothesline up the cellar stairs.

But it was a happy chore.

The clothesline, one of those heavy metal, umbrella-type contraptions strung with plastic rope, had spent the better part of six years in our basement, and it was time this week to bring it out of retirement.

The reason? The browntail moth scourge didn’t happen this year, at least in our area of Waterville.

Browntail moths emerge from orange-spotted caterpillars that spew microscopic hairs which can be toxic if they come in contact with human skin, causing a painful, itchy, bumpy rash that doesn’t go away easily.

Trust me. I was a victim of browntail caterpillars a couple of times and don’t wish to revisit the experience.

I first got the rash in 2019 at our camp on China Lake where browntail was rampant. The rash lasted a couple of weeks and not until a smart doctor told me about a special treatment did the suffering abate (mix equal parts of extra Cortizone-10 cream, extra strength Benadryl, witch hazel and Vick’s VapoRub and apply it as a salve).

It may sound funny, but one of my favorite activities is hanging clothes outdoors on a windy day, inhaling the scent of laundry detergent and watching the fabrics flap in the wind.

I especially love that exercise out at the lake, where in June we strung two, lengthy cotton clothesline ropes from two large oak trees to our garage. I like feeling the wind as it blows off the lake and watching white caps ride the waves.

I lost that privilege over the last few summers as browntail wreaked havoc at the shore, raiding the oaks and fruit-bearing trees. Especially in early summer, we were reluctant to sit waterside because of it.

In Waterville, where we live most of the year, I didn’t dare erect my clothesline after the summer of 2019, although the moths weren’t as prevalent at our house as they were in other areas of the city where residents suffered terribly from browntail.

But the wet, soggy spring this year and efforts by the city of Waterville and our China neighbors the last few years to mitigate browntail has made it safe once again to enjoy the outdoors without angst.

While there’s certainly no guarantee browntail moth casterpillars won’t return (it likely will at some point), at least we started the ball rolling. We know what to do to fight it and can try to nip it in the bud.

Growing up in Skowhegan in the 1960s, I’d lie in the grass on a sunny, windy day and watch my mother hang laundry on a simple clothesline my father built with posts, two-by-fours and cotton rope. It is a happy memory.

My mother told us the sun is a great disinfectant and serves to whiten a light-colored wash. I loved crawling into bed enveloped in her wind-dried, air-kissed cotton sheets. I still do, more than a half-century later.

As I return to hanging clothes on the line, I think of those carefree, easy days of summer where we didn’t worry about browntail, ticks and other dangerous pests — pests that can’t ravage the memories, at least.

Amy Calder has been a Morning Sentinel reporter 37 years. Her columns appear here Sundays. She is the author of the book, “Comfort is an Old Barn,” a collection of her curated columns, published in 2023 by Islandport Press. She may be reached at [email protected]. For previous Reporting Aside columns, go to centralmaine.com.