So one day about a month ago I was sitting on the front steps of our home in the early evening hours when I noticed this deafening buzzing sound. I quickly realized that an entire swarm of yellow jackets was approaching OUR home as if it were their own. They found this little, tiny opening where the brick meets the porch roof in the corner and decided that it looked like it might make a nice foyer (my assumption, of course).
As the weeks went by, it seemed as if they were getting more aggressive. I started to sense a hostile takeover and pleaded with my husband to be a man and protect his family.
There was some talk of calling a "professional," but those guys are expensive. I don't blame them, I wouldn't want to deal with bees either. Although watching the Bee Movie makes one think that bees are actually very friendly. And they can talk. I believe this to be a conspiracy, however. Because I can tell you without any hesitation that these yellow jackets were just plain mean. Angry about something, clearly.
It got to the point where we could no longer use the front door in the evening when they were coming home. Craig's first plan of attack was to rig the small (but powerful) shop vac to a ladder and secure the end of the hose right at their foyer and let it run for several hours. That way, whenever they attempted to approach or retreat, WUMP! They were sucked into the vac.
His second plan was to wait until they had all returned home and spray them with the strongest, deadliest poison he could find. I think it's prudent at this point to explain that Craig is a well thought out, cautious person. It took us almost an hour, and a lot of duct tape, to get him bee-proofed.
In the end, we counted a few hundred bees, yuck. Unfortunately, I saw a few flying around the other day, so I'm wondering if they are trying to make a come-back. I told Craig to block the hole once he sprayed, but he didn't listen. So the few remaining bees have come home to find their brethren massacred. And now they are very ANGRY. Stay tuned.
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Craig and I have adopted, or shall I say, shifted, our thinking since he received his severance package.
It's a beautiful evening? Let's take the kids to the playground!
We all know these kiddos grow up way too fast, so we are trying to worry less about all of the work that needs to be done, and have fun playing.
The kids have responded well.
Amen.
