NOTE: This post contains two (2) photos with captions, both taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.
MONDAY 01 thru WEDNESDAY 03 July 2024 — Summer ramps up and a hornet’s nest
Monday 01 … A sad note, and some unfortunate timing
We noticed a pair of adult Sandhill Cranes in the backyard today, without a colt. While we couldn’t say for sure it was the same adults as before, it almost certain was, and they had lost their colt. Very sad. Of all the creatures that visit our property, we have a particular fascination with the Sandhill Cranes, and especially enjoy watching them raise a colt.
Linda met Diane in Ann Arbor for their annual birthday lunch and some light shopping. I put on my work clothes and did some pruning of the pine and fir trees just west of the shed.
While eating dinner I got a “crunch” while eating something that wasn’t supposed to be crunchy. It wasn’t Linda’s cooking; a partial crown (cap) had come loose from my right lower rear tooth. I managed to retrieve it, along with a couple of small pieces, and put them in a plastic snack bag. The cap had a hole in the center, but I could tell if the smaller pieces came from there. I did not have any sensitivity, so I thought that the too might have had a root canal after the cap was installed, but that would be for our dentist to determine. I call our dentist’s office, got their voice-mail, and left a message about my situation.
Tuesday 02 … Dental appointments and stinging insects
Our dentist’s office opens at 8 AM, so I waited until around 8:15 before calling. The doctor was on vacation until Monday, and the first available appointment was Tuesday 9 July at 14:00. I was advised to “chew carefully on the other side” until then, and avoid hard/crunchy foods.
The portion of the hornet nest that remained attached to the soffit of the garden shed. A few hornets are still visible on and around the next.
After breakfast we got dressed to work in the yard, me pruning and Linda pulling weeds. Before getting started on the actual work had to open up the shed and get the equipment and tools out. I had opened the side doors, opened the overhead door (from inside), and was getting ready to put out the two ramps for the lawn tractor and trailer, when I heard the unmistakable buzzing sound. I discovered a very large nest on the under side of the roof overhang at the end of our shed with the overhead door. It was the sort of nest I associate with paper wasps. (A later search of Google photos seemed to confirm this.) Whatever they were, they noticed me too, and they did NOT like me being there. They started to swam and one of them managed to sting me my right (face) cheek. Ouch.
Part of the outer shell of the nest along with some of the inner honeycomb structure. It appeared that the nest started with a smaller honeycomb structure, and additional/larger ones were added as the nest was enlarged. Very impressive, but the hornets were very aggressive when disturbed, and we needed to be able to use our shed.
Clearly we were going to have to get rid of this nest. Indeed, I eventually noticed several other small ones starting to form in the same location. We looked to see if we had any wasp / stinging insect spray, and found a can of Spectracide.
There was no hope of getting the lawn tractor and trailer out of the shed, but I was at least able get some of the tools out the side doors so we could work well away from this location. With the tools out, I sprayed the next form about 15 feet away, and then quickly moved out of the area. Not that I enjoyed killing these creatures, they just doing what paper wasps do, but they simply do NOT coexist with people.
We concentrated on the fir tree to the east of our fire pit. I cut out enough of the lower branches that Linda could start weeding while I continued to work my way around and up the tree. I cut quite a lot of material out of this tree, so Linda helped by using our pruners to trim off smaller branches and cut the larger ones into more manageable lengths.
Wednesday 03 … Happy Anniversary!
The most important thing about today is that it was the 13th (2011) wedding anniversary for our son and daughter-on-law. I’m sure we called to congratulate them. I don’t recall when we did that, but it was likely after dinner.
Most of our day consisted of continuing yard work. But first, I sprayed the paper hornet nest for a 2nd time. I then used one of our pole saws, almost fully extended, to try and knock the remaining part down from the soffit of the shed. For being made of a paper-like material, they are quite strong, especially in their attachment to a tree or building. But I did manage to cut most of it off and have it fall to the ground and come apart. Some of the wasps were still alive, so I used up the remaining spray on the pieces on the ground. It made me sad to have to do this; these creatures are just doing what they evolved to do, and their nests are beautiful, fascinating creations. But they are aggressive when disturbed and potentially dangerous, and we need access to our garden shed.
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