A Near Miss....or A Diverted Critter Attack!

  Yesterday, I wrote about being attacked by the horde of mosquitoes that had sought refuge from the flooded marshes.  I was thankful that I only received a dozen or so bites after I intruded in their midst.  It was nigh on the same thing earlier in the day...only it could have been much worse.  Sometimes, there is just no explanation of a near miss but it sure makes you appreciate that thing called luck when it happens.

  In preparation for a storm that was supposed to hit the Bayou but then changed its mind, I decided to cut back the overgrowth of jasmine and rose canes.  The all summer long rains had sent the things into a humongous growth spurt and had them covering everything in sight including several potted cedar trees.  Well, it was time to do some severe trimming.  I have found it far easier to do clean up after a storm if you start it long before it ever hits.  Garden snips in hand, I started lopping vines.  While yanking on vines, several red paper wasps were noticed flying about my head.  The critters were shooed away and the lopping continued.  Once the potted cedar trees were untangled from the vines, the pots were pulled out from the spot so I could get "down and dirty" with the remaining vines.  Darn!  Those pesky wasps were back again!  Once again, they were shooed on their merry way.  There was no time to play with them as hurricane preps are far more important.

  Then fast forward to today.  Mark had just arrived home and we headed to the pier. Noticing that the wind had knocked over one of the cedar trees, I stopped and righted it.  Uh, oh!  There were those buzzing critters again.  Then I spied the problem.  I literally had moved their home!  In one of the potted cedar trees was a huge nest!  The thing was a good six or seven inches across and covered with wasps!  Wow!  How had I not gotten stung?  Yesterday when I was yanking on that tree and cutting those vines, the dozens of wasps calmly tried to warn me instead of attacking.  

  Well, to make a long story short, I was not as nice as the wasps.  They tried to warn me which I fully appreciate but the nest had to go.  Too many people walk through that part of the garden as it leads to the front steps of the Little Bayou House.  I could not take the chance that someone may be stung.  The nest was sprayed and knocked out of the tree.  Several dozen adult wasps were killed.  That, my friends, was a near miss and now a diverted critter attack!