The Road Home

Yellow Jackets

I should probably have titled this post: How to drown Yellow Jackets.

No, I am not sorry!!!

Yellow Jackets reportedly have a role to play in gardens…

Unfortunately, they tend to turn aggressive mid-Summer through early Fall, i.e. until the first killing frost.

This year, a hot summer following a mild winter, the yellow jackets have been plentiful.

Stepping outside and/or walking in the woods…constant buzzing!

Bob, Bear and I are on the defensive…

BBQ chicken suspended over soapy water = drowned yellow jackets.

4-6 mason jars…in the yard and in the fringes of the woods…

And then…AND THEN!!! – blog reader Steph emailed me about Bounce fabric softener sheets being a yellow jacket repelling force!

Bear and I made a quick trip to town to get the most fragrant Bounce sheets we could find. They had us sneezing all the way home.

And they cleared the front porch of yellow jackets.

Go Bounce!

Thank you Steph from OR!!!

*** 8 days, maybe more…90-93F. The nights cool to upper 50/low 60’s. BUT, we are having a Yellow Jacket year… I have traps made of meat hanging from skewers over soapy water in mason jars and have been drowning over 100 yellow jackets daily. I fear for the boys being stung – especially Bob, so we’ve all been inside except for a couple of hours in the morning. Bear and I go out – carefully – at noon and dinner and then at 9-10 ish p.m. And I take Bear for some Jeep excursion when I can break during the day. Hurry up, Fall!!

Light and shadow

Aside from some early morning chores both inside and outside, I mostly close the house, fire up the A/C and we hibernate in the cool, dark house until early evening when the temperatures become comfortable enough to venture out again.

I was watching a movie in the bedroom Saturday afternoon and noticed the light and shadow in the living room.

Something about the contrast, the bounce of light against the ceiling and the red glow through the shade enticed me to fetch my camera.

And then a shadowy head appeared: Light and shadow.

Saturday morning lie-in

It has been hitting 90 during the day and forecast to continue. But the air is very dry so we drop into the 50’s overnight, making morning prime time to be outside.

By 8:00 a.m. this Saturday morning, we were back inside.