Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Victory

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." ~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War
 
 
As you can see from the picture above I have been busy this week.  I discovered approximately 6 years ago that I was allergic to Yellow Jackets, Hornets, and Bees.  I generally have a live and let live policy; but apparently I pissed off the Bee God and every year manage to get stung in the most unusual ways.  The first sting, my husband and I had been driving back to home on the Freeway in his pickup going approximately 75 mph.  I was snuggling down for a nap on the long ride back and decided to put my hoodie on.  In the sleeves my arms went, followed by a bbzzz, and pain.  I took the hoodie off in time to see a Yellow Jacket fly out the window, leaving behind a sting imprint on my arm that was itching, red and swelling.  The next day at work when the swelling continued, and my coworkers were referring to me as Popeye, given the now size of my arm, I sought treatment at the Emergency Room.  I was given Benadryl, Steroids, Antibiotics, and a diagnosis of Bee Allergies and a prescription for an Epinephrine pen for future stings.  The next year my husband and I were camping out at Promise and at 0430 in the morning a Yellow Jacket stung me, see previous statement for treatment.   I was able to skip a year by not getting stung and then they came back with a vengeance. It was 0500 in the morning, and I was sleeping on my covers, in my bed.  I was cold so I slid myself under the covers and received a sting on my big toe. My foot swelled so much that it looked like 6 water balloons that were stuck together.  The swelling pushed the limits of the skin so much that the tissue couldn't hold anymore and actually drained.  Even after treatment I still have a small scar from the incident.  It was personal now; I  was going to bring it!  The following year my mother-in-law and I were yard saling on city wide yard sale day and a Yellow Jacket climbed it's way up my Capris while I was walking and stung me twice on my thigh.  By this time I had the procedure down and was able to seek treatment.  Last week I was stung on the hand by a Yellow Jacket while picking grass for our rabbits.  My husband was here to drive me so I was able to take Benadryl within minutes of the sting.  I then sought treatment for the residual swelling, and it was minimal so the Doctor wasn't quite sure what happened.  Was I developing a tolerance for Bees given the numerous stings over time, or was it due to my taking the Benadryl ASAP since I didn't have to drive myself for treatment?  The Clinic and the Hospital are 25 minutes away.  I suppose I'll find out next year.
    Which brings me to Monday.  My dear husband has been battling with numerous nests of buzzing insects this year.  Early on in the Summer my husband had knocked down several nests above the Kitchen Porch, and had an on going battle with a nest of several hundred in the ground by the Lilac Tree.  He had tried pouring gasoline down the hole and lighting it on fire, he tried most chemicals known to mankind and he even tried drowning the nest, and they still wouldn't die.  I told a friend of mine that I was pretty sure they were mutant Yellow Jackets straight from the bowels of Hell; all that got me was commiseration and a laugh.  Monday morning I noticed that there were at least a hundred Yellow Jackets flitting in and around the tree in front of the house and called my husband for any suggestion to get rid of them.  His suggestion, I stay indoors until Winter; so not helpful.  Monday afternoon I had to break and take the girls shopping for more clothes as my daughter had almost outgrown everything.  I got the girls safely in the car, was climbing in the drivers seat and my daughter started screaming.  My daughter had been stung by a Yellow Jacket in the car.  I assessed the sting (we weren't sure if she was allergic or not yet) and after giving hugs and kisses went into the house for some rubbing alcohol to take the sting out of the bite.  As I went into the house I was filled with such a dark, black rage and all I could think was "those BASTARDS stung my baby"!!!  Shit just got real.  No one or anything messes with my baby.  Then inspiration struck.  I needed something that would draw the Yellow Jackets to it, and then would kill them.  Then I remembered researching the harmful affects of some of the chemicals we use such as bleach.  I remember reading that bleach had been used during one of the World Wars in an aerolized form as an early chemical weapon.  I had Bleach, but liquid and then I remembered the Hummingbird Feeders and how they attract bees.  So with a smile I mixed LOTS of sugar, water, orange food dye and copious amounts of bleach.  I placed my mixture in a sauce pan elevated on a block of wood under the tree outside and waited for the carnage to begin.  The mixture was elevated so that no stray animals or my animals would be able to access my mixture.  The next morning there were numerous dead Yellow Jackets and a peaceful quiet that surrounded the property, meaning the swarm located itself elsewhere. 
    This morning I was delighted to see a squirrel back in residence on our property and a pair of doves eating out on the lawn.  I was perplexed a few weeks ago when I put the bird feeders back out and had very little visitors.  I had become sick last year and so the bird feeders were one of the first casualties of my waning strength.  I do believe the birds simply didn't want to compete with a swarm of Yellow Jackets, but now they're back.
    My Moonflowers are doing wonderful.  As they continue to grow I might need to add a second Tomato Cage on top of the first to help their upward ascent.  The rest of the household is status quo.  My little girl started school again, in fact today was her first School Pictures.  My mother-in-law still asks in the mornings if my daughter is laying down for her nap.  I started my first run/walk this morning outside.  I used a small purse with a long strap run over one arm and around my neck, and under my shirt to hold Benadryl, Epinephrine pen and my phone.  I tracked the run on my phone and I ran 1.2 miles in 17 minutes, at 4 mph, not bad for someone out of shape.  I also remembered how much I love running, but I need to ease into it as by tomorrow I'm sure Ibuprofen and I will be close friends.  Perhaps several times a week an outdoor run, weather permitting.
Hope that everyone has a lovely week.  I'm hoping for a calmer week this week, we'll find out how it goes though. 
 
Simply Yoko.



No comments:

Post a Comment