Tuesday, June 22, 2010

NOW THAT'S GOTTA STING!


It was a lovely Saturday morning.  The sun was gently warming the day. 


Macy needed to go out, but the big dog, Otto (who doesn't like ANY other dogs) was in our yard...so the brave hubby took out Macy.  I went out to stand watch (in case I needed to throw something to protect Macy).  I slid out of the patio door in my pj's to stand guard.  And WHAM!  Some thing bit me or stung me.  I had no idea what happened except that it was painful...I felt like someone had shoved a six in needle in my right side.  I rushed in, followed by brave hubby...I was sure a brown recluse or a black widow had bit me.  I threw down a handful of benadryl.  Brave hubby found a bee sting kit and rubbed the ointment on my red swelling spot on my right side.  (Still hurting...)  I sit down. 


Brave husband goes outside to look for whatever stung or bit me...And WHAM he gets stung!  He sees the hornet and where it came from.  A hornet's nest is hanging on the far side of our deck!  He comes in and I put bee sting ointment on his back.  Then he gears up: jeans, winter coat with hood up and a towel wrapped around his face for protection.  He takes a can of wasp/hornet spray and heads out the back door.  MY HERO!  He blowss down the paper covered nest (they chew up wood and leaves to make the nest covering) and left it so I could take a picture and blog about it....

Have you ever been stung? Please share your epic tales of pain...If you don't have one, feel free to make one up... 

P.S. I'm only 810 people away from having a 1,000 followers! Can you believe it? I'm totally stoked and have been thinking of what to do to celebrate when I'm K-800 followers. Well, we've come up with a plan...My daughter (now a high school freshman) and I decided to have a Really Random Prize Give-A-Way...one of EPIC proportion! It's going to be sooooo (I could add more o's) much fun for you, me and a committee of judges....

28 comments:

  1. hi miss sharonn! wow sorry you got stung and your husband to. i know it could hurt a lot. i didnt ever get a hornet sting but i got a bunch of bee bites one time when i was climbin a big tree and stuck my hand right in a big nest. woweee i flew off that tree so fast. i ran home crying all the way. ended up with 13 stings mostly on my hand and arm. i got two on my face. i didnt climb that same tree for a long time again.
    ...hugs from lenny

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  2. Lenny--OMGoodness! That's awful! I can see why you didn't climb a tree for a long time. K (my daughter) says you are lucky you didn't fall and break your leg too! 13 is a lot of stings! Did you have to go to the hospital?

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  3. No! I hate getting stung. Two years ago, I was stung by a hornet and the wound took three weeks to heal. I have a scar! (Part of the stinger had lodged its way into my leg.)

    Woo-hoo on only 800 more followers to go! :)

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  4. Ooh, I'm sorry you got stung, that's never fun! I'm glad the nest is gone now, what a relief. Hope the sting heals soon and you can enjoy your deck again!

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  5. Hi Sharon .. yup that I can remember in recent years - a wasp sting on the back of the neck & it was sore! Then the neck got stiff for the next few days & the 'feel' stayed around for a few weeks .. surprising .. but I guess the neck area is sensitive!

    Glad you're ok - but hornets are large! and it must have hurt .. glad all's ok now - the nest looks interesting ..

    Heal quietly .. and enjoy the day - Hilary

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  6. Oh my gosh! I hate bees. Like HATE them. And that's a huge nest! *shudders*

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  7. I am terrified of any kind of bee. On a camping trip several years ago the campsite was infested with wasps - they seemed to be everywhere. I was freaking out and having a bit of a meltdown. In desperation, I took my sandwich (lunch time) into the lake to try to escape the bees. Feeling a bit safe at last, I took the first bite of my sandwich and a wasp stung my tongue - twice! It was traumatizing!

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  8. I stepped on a bee once as a kid...my fault I was ALWAYS barefoot when I was little. I hopped on my good foot all the way home! hahaha

    Daughterling got stung on the belly once. My brillinat mama crushed up aspirin (the regular generic stuff) and made a paste out of it with a drop or two of water. Put it on the sting and the swelling went away FAST!

    One more reason I don't like creepy crawlies or buzzies.

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  9. I am so laughing right now. I know it's not funny (I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry; oh, God, please forgive me for laughing,) but I'm picturing your husband with a winter coat on (it's in the 90s here), hood up, towel wrapped around face.... superhero to the rescue... LOL, B

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  10. I have too many sting stories. I'll give you one. When I was in second grade, I sat down on a little something. I thought it was a scrap of paper. It was a wasp. Then--only after I realized what it was--did I feel the pain where it stung my leg.
    Weird how the mind works.

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  11. Omg how incredible! I would be so scared, thank goodness for brave husbands!

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  12. I remember one bee sting when I was younger. Walking in the backyard barefoot, I must have stepped on a bee because it stung me in between my toes. I remember it hurting pretty bad too!

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  13. That is awful, but I sure am glad you and your hubby human are ok! We haven't been stung...yet, thank goodness!

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  14. A Hornet??!?! Oh you poor thing - and your hubby!! Are you both ok now?? Your husband is a reall hero!! Awww!! good for him!!

    But the hornet's sting sounds so PAINFUL!! Not that I'd know but I have been chased by them when I used to go serious rambling - they're massive and they're very aggressive and very protective of their nest!! and I really couldn't miss them cos they are HUGE!!!!

    Please take care now and I hope that's the end of that nest near you!!
    p.s lovely pic of Macy!!
    Take care
    x

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  15. I'm so sorry! My husband (also my hero!) has been dislodging and destroying those same type of nests around our house lately. None of us have been stung by hornets, but I've seen them hovering around. Yours must have been very territorial. Ouch!

    Last summer we took a vacation to eastern Oregon and there were hornet nests IN THE GROUND at the camp site. My nephew got terribly stung. There were also inch long spiky nettles in the ground instead of grass. They could easily slice open your toes. My kids only had their flip flops, so we had to walk very carefully. Even though we loved that camp spot for a lot of reasons, I don't think we'd ever consider going back. Too dangerous!

    Amy

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  16. Macy is gorgeous!...Sorry about the wasp stings, but glad your husband came to the rescue and destroyed their nest...Hope you have a happy week, Sharon.

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  17. You are so funny. Planning a 1000-follower contest with 810 to go. YOU GO GIRL!

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  18. Jill--Yikes! That's a long time! I guess the stinger didn't get stuck in me. I just have a red spot now.

    Joanne--I was a bit scared (okay..am) everytime I open the back door. I sure am glad Walter found the nest for us.

    Hilary--There's not a lot of extra flesh around the neck, so I'm sure that was awful!

    I wish I had seen the nest before it was knocked down. But then again...I was a bit scared to go outside right after it happened. As agressive as they were, I'm sure a photo of the whole nest would have resulted in at least one more sting.

    Elana-They came back to the nest for quite a while...I'm hoping they were licking it and went off to die somewhere. (Boy that sounded really mean!)

    Shannon--My whole face hurt just thinking about your mouth sting! I wonder what you did??? Kind of a hard place to put any kind of ointment...



    Vicki--That sounds awful too! I'd be limping around for weeks and terrified to go barefoot for life!!!

    Very interesting about the asprin paste...thanks for sharing. I've heard that roll on deodorant is good too, but I used "Bee Sting" on it.

    Buffy--You are right he was pretty funny looking. His eyes and hands were the only thing visible. But boy am I glad he was brave enough to go out and take care of it for us.

    Lydia--That is odd...I wonder if it's because you stood up and the poison began to circulate as you saw that it was a wasp??? I didn't have a clue what "got" me until Walt found the nest and got stung.

    Clara--He's a real jewel! I don't know how I got so lucky meeting him (27 years ago)!

    Suzann--Thanks for stopping in! Ouch, between the toes sounds awful. I'm not giving exact details where I got stung...let's say it would have been under my bikini top...

    Brian--This is an important lesson for you...I know chasing flies and months can be a lot of fun, but don't chase insects that make funny noises...Sometimes they can hurt you! Macy got stung by a wasp of some sort once.

    Jennifer--I didn't know they had hornets in England. I think this nest was only about the size of a grapefruit (before Walt knocked it down).

    Amy--In Arkansas we have come across hornets nests on the ground before, too. We've had this cabin for about 6 years and never had them before. We don't get here as much because of our move, so I guess they thought they'd found the perfect spot. I wonder what the plant was that was spiky????

    Jacqueline--Macy is a sweetie, thanks. She's in a bit of a mood today, as K and I went to the lake without her...I hope you have a nice week too.

    Wendy--Think big or go home!!! LOL...I'm going to do something really fun when I hit 200 followers. I just thought that calling it an 800 followers away from 1,000 was more fun than a 200 follower celebration. :)

    Thanks for dropping in everyone! Have a lovely evening!

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  19. Yea thats bad... glad it worked out ok.

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  20. Oh goodness, I'm glad you're ok. When I was a kid, a wasp's nest formed on my swingset. I didn't notice it, but as soon as I started swinging one day, it upset the wasps and they swarmed. I think I got about 10 stings and I screamed like such a maniac that a neighbor all the way down the street heard me!

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  21. I can't recall every being stung.

    That hornet's nest is gross. Your husband is very brave.

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  22. That's terrifying! I don't think I have ever been stung before, but that's scary. Your husband is very, very brave. I hope you're both all right now!

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  23. Jeff--I'm glad neither of us had a really bad reaction.

    Melissa--OMGoodness that is awful! I hope everything turned out okay???

    Medeia--I'm glad you haven't had the experience...I wish I had gotten a picture of the whole nest, but I'm sure that would have resulted in another sting.

    Sandy--I'm glad you haven't been stung either. I think if he hadn't have been here to take care of it, we just wouldn't have gone out the back door the whole time we are down here. We both just have a spot to remind us.

    Thanks for stopping by everyone!

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  24. "I'm only 810 people away from having a 1,000 followers!"

    LOL! That's the best way ever to put it!

    Yes, my worst sting was on my stomach by 4 hornets when I was shaking out a rug over the back porch that apparently had hornets in it. My stomach swelled up and it's never gone back down, and that was 5 years ago. So yes, I blame the stings.

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  25. Stings are awful. I'm glad you guys didn't get attacked by more of 'em.

    As a kid, I stepped on a wasp. Nothing traumatic. About a month ago my son got stung at school. While he was playing football during recess, a wasp crawled up his leg. Although he was fine, he sat out during gym later in the afternoon.

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  26. Oh, Sharon! Just reading about it makes me wince. Hope the pain is gone now. But, hey, look at the bright side -- you got a fabulous blog out of it all. Now who's got the last laugh, bad-tempered hornet? :-)

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  27. Oh no, hornets are just awful creatures! So glad your brave husband got rid of the nest.

    Thanks for visiting me at Amy Cook's blog today, Sharon. :o)

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  28. Karen-- now I'm only 809 away from 1,000! You know I'm not sure if me asking everyone to share their sting stories is being good therapy for me. Everytime I read someone else's story my stomache scrunches up in discomfort. Your story is awful! Gosh four at once! It must have been horrid!

    Theresa--You are right, we were lucky. (Much easier to see that after reading other people's encounters.) Gosh, that must have been awful for your son. I would have been coming out of my pants in public!

    Hema--You are right...make lemonade out of lemons. :)

    Beth--Thanks for dropping in. Your new book looks lovely. Amy's interview with you was wonderful. I get so excited when I see anything picture book in the blog world. It seems very focused on YA...P.S. You have a beautiful website!

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