beecee
Senior Member
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- Apr 30, 2016
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The irony to the story, which you will soon see what I mean, was that I just spent a very leisurely 5 days in the woods backpacking the Cranberry Lake 50. And not a scratch!
Ok, still working on 2 houses, new and old, (where we still live). I'm home for weekend, weather is set to be sunny and below normal low 70's....delightful!
Honey-do list was heavy on outdoor activity, beginning with changing fuel pump on riding mower that the previous owner of house gave me which is it's own screwy tale...might be worth a post.
So after knocking off 4 items I grab the sawzall for choren # 5, to cut out some ancient evergreen bushes that did not take well to some of my wife's expert pruning this spring. There was one at the start to a nice long walkway...then an expanse of ivy ground cover then the second one near the front door. Haul the debris to the front, (Town is scheduled for early this week 1st fall pickup). Decide to rake out all the leaves from ivy that are already falling and looking up figure I'll add cleaning the gutters in that area to the list while I'm there.
All of a sudden two object hit my mouth followed by a swarm of hornets.....never been stung before save for once on the hand.... the two objects were of course hornets and were attacking my mouth!! MY MOUTH!!!! I bat them away and start running. One more bite to the face, about 50 yards later a bit on the top of the head and just when I think it is safe two bites through my gloves....still running they are still coming after me....drop one glove in middle of road and did a 180 heading back to the house....about 1/4 block away where I toss the other with the hornet still on it!!! Sprinting the whole time...and I ain't a runner!!
I thought about running to my trusty old 95 T-100 in the driveway but windows were open and my door handle broke last week necessitating getting in by reaching inside to open door. So no safe haven there. Ran into the garage and into house...along with 2 hornets. I run into half bath in entrance, slam door and see a hornet in there w/me....yikkeees. Out I go, in he stays. Head to kitchen. Grab some ice, drop about 4 cups on ground and start icing head lips face hands..eventually dropping rest as I'm shaking and gasping for air after sprinting so much. Running back of head under water trying my best to slow the swelling. Second hornet flies right by me to a large lamp I hung over where our kitchen table will be, drops into the glass globe and stays there. Keeping an eye on him I go to the front door to look out at the area. Some swarming but not a lot, more in the garage. I see a neighbor walking by and my heart sinks. I can barely speak but am too afraid to open door to warn him. He notices one of my gloves in the road but wanders by unscathed. Wife is due over and phone is on workbench in garage on charger...oh boy...well, gotta grab it, try and warn her. She has had a few limb breaks over past two years and this is the last thing she needs. Grab phone head towards the truck to boggie outta there and notice the two gas cans behind truck..aaaaarrrrggggghhhhh!! Pick em up, toss in truck bed and get the heck outta Dodge! Imagine I see 5 million sightings of lone hornets in cab.
By the time I get back to old house I can't even dial the cell phone as I'm shaking so bad. open first aid app on phone, tell daughter to call Mom and warn her to not go to house. My lower lip has expanded to honestly, five times normal size It flops while I walk. The other bites are just slightly swollen and frankly not bad. Of course now I cannot speak legibly.
Somehow get app open, read about bad symtoms..all of a sudden notices hives all over left torso. Gently tell daughter to tell Mom I'm heading to hospital...only 1.5 miles down road...and show her hives and tell her just precautionary. She handles it well.
I pull up to emergency parking and am about to tell guard why I'm there but he looks at me in horror and opens the gate...gets on radio as I'm pulling in and shows me shortcut to ER. There are 3 guards coming out to get me w/a wheelchair and I say mnumbedid jumkingy abbadertu phwang...at least that is what they told me I said later.
Packed ER, they wheel me past check in in to a room...wt heck I'm not that good looking... I'm soaking wet, drooling all over myself, grease from earlier fuel pump replacement on hands, not particularly well dressed wet wild hairdo and have a knockwurst sized lower lip the color of a cut open beet!
All of a sudden Dr, LPN, 2 RNs are on me. Asking about throat, swallowing, breathing etc, (which was all fine btw)....7 of those patches and wires go on me...hook in an IV, eppi shot and a few other things. Look up again, (teaching hospital), 5 lovely young med students who 30/40 years ago would have shot me down are looking at me with, let say...interest. Ended up there from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Slept about 2 hours but one of the drugs they gave me was some adrenaline based stuff...very fidgety/edgey but as I wake up I notice- hand and head ache where bit, but no swelling, bites to face are pretty much gone, lip still looks like I spent about $1,000 on Botox.
Got home wife gave me ice cream, remote and blanket. Watched the taped Qualifying for the F-1 race tomorrow and promptly crashed.
She loves killing ground hornet nests and has a system...I could not stop or argue with her, but she knows what she's doing. She's back at 6:45 says lip is still big but noticeably better.
So, here I lie, now up in bed, third bowl of ice cream and kinda miffed about losing a good weather day to knock off a bunch of chores.
How was your day?
Ok, still working on 2 houses, new and old, (where we still live). I'm home for weekend, weather is set to be sunny and below normal low 70's....delightful!
Honey-do list was heavy on outdoor activity, beginning with changing fuel pump on riding mower that the previous owner of house gave me which is it's own screwy tale...might be worth a post.
So after knocking off 4 items I grab the sawzall for choren # 5, to cut out some ancient evergreen bushes that did not take well to some of my wife's expert pruning this spring. There was one at the start to a nice long walkway...then an expanse of ivy ground cover then the second one near the front door. Haul the debris to the front, (Town is scheduled for early this week 1st fall pickup). Decide to rake out all the leaves from ivy that are already falling and looking up figure I'll add cleaning the gutters in that area to the list while I'm there.
All of a sudden two object hit my mouth followed by a swarm of hornets.....never been stung before save for once on the hand.... the two objects were of course hornets and were attacking my mouth!! MY MOUTH!!!! I bat them away and start running. One more bite to the face, about 50 yards later a bit on the top of the head and just when I think it is safe two bites through my gloves....still running they are still coming after me....drop one glove in middle of road and did a 180 heading back to the house....about 1/4 block away where I toss the other with the hornet still on it!!! Sprinting the whole time...and I ain't a runner!!
I thought about running to my trusty old 95 T-100 in the driveway but windows were open and my door handle broke last week necessitating getting in by reaching inside to open door. So no safe haven there. Ran into the garage and into house...along with 2 hornets. I run into half bath in entrance, slam door and see a hornet in there w/me....yikkeees. Out I go, in he stays. Head to kitchen. Grab some ice, drop about 4 cups on ground and start icing head lips face hands..eventually dropping rest as I'm shaking and gasping for air after sprinting so much. Running back of head under water trying my best to slow the swelling. Second hornet flies right by me to a large lamp I hung over where our kitchen table will be, drops into the glass globe and stays there. Keeping an eye on him I go to the front door to look out at the area. Some swarming but not a lot, more in the garage. I see a neighbor walking by and my heart sinks. I can barely speak but am too afraid to open door to warn him. He notices one of my gloves in the road but wanders by unscathed. Wife is due over and phone is on workbench in garage on charger...oh boy...well, gotta grab it, try and warn her. She has had a few limb breaks over past two years and this is the last thing she needs. Grab phone head towards the truck to boggie outta there and notice the two gas cans behind truck..aaaaarrrrggggghhhhh!! Pick em up, toss in truck bed and get the heck outta Dodge! Imagine I see 5 million sightings of lone hornets in cab.
By the time I get back to old house I can't even dial the cell phone as I'm shaking so bad. open first aid app on phone, tell daughter to call Mom and warn her to not go to house. My lower lip has expanded to honestly, five times normal size It flops while I walk. The other bites are just slightly swollen and frankly not bad. Of course now I cannot speak legibly.
Somehow get app open, read about bad symtoms..all of a sudden notices hives all over left torso. Gently tell daughter to tell Mom I'm heading to hospital...only 1.5 miles down road...and show her hives and tell her just precautionary. She handles it well.
I pull up to emergency parking and am about to tell guard why I'm there but he looks at me in horror and opens the gate...gets on radio as I'm pulling in and shows me shortcut to ER. There are 3 guards coming out to get me w/a wheelchair and I say mnumbedid jumkingy abbadertu phwang...at least that is what they told me I said later.
Packed ER, they wheel me past check in in to a room...wt heck I'm not that good looking... I'm soaking wet, drooling all over myself, grease from earlier fuel pump replacement on hands, not particularly well dressed wet wild hairdo and have a knockwurst sized lower lip the color of a cut open beet!
All of a sudden Dr, LPN, 2 RNs are on me. Asking about throat, swallowing, breathing etc, (which was all fine btw)....7 of those patches and wires go on me...hook in an IV, eppi shot and a few other things. Look up again, (teaching hospital), 5 lovely young med students who 30/40 years ago would have shot me down are looking at me with, let say...interest. Ended up there from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Slept about 2 hours but one of the drugs they gave me was some adrenaline based stuff...very fidgety/edgey but as I wake up I notice- hand and head ache where bit, but no swelling, bites to face are pretty much gone, lip still looks like I spent about $1,000 on Botox.
Got home wife gave me ice cream, remote and blanket. Watched the taped Qualifying for the F-1 race tomorrow and promptly crashed.
She loves killing ground hornet nests and has a system...I could not stop or argue with her, but she knows what she's doing. She's back at 6:45 says lip is still big but noticeably better.
So, here I lie, now up in bed, third bowl of ice cream and kinda miffed about losing a good weather day to knock off a bunch of chores.
How was your day?
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