Run, run as fast as you can!

Late yesterday afternoon I was on the front porch watering the flowers when I noticed a piece of broken glass on the porch. There is a tub that's been sitting on the back side of the porch for over a year. It contains canning jars. I picked up the piece of glass (it was from a jar) and went to get the tub and bring it into the house. I was planning to wash the jars since I will need them for canning this year (not sure why Don put them on the front porch in the first place).

BIG MISTAKE! When I moved the tub red wasps swarmed out and I was stung once on the right ankle and once on the calf of my right leg before I could get into the house. Oh my! Red Wasp stings HURT like the dickens. I immediately put some Benadryl cream on the bites (the one on my ankle was bleeding) and took two Benadryl capsules. I am mildly allergic to stings and was concerned, but other than having chills, swelling, redness and pain I'm okay. I did a little research online and ended up making a paste of baking soda and water to apply to the stings. That really helped make the swelling go down and I highly recommend it should you get stung.

This morning the pain and swelling have subsided, but the two areas are extremely red. I'm just glad they no longer hurt. Last night I kept having bursts of pain that felt like I was being stung again, which was very annoying.

This afternoon Don went out armed with a can of wasp spray and a long stick. He discovered TWO nests in the tub and quickly took care of them. I stood inside at the window and told him where wasps were so he could spray them. He also took care of two more nests he found up in the eaves of the porch. Hopefully we are now wasp free and the front porch is a safe haven once again.