The Birds and the Bees.....and the Ants!

It was a beautiful day and I finally had time to get a couple of little tasks done and checked off of my list. I set up the new patio table umbrella that I bought at a yard sale last weekend, straightened up the screened porch a bit, took a couple of plants outside and then I saw my little hummingbird friend arrived at the feeders!

I hadn't seen him yet, so the feeders were empty. I immediately took them down and into the house for a good washing before filling with nectar. As I turned one of them upside I down into my kitchen sink, about 30 dead ants came pouring out! Ewww yuck! They always get into the feeders and I have yet to figure out a way to prevent them from doing so, although the hummingbirds don't seem to mind. Still, I'd rather they stay out of everything. We have a real ant problem in our neighborhood!

After filling and re-hanging those feeders, I went to get the one I put seed in. I saw what I thought was a bunch of old seed in the bottom, but upon further inspection, I discovered that it was a wasp's nest!  Oh yikes! I hate bees, I'm allergic to bees, I don't even want to see photographs of bees! I scurried back into the screened porch and pondered this situation. Hmmm...I do have another feeder in the garage that I could put into service, but where would I hang it? I could go after the wasp with ant spray and see if it works. Kind of risky. I could wait until the wasp leaves again (he was going in and out), then snatch the feeder away, but this would panic him and he'd most likely frantically buzz around the deck forever. It was finally decided, after consulting with my brave assistant Jim, that I'd triple bag the entire thing in plastic grocery sacks, tie it together really quickly and leave the entire package outside until trash night. Yeah, that'll work! What immediately followed resembled nothing less than a scene from an "I Love Lucy" show, as the two of us tried to get the feeder off the hook without disturbing the wasp, then shrieked and put the feeder back each time he moved, then tried again, got it into the bag, then couldn't get all of the handles together to tie them properly, all the while wondering what the wasp was now doing since we could no longer see him. We finally got things under control and placed the bag on the table and slipped back into the screened porch. Now I just have to remember to take a big trash bag out to place him in on Sunday night, and get him down to the curb before he figures out what's going on. Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll make a run, or flight, for freedom before then. I spent the rest of the evening with a major case of the heebie jeebies!

I think that tomorrow I'll do something a bit less adventurous, like hitting some yard sales and working on my flower beds. Wait. Bees like flowers. Oh no!

Have a wonderful, beeless, antless weekend! Hugs, Leena