Friday, September 29, 2017

WEIRD SKY



So, where's the online store, Jon?

It's all set up, ready to go. But I'm a procrastinator. Not to mention a perfectionist. I'm ironing out "kinks", so to speak.


My father was a perfectionist. Wow, could I ever tell stories about him......

Many things around here have been subtracting from my time with the store.

I have acute hay fever from the weeds.

 I'm having "problems" (to put it mildly) with:
raccoons, squirrels, 'possums, mice, insects.

Did I mention wasps? I took down over ten (yes, 10) nests this week.
That's the cue for a story.

I had an old air conditioner on the back porch for a long time. It was left by the previous owners and I hated it. It's HUGE and HEAVY. And I mean HEAVY. In complete exasperation I simply covered it with an old carpet and left it there (despite the fact that I hate junk hanging around).

Well.....the wasps made a nest in the air conditioner and another nest in the carpet! I didn't know the nests were there and when I tried to move the air conditioner, they all flew out in Attack Mode. I started swinging a mop at them and somehow made it into the house safely. I never saw such angry wasps in my life.
I was afraid to go out on the back porch again for days.

Finally I got the courage to tackle the nests. Armed with gloves, heavy clothing, and Mega Strong bug spray I managed to get the two nests....
......but angry wasps were still hanging around for several more days. It was a slow process but I finally got things under control.
AND I didn't get stung!!!

BTW - I just found another nest by the garage.

Today I cleaned the air conditioner and dragged it into the garage (the process of dragging ravaged my bad back and nearly killed me).

I'm presently painting the back porch - which is taking much longer than expected. And this is only the first coat of paint....

So, what about the weird sky, Jon?

I looked up at the sky this afternoon and saw a bunch of weird "formations" streaking everywhere. It was incredible.

My initial thought was:
Holy shit, Rocket Man is shooting missiles at Tennessee!

I grabbed my El Cheapo camera and took some pics - - but they aren't nearly as impressive as it looked in real. The entire sky had streaks everywhere.

Air Force maneuvers? Martians? Missiles? Heck if I know.


Back porch (this is only the first coat)

Weird sky





Streak over back yard

This almost looks like sky writing.
Remember when the witch wrote Surrender, Dorothy! in the "Wizard of Oz"?
I was expecting to see Surrender, Jon!
Two more streaks coming up from behind the trees (center) and one more coming in on the far right (top).
I think it's an invasion.

Here's my back yard without streaks.

23 comments:

  1. Your wasps' stories are giving me chills. Thank goodness you - or your kittens -weren't stung!

    The new paint looks cool and refreshing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you think the wasp stories are chilling, I'll have to tell a few of my Texas scorpion stories.
      My cats used to enjoy sitting on top of that air conditioner. Lately they were avoiding it. They must have known about the wasps before I did...

      My front porch is a lot nicer than the back one - but I thought some paint might help.

      Delete
  2. The mold is so high here I don't feel like doing anything. At least we had some wonderful rains that we needed. Your sky pictures are nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad that you finally got some rain. It's been unusually dry here (I think our rain went to Texas...). The pollen is really bad this season.

      Delete
  3. angry wasps are mean. i am shocked you were able to clean out those nests without a single sting. good for you. love looking at the sky. i never tire of it. your porch is looking good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For some very strange reason, the wasps never seem intent on stinging me. They probably sense that I have Hungarian vampire blood...
      I should have painted that porch long ago...I figured I might as well do it before the cold winter weather arrives.

      Delete
  4. Lucky you! Not for having all of those wasp nests, but for not getting STUNG. If there's a wasp anywhere within a quarter mile of me, they seem to always find a way to make their presence known in a most unpleasant way. Good thing I'm not allergic to them.

    Your sky looks pretty weird. I'd say they were vapor trails from airplanes, but not all of them fit the mold.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For some strange reason, wasps don't find me attractive. I'm not sure if that a compliment or an insult.

      I've never seen that many streaks in the sky at one time (not while I was sober, anyway). Either there's an air force base nearby...or visitors from Mars.

      Delete
  5. I'm afraid of wasps and bees, so I greatly admire your determination and the not getting stung! I've seen those streaks occasionally in the sky and always figured they must be from planes. But you had so many of them. I've only seen 1-3. Makes you wonder--yes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I nuked those wasp nests out of necessity - not courage (*smile*). I'm amazed that I didn't get stung -- I'm also amazed at how fast I can run, despite having a bad back.

      Delete
  6. Jon, with the luck your having, it's bound to be UFO'S Just let them beam you up, do some experiments and return you. Who knows, maybe you'll be pain free, with abilities to see through people's clothes. But not sure you'd want to see any hillbillies nude. The porch is looking good though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I live in the exact kind of area that attracts UFOs - white trash hillbillies who enjoy sipping the moonshine. If I drank enough moonshine I probably wouldn't mind seeing hillbillies nude...or being abducted by Martians.

      Delete
  7. Jon,

    Maybe the wasps have called out the big guns with the big stingers and those are their vapor trails. Keep you head down.

    Larry

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't thought about that but it's a plausible consideration. Hell hath no fury like the angry Big Wasp Brigade.

      Delete
  8. Porch coming along nicely, Jon. As I may have recommended in the past, an aerosol product called Spectracide Wasp and Hornet Killer has served me well in the past and present. It is a product of Spectrum Group of United Industries Corp. and shoots a tight stream 17 to 20 feet. The wasps and hornets drop instantly. If the nest is overhead in the eaves, I wear a full-face shield and hat. I keep two cans of it in the pumphouse along side my asthma medicine --Lord help me if I ever mix them up. Do you think your jet contrails might be part of a weather study of some sort?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used Spectracide when I lived in Texas and it does do an incredible job of eliminating wasps. Lately, I've been Bug Stop from Walmart, which comes in gallon containers (Gawd knows I need it here in the woods). It works fairly well (not as good as Spectracide, however).

      Holy crap, Geo - - keep your asthma meds away from the bug stuff!!! And keep your glasses on (if indeed you need them to read labels...).

      Delete
    2. I meant to say "I've been USING Bug Stop"

      One of my cats is bothering the hell out of me while I'm typing and I keep making mistakes. Next time I'm at Walmart, I'll have to buy some Cat Stop (*smile*).

      Delete
  9. I saw the same trails at my house & think they were (non-existant) chem trails. When you are them 83rd usually a week or more & then the weather gets real crazy. Start keeping track of trails & time. There were a lot of X snapped trails that I saw too. From your neighboring cuz Nancy. I think I got set up so I can comment to you under the name samish

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow what a nice surprise!! I like the new name and I'm delighted that you finally figured out the comment mystery. I've never noticed so many of those "trails" before - - it was really weird. I did notice a few more of them today (Sunday), but not as many as last week.

      I have to drive into town either tomorrow or Tuesday because I'm nearly out of cat food (and people food). Until later - take care!

      Delete
  10. Uncle Joey always called me Sam & my dads brother my uncle Murph always called me Ish. Hence Samish!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew that Uncle Joe called you Sam, but I never knew about the Ish.

      Delete
    2. And what a drag name that could be Anita Samish!!!!!!!

      Delete
  11. Mistress maddie I always love your comments. Some people think I am copying Samus Aron from the metroid game.

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. Go ahead and leave one - I won't bite. But make sure you have a rabies shot just in case.