The sting

Even though we are expecting 5cm of snow tomorrow (?), Spring is definitely creeping up on us. Warmer weather will bring bees (good) and wasps (not so good). At the beginning of winter last year, a lone wasp stung me when we were making some adjustments to the laundry after the installation of the instant gas hot water system. Apparently, queen wasps leave their nests at the end of the warm season, sit out winter in a safe spot alone, then wait to be found by worker wasps at the beginning of the next warm season. The sting (between my two middle fingers) was not too painful so we assume that the queen was semi dormant and didn't give me a full dose. My mother has a strong and dangerous allergic reaction to wasp stings and a friend here was rushed to hospital a few years ago when he was stung. So we didn't take any chances. I told Stu that I had been bitten and took the "in case of emergency" medication down from its special location beside the snake bite instructions. We were on alert to take the medication and/or go to the doctor if I had any breathing problems but this wasn't necessary as the pain and the lump dissipated within a short time. Not long after my bite, Stu was also stung and had the same mild reaction. But our friends tell us that subsequent stings may not necessarily elicit the same result so we are on early alert and the "ICE" medication is back in place...

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