THE JOYS OF LIVING IN THE WOODS!

I spent the day working in the yard-or perhaps a better description would be working in the woods that surround our house. It is the time of the year to reclaim the flower beds from the wilds of the woods. Once the leaves have finally stopped falling, I clean out all of the beds and restraw for a fresh start before planting any of my annuals. The azaleas have just begun to open up and the trees are beginning to sprout baby leaves. Spring has arrived in Louisiana.

While cleaning out the beds I found a big wad of red wasps beginning to build a nest. The only thing I enjoy hunting and killing are the same red wasps. I am deadly from as much as 30 feet when it comes to shooting down any of the red fiends. I don't mind them living away from the house, but do not want my grands or any other unsuspecting guest to be ambushed by the angry little pest. I have experienced the wrath of the wasp when getting too close to a nest that I didn't even know existed, so all is fair in love and war. Their notorious anger and nasty tempers are nothing to fool around with, so if they mistakenly build a nest on my turf-THEN THEIR DAYS ARE NUMBERED!

Bobby has made the claim that he kills the red wasps with his trusty BB gun. He always get the raised eyebrow - rolled eye look from me when he makes that claim. He used to sit on the front porch with his gun and produce piles of dead wasps. He swears up and down he killed them with the BB gun. Think about it-the size of a wasp-the size of the BB-the probability of BC hitting said wasp with said BB. DO YOU WONDER THAT I ROLLED MY EYES?

I keep my eyes open when out in the yard for Mr. Jake. It is the time of the year for him to slink out of his hole and begin warming up his cold cold blood. I don't mind the non-poisonous ones, but the coral snakes and copperheads have to go. We keep the shovel and hoe handy for just when Mr. Bad Jake shows up. WE caution the boys when they are here to watch where they are walking. It pays to keep your eyes open when you live in the woods.

We love living in the woods and the perks far out weigh the downers. It is all part of the joy of living in the woods!