There were some black locusts leaning out and getting in the way of the lawnmower, so they became a project over the weekend. We dropped them with the help of the tractor. Bucking, splitting, and stacking went without a hitch. We don't know how lucky we are.*(Cultural Reference at the end of this post.)
We had the hydraulic splitter set up in front of the stack of wood. I split and Susan stacked. No problems. Today, though, I noticed some very big hornets (European Hornets) flying about. They were coming and going from under the trim board where the white arrow points. I have fought yellow jackets, hornets, and bumble bees a few times, so I went to work. I started batting them out of the air with a small chunk of cherry firewood. I would knock them down and then step on them. I killed more than a dozen before I was nailed on top of the head. That was interesting. I usually swell up with stings, so I paid attention to my symptoms. I could feel the venom spreading down my head, especially through my face, but I was still in the fight. I grabbed the LP torch and killed them coming and going from the hole. I ran the count up to more than fifty. We shot some wasp and hornet killer in the hole this evening. I expect more to come, though. The pupated larvae will not be killed, and they will soon emerge. Nasty little blighters! I am extremely thankful that they did not attack Susan while she was stacking wood.
*Cultural Reference:
