Bees

The big excitement in the Hilker household the past few weeks has been the onslaught of yellow jacket wasps. At first, we would just find a dead or dying one languishing in the kitchen sink or by the window. Then, the numbers started to increase, and the bees were no longer dead or dying--at least, not until I swatted them with the latest junk mail catalog headed for the recycling pile. The breaking point came when I had a girls' night about a week ago and one of my friends got stung by the latest interloper; from then on, I've been on a mission. I was able to locate what I think is their entry point--a hole in the siding above the deck--and Chris sprayed some bee and wasp killer in the hole. The next day, there was a holocaust of several hundred bees around the house, all of which were dead or at least sluggish. Since then, the numbers have diminished; here's hoping we've seen the end of them.