Swans not swimming!

So there we were driving down one of the back roads and came upon this jolly little family.



I was a bit concerned, because I'd heard that swans will charge if they feel their babies are in danger, but this Mom (or Dad) didn't seem to mind us taking a few pictures.



Will there be swans in one of my upcoming books?  (You better believe it!)
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A Frog Went A Courtin' ...

Hey, it's mid-June -- that means it's time to open the money pit, er, our in-ground pool.  We've never felt competent to do it ourselves (uh, we experimented closing down the cottage once ourselves.  Can you say burst pipes and an emergency call to the plumber?), so we know when we're licked.  Still, there are a number of jobs one has to do before Pool Man comes in June.  The snow and rain accumulates on the top of the pool cover and it's our job to get that water (and all the leaves and other crap) off, as well as raise the water level.

We've been dilligent about keeping water off, and this year, have kept nearly all the crud off, too.  However, there are little bits and pieces (and lots of pine needles) that are difficult to retrieve.  And then there are the frogs.

The top of our pool is like a motel that rents rooms by the hour.  Frogs, frogs, frogs there for one reason:  sex.  And polliwogs!  OMG--back in May, we had a gazillion of them.  But nature took care of that.  No rain, the pool cover dried completely, and no more polliwogs.  (Birds find them tasty snacks, you know.)

It rained a lot during the past week, so it was time to get out the submersible pump and get the water off.  Only...there was a BIG Frog in there, and I didn't want it to get sucked into the pump.  (BTW, I am AFRAID OF FROGS, but I regularly save them from drowning.)  So, out came the skimmer, only ... this wasn't one big frog, just one good sized frog with a another on its back--certainly nothing I've ever seen before.



Okay.  Were they just friends?  Man and wife?  Man and husband?  (Hey, NY state doesn't discriminate.)  We considered throwing a bridal shower, but hey--maybe this was just yet another hook up.

Or maybe not.


During the 2-3 hours we pumped off the water, the frogs were removed FOUR TIMES and the kept coming back.  We even removed them to the far corner of the yard and ... boom, twenty minutes later, back they came.  After a while, we said, "The hell with you!"  The pump was removed and the last we looked they were still underwater just ... sitting there.

So, anybody have any ideas about this odd frog behavior?
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Mr. Wasp Builds A Nest

And so as we left the cottage last week, Mr. Wasp flew in.  Mr. MONSTER Wasp.  Of course I screamed.  I scream whenever there's a bug bigger than my big toe and if it's flying around --I scream REALLY LOUD. (And for some reason it annoys Mr. L.)

But I opened the door and Mr. Wasp flew out to dive bomb somebody else.

Only it turned out it wanted to dive bomb us.  Him and a LOT of his friends.  They were flying in and out of a little strip of metal above the gutter right over the front door.

"We'll get some wasp spray," Mr. L said.

Okay.  He bought it and since I decided to go back there to write he handed it to me and said, "Good luck."

Gulp.

Mr. Wasp and friends were very busy when I arrived.  Going in and out and (presumably) building more rooms in the nest for their friends and relatives.

Gulp.

But before I did anything I did what I never do.  I READ THE DIRECTIONS ON THE CAN.  It said to wait until dusk when Mr. Wasp and friends were turning in for the night.

It was a L-O-N-G day, and I went in and out the back door.

At long last almost dusk arrived and I went outside, set up the ladder (this time wearing shoes with traction.  I didn't want a repeat of two weeks ago when I fell down the rain-slick steps and received a gigantic bruise the side of Puerto Rico).  Perched on the ladder, I took aim and SQUIRTED.  Wow--that can really could expel its poison for 20 feet.  But was I in a good position to actually get the nest, which is completely invisible?

I squirted again.  Mr. Wasp and pals were getting a little upset.  Suddenly there were about 20 of them hovering madly outside their home.  I jumped off the ladder and backed away, sure I was about to be swarmed.  But the wasp family was more interested in defending their turf than turning on me.  Still, I squirted a couple more times from the ground and waited.  Nothing seemed to happen, but I did hear some odd buzzing.  I looked down and a couple of wasps were wiggling around in agony.

I felt like a murderer.  I stomped on them to put them out of their misery and hurried back inside.

Okay, I worked in a chemical factory for over 25 years.  I know what poison does and wasp spray is poison.  These wasps could have lived long and happy lives if they'd built a nest in the tree or in someones barn far away from me.

I have a feeling they're not finished.  They're big.  Like Terminator wasps.  They'll be back.

Next time I'm going to let Mr. L deal with them while I hide at a safe distance.

Have you ever dealt with wasps or other really big bugs?
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