Big Surprise-Ouch!

"Could the heat get any hotter?" 

As I raced around my patio trying to prepare for my 4th of July party, I noticed that everything was quiet, almost too quiet for my neighborhood on this blistering hot day. I was alone or so I thought. I made a mental note of what I needed to do as I worked my way to the back of the patio where I keep the container of chair pads. I was looking for the bright yellow floral one for my front porch. "There it is." 

I reached in and to my total amazement, I heard buzzing as a swarm of yellow jackets made their way straight to me. Quickly I raced to escape the angry bees but there was not enough time. I reached the gate and starting shrieking as two bees attacked my right hand. "Ouch! Double Ouch!" I tried to swat the bees off my hand but that took longer than I thought. I shouted for my husband who was inside the house but how many times did I have to shout until he heard me? 

Knowing that my hand was sizzling from the stings, I raced to the freezer to get ice for my finger and thumb area that were on fire, swollen, and beet red. By the time my husband came upstairs to the kitchen, I was on my way to the medicine chest seaching for Benadryl and the steroid cream I have for insect bites. I began to panic because I usually have immediate reactions to bites. My husband started checking on his tablet for what to do when you get stung but I decided to race out the door for Urgent Care.

In the car, my husband told me that he found what he thought was a hive and swooshed it with water. "Would that do anything?" We certainly did not know. 

Long story short: 

The urgent care staff in town took care of me immediately. No stinger could be seen so I was sent home with a Benadryl and steroid cream treatment beside my daily allergy pill and nasal spray. 

Day Two:

I had a restless night of sleep even with Benadryl but the exterminator was coming at 8:00 am. Knock-knock! In he came with his equipment. He was ready to tackle all the extermination problems. He started with the container that held the yellow jackets. The busy little worker bees were still swarming and the technician surmised that the hives were somewhere in the container. By the end of the extermination treatment throughout the house, garage, and outside 3 dead mice, many cave critters, and spiders, plus webs and two active beehives were found. 

My extermination contract took care of the service to eradicate assorted critters who enjoyed lurking around my house this summer but the beehive extraction was extra. The kicker was that we had to clean out the garage of all of the debris so that the mice, cave critters, and spiders would not have a place to enjoy and the temperature was even hotter than Day 1. By dinnertime, the garage was emptied, swept, and restocked with only what was necessary. The curb was lined with assorted garbage, recycle items, and all unwanted extras, even things that were not opened, like two huge bags of charcoal. Hopefully, someone other than the bees would have a fun shopping spree at my house before the garbage collection in the morning.

Tomorrow:

I look forward to seeing if anyone shopped at my curb. Hopefully, my hand will stop stinging and I will continue preparing for the party.

Happy 4th of July to all!

It's time for Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers.