My neighbor Hulda came down yesterday to pick raspberries and ended up getting stung. Not once, but twice. Eeek! The Girl got stung picking raspberries later in the day as well. 🙁 Do bees make hives in raspberry patches? I’m allergic to bees so I think I’ll have the HH investigate this weekend for us.
I sure hope there isn’t a hive in there… I need more berries!
An early morning walk on the beach. The Canada geese around here are way to relaxed if you ask me. 
Did you receive a 17 pound stack of Restoration Hardware catalogs last month? Oh my word! I’ve never even ordered from Restoration Hardware before so I have no idea why they sent catalogs to me. Do they really think I’m interested in a $5,000 sofa?
Maybe if they didn’t send out 17 pound catalogs they could lower there prices a wee bit.
Doggie treats. Lucy is in L.O.V.E. with Paragon Whimzees Dental Chews. She carries her little chewy around with her throughout the house, half playing with it and half gnawing on it. It takes her about a week to go through one of them and it’s pretty much the cutest thing ever to watch.
The kids and I were at the thrift store the other day and a bag full of Needle Punch thread was calling my name. 30 spools for $3.99. Just one goes for about $2.50 at the shops so I think I made out pretty good.
Of course I have never needled punched anything in my life before… but it’s on my craft to do list. 😉
Hey! I checked my P.O. Box for the first time in 3 months and found some kinds notes, scrapbooking cutouts, a free dish towel from Zaycon Foods, and a Mama Kangaroo from Australia. Pretty neat if you ask me. Thank you friends from the internet, its always nice to get stuff in the mail.
Unless of course you’re that guy from Kentucky who wrote me that long love letter. That was awkward.
Oak Leaf Lettuce. Ain’t it purdy? Think how much money brides could save if they walked down the aisle carrying bouquets of fresh vegetables instead of flowers. If I could do it over again I’d totally do this.
But then again, I’m a little odd.
Have a great weekend everyone,
~Mavis
Rochelle says
Bees don’t really wake up until it gets a little warmer in the morning. Dawn would be a safer time to go out to the raspberries to peek for a hive; or just pick some berries.
Diane says
I got stung on the side of my neck a week or so ago – I’m not sure by what, but I think it was a wasp or yellow jacket. It immediately started to hurt in that hot, painful way that says, “this was NOT from a bee.” I remembered that I’d bought some Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer some time ago when the People’s Pharmacy said it was a good antidote to the pain of stings, so I ran inside and found it without delay. I made a thick paste of it and patted some on the area of the sting several times during the day. The pain disappeared RIGHT AWAY, and I didn’t even have any itching or pain while the sting was healing. I could hardly even see a bump where the critter stung me.The meat tenderizer has papain (from papayas) in it, and it totally worked like magic. I strongly recommend keeping some around, especially for us obsessive gardeners.
Janet says
Mavis, Have the HH check the ground for those nasty wasps that build their nests there. We have had them and we live near Edmonds.
Keep us posted!
Diane says
After my husband having been chased by yellow jackets from the side of the house into the garage, and stung under his arm THREE TIMES by the same critter, we spend the money and call professional exterminators if we suspect a nest of wasps or yellow jackets. The exterminator who took care of the underground nest for us dug out a nest the size of a basketball. If you’re allergic, just don’t mess around.
Mavis Butterfield says
Well I am allergic so I think picking raspberries is off limits for me for the rest of the year. 🙁
Lorraine says
Mavis, Have your HH look to see if you have or what you have buzzing about. Bees are usually very docile and don’t come out to sting you unless they feel molested. Wasps, yellow jackets and such are not like that. They will defend their nests by coming after you. Yellow jackets make underground nests. You can only find them by watching where they come and go from. When our daughter was married in our front yard last fall, we had a nest of yellow jackets. We found them (by getting stung) about two weeks before the wedding!!! I was obsessed with killing them. They were in under a bush underground. We waited until after dark and would go out with headlamps (!) and pour boiling water on the nest. We could actually feel the ground vibrate under our feet!!! That killed most but not all. Finally, my husband remembered “Pool Shock” which is chlorine. He poured a whole bunch of it in the hole and then we put water down it and put a big rock on the hole. That did it! It was the creepiest experience I think I have ever had!! We could hear the buzzing underground and feel the earth vibrate with them….wonder how many there were?! Not to scare you with this . . . but if you are allergic, just be very vigilant and make sure what you are seeing and where they come and go from.
Julie says
Yep, it’s probably not bees. Unless your raspberries are flowering. Even then, they are usually focused on working collecting pollen and nectar. Yellow jackets is a good guess. I got stung by one getting the mail. They had built a nest inside the mailbox. In Texas their nests can be found just about anywhere: under steps, under the eaves/overhangs of the house, in a cinder block, etc. The husband uses a little flame torch to scorch them and their nests into little bar-b-que. I get localized swelling and itching and find that ice packs and anti-itch cream work. Usually takes a few days to a week for it to go away.
Darlene says
Agree, it’s wasps. We keep honey bees and I’ve never been stung, plus they don’t make hives in the ground, that’d be your friendly neighborhood yellow jacket :/
kcb says
I got the huge RRH set of catalogs. The stack was so overwhelmingly big that it went right to the recycle can. I ordered something from them about 5 years ago & that must have gotten me on the catalog list. This year’s was by far the biggest.
Krista says
Here’s a link to remove your name from the Restoration Hardware catalog list. I just read it in the Seattle Times blog. https://www.restorationhardware.com/customer-service/catalog-cancellation.jsp
Vicky says
Thanks for the link, Krista! Oh my word! I got the RH ream of paper waste a while back. I was so flabbergasted that I blasted an email off to them chastising them for their ridiculous attempt at sustainable business practices. I’m normally a sweet little southern girl. I know it won’t do any good, but it made me feel better for the moment. I’ve ordered from them in the past, but never again after that monstrosity hit my front porch.