Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
Since I posted this in the "What are you doing Now Thread"
An old one. One of my "Growing Up Okie" poems:
Getting the Job Done
Sometimes it would take days to get the job done
and you had to be a good shot; to hit
the remaining one yellow jacket
as it scrabbled on its grey paper nest.
Even then you'd need to keep shooting
'til the white-topped egg chamber nest
loosened from the farmhouse eave and fell
tattered to the ground.
Daddy had no time to waste on such things
he'd fill a tin can to the top
with gasoline siphoned from the black Chevy truck
using part of a green garden hose.
They'd die in an instant, absolute zero,
all motion stopped and
drip to the ground fetal-like
in tiger-striped crisp crescent arcs.
It was all so fast, way too fast,
for boys in the summertime sun.
Our first shot brought the swarm alive.
Attack! Attack! Attack!
They'd sometimes chase us into the house
behind the protective screen door.
We'd wait til they calmed, then sneak back up
and let them have it again
After a bit, an hour or so,
they'd not even respond,
building their nest, laying their eggs
as bb's picked them off one-by-one.
But even then an angry rogue might say
enough is enough and mount a solo attack.
He'd chase us off, but we'd be back
cocking our Daisys and letting them have it again
Kenny A. Chaffin - 2/16/01
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Very nice, Kenny. Great capture of childhood days.
Hornets and wasps are too gung-ho. American bees of the old-fashioned non-Africanized variety are cool. They'll sting if you screw with them, but they aren't nearly as aggressive as hornets and wasps.
We have some carpenter bees around the house, but I haven't seen them lately. The females can sting, but they stay pretty much at home. The males are the ones who guard the nest, and in nature's infinite wisdom, they do so unarmed. They will buzz you and make a great show, but they're harmless. The only thing they have going for them is their superficial resemblance to honey bees, which can sting. Coupled with their aggressive stance, I guess it's enough to fool most predators.