A Bald Faced Hornet & Decking Supply Delivery

Once again, a fascinating creature has captured my attention.  I found this bald faced hornet (actually in the yellow jacket family, not a true wasp) on our porch railing... 

...I watched her (I know she is a female as they do all the work except to lay eggs...hmph, could try to say something funny here, but I think I will let each of you make your own sarcastic remarks to yourself so I don't get myself into any trouble) as she scraped a small strip of wood and made a ball just behind her mouth.  You can see the line of scraping and the ball if you look closely...

 ...this is another view and closeup of the ball, though it's a little blurry...

I later learned that the chewed wood will be mixed with her saliva to then expand the nest, which is paper like, shaped like a football and usually hangs in a tree.  She didn't seem to mind me watching her, though when I got too close with the lens she did fly away a couple times.  I am glad for that as I also learned they are extremely aggressive when protecting their hive, and will sting repeatedly when threatened.  I'm glad she was tolerant of my curiosity and there was no nest involved!

I don't know why I find all these stinging insects so marvelous...maybe because they are actually quite beautiful in an insecty sort of way...maybe because I've never seen so many different species before...maybe because I have a tiny bit of daredevil in me...but I sure do enjoy learning about all these creatures and watching them at work...absolutely captivating!

Deck update...we had our supplies delivered today.  Do you know that when they bring the truck, the bed actually tips like a dump truck, and they literally dump the materials on the ground?  More like supply dump than delivery if you ask me...

 

 

I was mortified as I watched this taking place!  When the first bound section of wood slipped off and thudded to the ground with a few cracks and groans, I though to myself, "this can't be right!".

I nonchalantly when over to Mountain Man & Charlie (you know Charlie came down when he heard the truck), and quietly asked "is this the way they always unload a truck?" to which the response was, "oh yes, otherwise it would take forever to unload!"  Hmph, thought I, and had to ask, "this doesn't break the wood?", and the response was "nah".  Hmmmmmm...I thought, really? Perhaps building supply delivery people ought to consider hiring worker hornets, as they would be female, and would likely have an efficient and effective way to deliver supplies that would not include dumping...

So, look at Mountain Man looking at the pile, makes me wonder what he was thinking, LOL!  Did I mention that the delivery guy said to Johny, "oh, I didn't think the top would slide off like that"...???  Hmph, a heartfelt hmph!

We ended up moving the wood that was tumbled about, which made me glad because the dis-order was bugging me.  In the end, nice little piles, concrete mix covered, and I was a happy girl:)  But seriously, supply dumping?

Well, regardless, the supplies are here.  Let the building begin!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise