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Friday, September 19, 2014

Excuse me waiter, there’s a wasp in my coffee

Well this was an unusual sight to come home to.

Yesterday afternoon I was about to make my way to the back of my house through the narrow pathway that separates mine from my neighbours' house, when I spotted a mug perched on the floor at the side of my front porch. The mug isn’t one of mine so intrigue lured me to take a closer look.

What I saw was a wasp doing the backstroke in a few ounces of what looked like coffee. Huh.

Excuse me waiter, there's a wasp in my coffee


I assumed the mug belonged to my neighbour and would come for it later, so I left it and carried along my way.

Could this be a new trend in homemade wasp traps? Leave a mug of coffee on the porch and wait for the wasps to fly in and drown? It seemed to work. The pesky insects are everywhere this time of year and people can get pretty creative with ways to keep them away. I have a friend who used to hang large balls of paper in the tree above her outdoor dining table. The idea was for the wasps to see another "nest" and stay away. Unfortunately I'm not sure it worked so well, but it did make for interesting tree ornaments. 

My technique is to give the wasps a swat with a tightly rolled magazine. Making contact usually gets them to fly away.

Store bought traps are another option. During a recent trip to Canadian Tire I was browsing the pest control aisle when a gentleman came by and grabbed a Wasp Trap with Hanger from the shelf. "It works best if you put cheap beer in it," he said to me.

"What kind of cheap beer?" I asked. I wasn't looking for a wasp trap, and I don't drink beer, but I was curious about what was considered cheap and works. You know, for future reference. I think his response was "Coors" but by now I honestly can't remember. I do know, however,  that Coors is less on the dollar scale, then say, Creemore Springs.

The gentleman went on to suggest a trap for my own pest issue. But that's another story...

So there you have it. Be it coffee in a mug, hanging papers balls, magazine rolls or store bought traps on a hanger,  there are plenty of techniques to try out to get rid of wasps.

STOLEN

I appreciate a little humour in the morning. It makes for a pleasant start to the day.

This morning on the ride to work while stopped at a traffic light, I noticed the licence plate of a nearby car, and it made me chuckle.


ONTARIO
STOLEN
YOURS TO DISCOVER

I wasn't quick enough to snap a pic but the idea is captured. So funny! Where in the world could Ontario be? Quick, go find it!

In Quebec, vanity plates aren't so common, but I've noticed over the past several years, that Ontarians like to have a bit of fun with it. Makes for for a bit of fun for passers by too.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Revival

10 months since the last post to this blog. I blame the children.

Ok,  not really. But sort of really.

Claire started talking and walking and climbing on furniture, and tossing whatever she could get her hands on in every which way, and crying her way into my bed at all hours of the night. She became a toddler.

Lauren needed to be taken to hip hop class and birthday parties and play-dates and out to the park for fresh air and exercise. She became an active kid.

Sometime in between there C and I went to work every day. Then came home at night and made dinner and did laundry and made lunches and cut the lawn and washed smudges off the walls and picked up food from the floor and bought paint for the next home improvement project and cleaned the fish bowl. Among other things

This is nothing new for any young family, but it's time consuming and tiring. It's also pretty great. I do remember C and I having a date night or 2 or a few. I do remember cuddling on the couch with the girls to read stories. I do remember our annual summer family camping trip.

Time goes by fast (where did 10 months go anyway?), and its time to take note again of all these great moments.  Stay tuned for more fun and adventure!