Someday I'll learn!

Last week my wife talked me into filling in a hole under a shed in our back yard that has been the home of several wandering critters. Over the last couple of years we know of a skunk, a opossum, a mama cat and her kittens and a groundhog that took up residence in the den under the shed.

My wife, wanting rid of the creatures, put sticks at the entrance to the shed den to see if the animals would move them out of the way, hence establishing they were in residence. When several days passed without the sticks being moved, my wife decided the den was between non-renters and it was time for me to get out the shovel.

I dug out the entrance well enough to put in a couple of bricks to seal the hole. Then I dug in the hillside behind the shed, put dirt over the bricks and pounded it down to finish the barricade.

All the while, though, I was batting away flying insects whizzing by my head and chest ... that is until I started feeling the pain.

The insects, I discovered, were little "sweat" bees that had been stinging me on the leg, the hand, under my T-shirt on my stomach and under my arms.

Once out of the shower to make sure all the critters were off me, I found about 10 stings that had begun to swell, hurt and itch. Now more than a week later, they are still red and still itch.

It made me think back more than 15 years ago when I was stung multiple times by bees on downed apples as I was mowing our back yard in East Liverpool, Ohio. My foot swelled so large I couldn't get a shoe on and was told by a physician to make sure I didn't get stung again anytime soon.

The physician didn't put a definite time on "anytime soon," but it sounds like 15 years is still too soon.

Someday I'll learn to stay away from bees.