Not Dead Yet .....

Welcome to Arizona ... the land of creepy crawlies and things that sting and bite.  Apparently I'm allergic to those gigantic paper wasps.  I'm probably lucky I thought to take a Benadryl, or this might cover my entire back.  

It has swollen up nicely and turned a lovely shade of reddish pink in spite of all the meds I've taken.  Just to make it even MORE fun, it's now itching like nothing I've ever experienced.  I could scrape the skin right off my back.  

This not-so-sexy off shoulder look was my all day apparel to try and keep nothing from touching it.  This morning it's even a tad bit bigger, but not as red.  Hopefully that means it's on the mend.

 I decided since it was nice and cool, I should check out why the lawn is dead.  Not that that is unusual for my garden area, but it has never been this bad.  Apparently I didn't set the controls to run long enough.  Add to that the broken pipe that Dan discovered, and all my plants ... even the cactus ... are dying.  What?  Cactus dying in the desert?

I went in and out my sliding glass door several times before I spotted it.  Another one of those wasps flying around the patio.  I followed him .... to find THIS!!  Just as I looked up, that bugger took off after me.  It's good to know that I can still run fast!!  THIS time I beat him to the door.  Nah nah nah na na!!!  You're DEAD!!

I grabbed my almost empty can of spray and soaked them.  It was raining wasps.  This nest is about four inches across ... the biggest one I've seen.  I counted fourteen dead corpses.  I guess I better look UP instead of DOWN when going outside.

I got the system set up at last, replacing all the drips that were plugged up, then turned on the sprinklers.  Rats!!  Those are broken too.  Gosh, this is the worst it's ever been!  I fixed two before it just got too hot to be outside.  It seems this wasp sting is messing with my temperature gauge.  Even when I got the house down to 78 degrees, I just couldn't get cool.  So much for being outside.

I spent a few hours on the couch resting up while smearing everything I could think of on my bite.  That high dollar tube of Benadryl had no affect whatsoever.  

Let's see what the game camera captured ... just trying to keep my mind off the itching.  I guess the water trough inlet got plugged up so there hasn't been water for awhile.  Dan fixed it just before I got here, so the critters are just finding out it's full again.  This guy didn't drink however ... he probably smelled us humans  and ran off ... or maybe the sound of the camera.

In case you have Dish Network and are interested ... it's Cowboy Christmas time.  The Reno Rodeo (now over) starts the main rodeo season where the most money can be made from the biggest rodeos.  It's Christmas for the cowboys.  Those guys are driving and flying back and forth trying to catch all of the big paydays they can in order to quality for the National Finals.

I tried to just sit and watch, but you know that's not me.  I can't stand mess and disorder.  I started putting stuff away and organizing things, which led straight to the living room.  I moved all the old furniture out ... only a snooker/poker table and a huge recliner ... and began to arrange the NEW GORGEOUS furniture from Jan and Bill Mains.  Yup this is my style ... has been all my life.  There's still more to do, but I got too hot to continue.  All that vacuuming was just too much!!

While I worked, Mr. Cooper slept.  I was pretty worried about him on the way down since his breath was flower-wilting.  I was thinking something might be rotten in his mouth.  After several hours of water, along with a couple of treats, he's much better.  Just the results of all that scary traveling, causing a sick tummy.  Thank goodness because my bank account is empty at the moment.

And so another day comes along ... thank you Lord I'm not dead yet from that wasp sting ... and I've got a broken pipeline to dig up before it reaches 103 degrees.  It's going to be a hot week, from 103 to 106 for the next ten days.  Good grief ... will someone write Mother Nature and ask her to please turn the heat off??