Bugs

So, Massachusetts has a lot of bugs! I mean, bugs are pretty much everywhere, but these bugs have come to life with a vengeance. We had such a mild winter, too, that a lot of bugs that should have been killed simply weren't. So we are bug-tastic right now! I really need to buy some bug repellant. I've already got a few itchy bites on my hands and arms, and they are driving me bonkers!

Anyway, we also had a carpenter ant situation. They are really common around here, and this is the time of year they become really active. Well, they were finding their way into our kitchen, and that was NOT COOL. It's not cool to have ANY bugs in one's kitchen, but carpenter ants are especially awful. They are over half an inch long! *shudder*

At any rate, we bought some indoor spray that pretty effectively made them stop coming inside, but we knew we needed to treat the outside as well. Left untreated, carpenter ants will nest inside walls and wooden structures and do some pretty serious damage (the expensive kind!). So... I called a few pest control places, and settled on a local operation. They came out today for the initial treatment, and will continue to come out periodically over the next year. Their prices were so reasonable compared to the national chains I called (one of whom wanted over $1000 just to treat the carpenter ant situation-- nothing else). As of now, we have guaranteed ongoing protection from roaches, ants, centipedes, millipedes, bees, hornets, wasps, silverfish, earwigs, pillbugs, crickets, and spiders, and they also do periodic monitoring for subterranean termites. I feel SO much better... especially since I found an empty paper wasp's nest hanging from our eaves this morning! And all the people at this company were very friendly and pleasant to talk to (while the guy at the national place seriously seemed bent on getting as much money out of me as possible, and was rattling off a scripted speech). Gus and I both feel really good about giving our money to a local business. Plus, I think we will continue to get great service. Very cool!

After the guy was done, we played outside some more (away from the house, since he sprayed). It was in the high sixties today, which meant it was very comfortable outside but not what I'd consider "warm"-- still, I had on a t-shirt and jeans and was just fine. I love this kind of weather!

Eventually, a giant truck showed up carrying four tons of pellets for our pellet stove. Yup, you read that correctly. Four TONS. Eight thousand pounds. Two hundred forty-pound bags (each about the size of a bag of dirt/mulch from the garden store). Thankfully, the driver was fantastic, and he was able to maneuver his forklift to get all four pallets into our garage. Now we can take our time unloading! As it is, I have carried exactly ten bags down to the basement, and I am tired! I have no idea how long it will take us to get all four tons down there! Crazy!

Even crazier, a big car accident took place right there while we were standing in the driveway! We live on a corner, and I am pretty sure one of the two cars was trying to make a left turn, and didn't see the other one coming. I'm not sure exactly what happened, because I was standing on the wrong side of the big delivery truck when I heard the collision. Fortunately, there was a police car already there, and he flipped on his lights and called the others. Everyone got out of both cars on their own and appeared to be okay, but all the emergency vehicles arrived anyway (fire truck, ambulance, about six police cars, and eventually two tow trucks). It was literally RIGHT there. I watched the whole aftermath, since I was out there directing the delivery of the pellets. And the kids were super excited to watch all the emergency vehicles from the front window. Traffic was really messed up, though, seeing as how we live on the main road in and out of town. I really hope everyone is okay, because their cars most definitely were not. It was so surreal!

And that was our day, in a nutshell. Now our garage is full of bags of wood pellets. Guess I will be getting an upper body workout!