Eating Outside

Those who know me know that I NEVER eat outside. Ever. I won't sit at a picnic table at the park or sit out on my beautiful deck and have BBQ hamburgers. You see, I'm frightened of bugs.

However, tonight, for the first time in two years I ate outside. When we bought this place, complete with its fish pond, fountains, and 5 gardens, I told my husband that he'd have to help to alleviate my fears. So, the other day we bought two wasp decoy nests and hung them on the back deck. We also got an all natural wasp trap (last year we got one with chemicals and Eliot ate it - turned out he was okay but we were on the phone with pet poison control...) that you just put beer in and they're drawn to it. We also got me a mosquito coil that we have hanging by the table and hot tub. We got cans of fogger and wasp/hornet Raid to kill two nests on the house... needless to say that we're armed to the teeth in the fight against bugs and I feel a bit safer going outside.

The past two nights, I've walked down to the end of the property and looked at my gardens of flowers. I've pulled a few weeds (I would usually not go within pulling distance lest a bee fly out and attack me) and I've even tried out the ride-on lawnmower. On moving day, I spent the whole day with the screen door open, trying not to care if a fly flew in the house... we had a few and they felt the end of my swatter. Flies are not the worst of the bugs that I'm afraid of. The real scary ones for me are bees, wasps, hornets, and Junebugs. I don't like bugs that sting, bugs that buzz, or bugs that thud when they hit you. Or any combination thereof. Flies are yucky and they give me the shivers when they fly too near my head, but I can tolerate them more or less. I like the idea of bees doing their thing in the garden. But let one come near me and I'm in a sheer panic. Wasps and hornets have the same effect on me but to a higher degree. I run. I screech. I flail my arms. My adrenaline pumps so hard so fast and I feel like I'm going to pass out. Junebugs are just awful creatures and I hate them. They buzz and thud and are just gross. I got caught in a hail of Junebugs last summer when I was about 7 months pregnant with Mady. I decided that I wanted to go for a nice walk. It was around 6pm... well, our walk lasted until about 7:30pm and didn't the Junebugs come out. They were dinging Steve in the head and dive-bombing me. I was walking in the middle of the street to try to avoid the shrubs and bushes on the sidewalks. But no matter - one zipped past my face and I took off running and screeching down the street. When I got home the baby was kicking and freaking out in my belly - no doubt because I was panting and out of breath, with mega-doses of adrenaline coursing through my veins! I'm going to be really sad this summer when I see the first Junebug of the season because that will mean I can't go in the hot tub anymore... My old house in Guelph was terrible for wasps and yellow jackets. I never went outside until after sundown. This house, despite being surrounded by all kinds of nature, is not too bad with the bugs. We'll see if it gets better or worse as the summer progresses.

But tonight's dinner was a success! I wasn't nervous at all to be eating tasty burgers outside. The bugs left me alone and I actually enjoyed my meal. I'll do it again someday I'm sure!