it all began with i was preparing for a visit from some out-of-town guests; clean the house (well, more than just spot clean which is my usual way of weekly cleaning), and tidy up the yard. so, the day of the visit arrived; i made lemon bars (just in case they wanted a little treat!), turned on my renewing fountain in the back yard, and cooled down the tea. i was ready; everything was neat and tidy -- even the closets looked presentable!
so one of my visitors noticed my bell, and admired it . . .
this particular bell is made from half an oxygen tank; pretty niffy, no? and it is very heavy, but it has the best sound; kind of sounds like a ship's bell, and on a windy winter's evening, when the wind has risen in merced, i can hear the sound of this bell inside the house.
it's a great sound; very comforting. and occasionally, when i have my fountain going in the back, i ring that bell -- really a gong -- and i am carried away to the coast! on a summer's evening, it is magical. but i hadn't done that in a long time, august being so hot, it was all i could do to water my potted plants!
well, guess what?! in the meantime, over the summer, without my being aware, i discovered that a wasps nest was built in there...i hadn't a clue; no indication what-so-ever! usually i have wasps nesting on my roof; i see them, and i let them be because they don't bother me. and i try not to bother them. but, this time, i think i might have bothered them...and, to say the least, i'm a little bothered too!
needless to say, sometimes we make an unlikely discovery. right under our own noses! while we've unaware, something happens in our daily lives that end up taking us unexpectedly. i've watered and enjoyed my yard all summer, and never had any indication that my bell had become the home of a nest.
i'll have to work out a plan for removal...i suppose an eviction notice just won't do, eh?
meanwhile, when all else fails, leave well enough alone ... i wasn't in the mood to be stung, and they had been disturbed enough for one day, and besides all that, we had been getting along fine in ignorant bliss all these months, what's a few more weeks; soon the weather will change, and they will move out for the winter; my perfect opportunity to divest my bell of that temporary home!
so, off to fresno i went to attend the film festival. let me offer you a movingly-delightful treat. when you get a chance, search out 'cloudburst', the 2011 film staring olivia dukakis, brenda fricker, and someone new to me, ryan doucette. forget any trouble you may have, and be taken away for a couple of hours into the lives of this lesbian couple who escape from a nursing home and travel to canada to be married. on the way they pick up a (young) male hitchhiker, and all three work together to make justice happen in their living situation. you'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll be moved! and, no doubt, you'll ponder the significance of this story in your own life.
but what i can guarantee you is, you won't get stung! both events were an (unlikely) discovery over the week-end. when was the last time you had such an experience?
Not just bats in the belfry, to be shooed away, you had wasps in the bell that needed very careful coping. When one does not get the sound expected, often just shaking things harder results in a sting instead of a ring.
ReplyDeleteI too am trying to find the right way to make a joyful noise instead of confronting a swarm. Pray that my advent toward re-connecting with Michigan family might also be an epiphany toward God's will for me.