Last weekend my wife and I raked up what was left of the fall leaves in our backyard. When I told a friend what I had accomplished he asked, “Voluntarily?” Not only did I rake voluntarily, I was the one who recommended that we do it!

After we were finished we sat at the patio table on the deck and relaxed for a bit.

As we were sitting there we were visited by something we usually don’t see until the summer. A lonely wasp was flying around us as if it was on some kind of reconnaissance mission. This guy must have been as anxious as the rest of us to see what little snow we had snow go away. I’m not used to seeing wasps until the end of June or early July. I hope that’s not a sign of things to come.

Last summer was a lousy one for wasps. There’s nothing worse than trying to enjoy a nice hot summer day on the deck while dodging an endless barrage of wasps. I usually end up doing the Macarena, the Hokey-Pokey, and just about every other dance trying to dodge those damn things. If you were walking down our alley and looked into our yard and saw me trying to dodge wasps you’d think I probably had some kind of terrible medical condition.

If it isn’t wasps, it’s always something else. Maple bugs, canker worms, flies.

I can’t believe it. We’re only one month into spring and I’m already complaining about sitting on the deck in the summer.

You just can’t please some people!