Monday, August 17, 2015

Okay, Got That Over With!

Don't know why Mother Nature has done this to us, but we have hordes (yes, actual hordes) of those big, fat, round bumble bees in the garden this year.

Because I get such a bad reaction from stings, I've been talking to the little buzzers constantly as I work in the garden:  "I know you have your place in the grand scheme of things and do good pollinating work and you know I won't hurt you, so please, please, please don't hurt me."

This worked until last Friday when I was picking pickling cucumbers.  I even had gloves on (which I hate to wear in the garden) when I got zapped on the middle finger of my right (of course) hand.

This guy is no doubt a close family member
of the one that got me.

But I was down and out for only a day and a half.  Laid out on the couch with an ice pack on my head and an ice pack on my hand.  Feeling crummy and fitfully drifting in and out of sleep.

I figure that was my sting for this year, so now I'm home free.

Hear that, you grumpy, ol', unfriendly bumble bees?

 

16 comments:

Carolyn said...

Wow. Hope you're feeling better. I can't imagine what I'd do if i had such a reaction to stings, especially since I tend to get stung at least a half-dozen times a year.

Sue said...

Oh gosh, that's scary to have that kind of a reaction. Glad you're feeling better.
I love those fat bumbles---but I'll be looking at them in a whole new way. Didn't realize they'd do that!
Take care, friend. The garden can't afford a day or two without you

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

We have hordes of them too, and I won't even go in one barn for items (I make Hubby go in). Sorry you got stung, but hope you are feeling better now.

Mama Pea said...

Carolyn - I've been back and functioning (as well as I ever function) since Sunday, so no worry. I just wish a simple sting didn't affect my whole system so much. My hand is still slightly swollen and very sensitive to touch (and the two thousand times I seem to bang it each day) but I feel fine. Hubby, who does all the work with our honey bees, has little to no reaction to a bee sting . . . which is a good thing.

Mama Pea said...

Sue - I have an Epi-pen (just in case) but I've never experienced anaphylactic shock. I just feel nauseated, kinda woozy (maybe that's normal for me) and very uncomfortable with a lot of swelling for a while. You're perfectly right about feeling behind on the garden harvesting/processing right now. Gotta catch up!! Hope to get a handle on it by the end of today.

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - Yup, feeling fit as a fiddle, as they say! Thanks.

Sandy Livesay said...

Mama Pea,

Good to hear you carry an Epi-pen. What if you took some Benadryl when you react like this? Would it help you?

The bee's are out in full to get all your fresh veggies,and fruits pollinated before it gets to darn cold there again.

Be safe, good to hear you're doing better.
Hugs,
Sandy

Dawn said...

Thats a shame you get such a bad reaction, bees are good and only sting as a last resort they die after, glad to here you are back in the garden :-)

Susan said...

Geez. And here I am thinking they don't sting you! Ignorance may be bliss - until they get you! I hope you don't have any ill effects. I'm sure you do, but only wear light colored clothing when you garden. Bad bee!

Mama Pea said...

Sandy - I try very hard to stay away from "drugs" but do use a lot of homeopathic remedies. But the swelling on this sting was pretty painful and had traveled halfway up to my elbow so I did take two capsules of Benadryl that my daughter had hoping it would diminish the swelling and terrible itching. It did help make the itching less intense, but also made me very, very sleepy. Which maybe wasn't such a bad thing.

Mama Pea said...

Dawn - This wasn't one of our honey bees that stung me this time, but rather a bumble bee which, if I'm correct, can sting repeatedly without dying. I know honey bees lose their stinger (and half their back end!) when they sting and then it's curtains for them. Got stung on Friday and the swelling is nearly all gone and I feel fine!

Mama Pea said...

Susan - I keep hoping I'll work up an immunity to insect stings and bites, but it doesn't seem to be happening. And I guess at my ripe old age, if it hasn't happened yet, it probably won't. Just so it never get worse (like anaphylactic shock -- eeek) than laying me low for a day or so.

Bateman Homestead said...

Oh man, glad to hear you are feeling better. Hugs!

http://batemanhomestead.weebly.com/

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - I am feeling great! Especially with the lovely rain (much needed!) we got overnight and the gray, drizzly day we have today. Perfect for getting caught up (ha!) on my canning/preserving.

Misty Pines Homestead said...

I am sooo allergic to bee stings so much wherever I get stung I swell up like a balloon.I envy people who can get stung and walk away with nothing!

Mama Pea said...

Amanda Pope - That sounds like my husband! I mean someone who can get stung and get very little reaction from it. That's why he does all the work with our honey bees and if he finds that the bees get riled up at all when he's working with them (that usually doesn't happen), I go inside the house 'cause the worst sting (and reaction) I ever got was from one very mad honey bee!