Wild Ozark™

~ Nature Artist in Kingston, Arkansas ~

Hornet’s Nest & The last of the fall color at Wild Ozark

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Madison

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A hornet’s nest to decorate with has long been on my wish-list. Around here, they don’t survive very long in the wild because cliff or chimney swifts tear up their nests to make the plaster for their own nests.

There was a big one in the plum tree on the other end of the horse’s field I had my eye on. When I went to check on it the other day, it was completely devastated.

Gloria looking glorious

Then one day while I was on the balcony upstairs I noticed a cluster of what looked like dried leaves right there in Gloria’s branches. You probably can’t see it in this pic, but this is Gloria. And it’s a beautiful picture, so that’s why I’m posting it.

Beautiful foggy morning. I call the tree "Gloria".
Beautiful foggy morning. I call the tree “Gloria”.

Another Hornet’s Nest

The bundle of dried leaves was hiding another hornet’s nest. I had never noticed until the leaves began to fall. We watched it several days and never saw any hornets going in and out. It must be abandoned?

Rob with the hornet's nest
It was abandoned, thank goodness. Rob tried shooting the limb to make it fall but that didn’t work. So he had to use the pole saw to cut the branch. It was way up in the tree, just barely low enough to reach with the pole.

What now?

We put it in a contractor bag, tied it shut tight, and will leave it out there until we’re sure all the larvae (if any are there) have hatched. All this time I thought the hardest part of getting a nest was not getting stung. But it seems the hardest part is getting the nest before other critters get it.

The last of the fall color

This year hasn’t been a spectacular one for color, but it’s still very pretty.

Fall color on the eastern hill.
Fall color on the eastern hill.

What else has been happening on the Wild Ozark front?

I’ve been really really busy revising and polishing the first book of my Bounty Hunter rural fantasy series. And working on a new fiction website. I claimed the domain name ruralfantasy.com, which I was super-excited about. Also took up a different pen name for my fiction, and it’s a silly one but catchy, and I like it. Anyway, the new site is a long ways from being finished and the revisions of the story are higher on the priority list.

That’s why you haven’t seen a post lately, or this month’s newsletters yet.

 

Comments

4 responses to “Hornet’s Nest & The last of the fall color at Wild Ozark”

  1. Lynda Avatar
    Lynda

    Madison, I just found a hornet’s nest this past week. It was on the ground in the back yard. It wasn’t as fully intact as yours, so I have been daydreaming about what I can use the paper for in my artwork. It has been in my mind all week. BTW, you mentioned bagging yours in case of hatchlings… Is a gallon freezer bag sturdy enough to keep them from chewing out? I ask because I have mine sitting on my work table in my studio…. In the house. 😯

    Thanks!
    Lynda

    Reply
    1. Madison Avatar
      Madison

      Hi Lynda,

      I can’t wait to see what you do with your nest! I have a small one I’m thinking of unwinding and incorporating into a mixed media of some sort. But I haven’t had a clear vision yet so it sits there all pretty on my shelf for now.

      I would think a gallon freezer bag is good enough. What I did with the other one I have, which was bigger, is put it in a contractor bag and I left it out in the sun all summer. There were no signs of life, not even dead hatchlings, when I took it out of the bag. I don’t know whether they’re still inside or whether the nest was completely abandoned at the end of the year.

      LOL, the gallery owner has a new nest sitting at the top of our shelf in the gallery and I keep watching for angry hornets to emerge from it, but nothing so far and it’s been warm enough in there to allow it if any were inside. But then my daughter’s man brought one in during winter right after he found it and put it in the living room. Later my daughter said she and the kids had to escape the house through the bedroom window, hahaha, so I don’t know!

      But a gallon Ziploc ought to be enough. I don’t think they’ll chew plastic anyway, just wood. But not promising that!

      Keep me posted on how it goes 😊

      Madison

  2. sustainabilitea Avatar
    sustainabilitea

    Madison, I imagine very few people have ever uttered that first sentence. 🙂 I’ll be interested to see how you decorate the nest when you get around to it. Love the photo of Gloria and, of course, the one of Rob. Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving. I know the wishes are early, but I may not talk to you before then and the way time is flying by…

    janet

    Reply
    1. Madison Avatar
      Madison

      Haha, maybe not. I just want to hang it either in the house or in the Nature Boutique. The nest itself is decoration, not planning to do anything more with it, though. They sell them on ebay for around $50 but I never wanted to buy one, just wanted one from here. It’s pretty fitting with my decor… a bunch of rocks, bones, fossils, and dried herbs hanging around 😉

      Thank you and you have a wonderful, abundant Thanksgiving too. Time is certainly flying these days.

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