When Nature Attacks

On August 23 my boys and I attended an event that was actually thrown because we were going to be visiting the Hudson Valley - Not Playing With a Full Deck. We started out the morning meeting with The Farmer of 3 Blind Mice, SuzieToots, Lady Liberty Tee, Welcome Crew, Justice League Friend, and Travelin Shorts to hunt some of boxes that 3 Blind Mice hace in a local Preserve.

After 9 boxes it was time to break for lunch, some PTs', exchanges and odd looks ffrom the wait staff. After lunch, SuzieToots and gang decided to tour some of the historic homes while the rest of us went on to grab the newly planted Creepy Crawly boxes. After a brief ride we arrived at a beautiful spot perfect for letterboxing.

We started up the trail and found the first box. Just as we started to pass the stamp and logbook around, I heard my oldest, King of Hearts screaming from the edge of the trail. I rushed over to discover that he had kicked some leaves just off the trail and kicked up a yellow jacket nest. They were swarming around him and had started to sting him and were also after the daughter of Welcome Crew.

I grabbed him and moved him away from the nest and was swatting the bees away from him as quickly as I could. As I pulled his shirt off, Welcome Crew started apllying mud to ease the pain as I was still getting the last of the yellow jackets away and moving him further down the trail. Just then I noticed The Farmer running back up the trail crushing something in his hands. It was plantain, I found out later. It takes the stinging out of bee stings and the like. He started to apply it to the 16 bee stings that were on King of Hearts.

My camera had been in my pocket from taking pictures of us on the trail, so I decided to take a quick picture of the first aid that was going on. Event pictures always show smiling faces, inky fingers and full pages of stamps. This was something you never see, the dangers of the trail. There is only so much real estate on my son and there were 3 sets of hands on him at the moment. After I snapped the picture I looked at my left hand and realized that I had 5 yellow jackets sticking out of my hand and arm and one stinger.

I learned first hand that plantain really works for bee stings. King of Hearts came through the ordeal fine. With the quick actions of those around and the trail knowledge of The Farmer, there was not a mark on him. He decided he didn't want to continue on the trail, actually the only youngster that continued was Jack of Hearts. But the kids did have a great time at the Event later that evening. Ice Cream can cure whatever the trail can dish out, I guess.

That night I found two more stingers in my left calf. So for the day we had 24 stings, 20 traditionals, 12 travellers, 2 cooties, 16 event stamps, 1 LTC, 5 others, many exchanges and I was gifted and amazing stamp that will be a new PT. King of Hearts was back out on the trail the next day proving to himself that it was just a fluke.

And we learned that you can never take nature for granted. King of Hearts and Jack of Hearts have learned that you always stay on the trail and you never kick around in the leaves, because you might stir up more than you ever wanted too.