Wasps’ nest

7°C, sunny and dry. Light wind.

Remember that wasp nest in my house last summer? I decided to investigate it today. The tent was ready to pull open after I cleared the nearby ivy. The interior volume was filled with paper structures to a volume of about 1 litre. The tent gap a hard plastic tube connecting the interior and exterior walls of the building. Lining the tube was a complete layer of paper honeycomb cavities. Inside that layer was a 3 layered structure which was effectively 3 floors. Some of these floor had dead eggs or larvae.​

fascinating isn’t it? Up to last October, I heard their daily routine start at sunrise. The buzzing must have been workers ventilating the nest. All summer, there was that sinister chewing and cutting sound. None of that has affected the vent. It must be the sound of paper construction amplified in the tube.
There aren’t many dead wasps in there. Either they had already left, or the pest treatment dispersed them. I’m glad really. I like to think they lived their year’s lifecycle to its normal conclusion. They disperse after the spawning and live a more solitary life until the first frost.
The tube now has some of the honeycomb shelves back in place. Wasps don’t make nests in old sites so this should deter them next season.
I’ll never know about the other nest, it’s entirely inaccessible in that roof space.

Winter, a Saturday.

1°C, light wind but heavy rain.
Winter, a respite from the cold and a day to recover from work.​

Olafur Arnalds: Island Songs.

School art.

Ball-point pen drawing, set as a homework to year 8 (12-13 year old) class.  They have rules limiting the time spent on homework, but these girls have spent well over an hour on these pieces.​

The homework was set in the context of a ‘Seeds And Pods’ project theme.
I’m impressed with the concentration and patience in these works. I said ‘wow’ when I opened each book and set eyes on them.
At the time of writing, the classes are printing using polystyrene blocks using the reduction method.
You can maybe, sense the satisfaction I feel teaching apt this year. It’s been a few years since Art made up such a chunk of my timetable.