The wasp saga continues, Leo Mal Sculpture Garden and Thunderbird House

Yesterday at precisely 9:45, I begin my trek to Rivers Medical Centre. They open at 10 am. I thought, perhaps, I'd be there just as they opened and would be the first in line. I was wrong, I was seventh in line and waited over an hour to see the doctor.

Dr. Learner was fat, really fat, perhaps about 300 pounds over weight. The examining room was very tiny and filling the room, sitting on a stool, was this very fat man. So fat I wondered how he got through the door. How he was able to leave his house. How he was able to drive a car. He never moved from the stool, he didn't have to, any medical tool he wanted was in easily reached.

It was bizzare. He was strange. Mind you, a medical centre in the heart of the poorest area of Winnipeg, where crime is excessive, the place where methadone is handed to those in need of a legal fix, would be the likely place where a physically challenged medical professional could find employment.

He seemed thorough enough and my ailment simple enough. I received a tetanus shot and a perscription for a penicillin like drug, and I was on my way.

Delghtful afternoon was spent in the Leo Sculpture Gardens listening to a young local saxaphone player and his ensemble. The weather was just right.

In the evening Flo and I made our first ever visit to Thunderbird House to watch an event called "Pointed Shoes and Pow Wow" it wasn't the best venue for the event because there was no raised seating and the only way we could see the dancers was to move to the front, which we did after the intermission.

It was interesting, local dances, members of Canada's National Ballet, children studying dance and original people's Pow Wow dancers pooled their talents and proved Thunderbird House is a place where all are welcome.

The condition of the wasp bites seem to be improving, it's been close to 24 hours since my first dose of anti-biotic.

A wasp nest in my vegetable garden

It all began Friday evening, the raspberries are done for the season, the rhubarb leaves were huge and were showing signs of decay, they also had big holes to boot. I knew the big holes indicated some sort of insect was eating away at the plant, but at that point I didn't know what sort of insect.

I began hacking away at the rhubarb leaves. A wasp madder than a hornet, a yellow jacket, what's the difference between a wasps and a hornet? I don't know. Anyway, the enraged wasp stung me and it really hurt. I immediately put my garden tools away, came inside, washed my hands, the bite was on my left hand middle finger, and used some ice.

I went to the Internet to read up on the subject of wasp stings and apart from Tylenol and an antihistamine I'd done all the things the websites wrote about.

Since I regularly take an antihistamine and Tylenol those remedies were already in my system.

Saturday afternoon I began, once more, to hack away at the rhubarb. I had no idea that buried in the ground amongst the raspberry bushes and the rhubarb was . . . you guessed it. . . a wasp nest.

The wasps were swarming, I was screaming and I was stung once more. This time, on the wrist of my left hand, it didn't hurt as much as the firts sting, likely because I was madder than a. . .you guessed it, a hornet.

I threw down my machete like bread knife, went into the house, grabbed my car keys and made a . . you guessed it, beeline to my neighbourhood Sobey's store. Throughout this summer season the people at Sobey's have thoughtfully placed a display case of various, "The only good bug is a dead bug" Raid products. Front and centre they've recently replaced the specialized treatment for ants with the wasp container with it's specialized apparatus and poison.

The wasps are dead. But my finger and wrist are still suffering. A red rash is moving up my arm and the lymph nodes under my arm are swelling.

I called the Manitoba health line, after first accidentally calling the suicide prevention line and having a rather strange conversation with someone giving me all sorts of wrong advice.

The triage nurse on the health care line added information to my web info and my common sense. The wasps were likely flying around and eating garbage and along with the venom there's bacteria in my system.

I'm off to a walk-in clinic for antibiotics.