In my yard tool shed every summer I have 4 or 5 paperwasp nests hanging there and I have found other places where there are several of these paperwasp nests close to each other. This sounds like something looking for a reason to exist to me. These paperwasps have always been very gentle and do not mind my messing around near their nests, unlike their cousins the Yellow Jackets that most often nest in the ground and are just mean and ornery.

I have a wonderful upscale restaurant that has its own gardens but buys literally tons of my goods. It advertises as buying local and is highly touted. He advertises my business extensively and puts my farm's name all over his menu. It is the best relationship I have with any customer. He calls me up, asks what I've got, and I simply pick and deliver it. I've had nothing but compliments from them. Other restaurants mainly buy my fruit for their pies. I call them up, tell them what I have, and deliver. There couldn't be an easier way of moving a lot of fruit and produce when it's in season. I have a list of customers on an e-mail list---kinda like an informal CSA. I enjoy it, but it's a lot more complicated. As I've noted before, our market is abysmal. You'll put in twelve hours of work and maybe only make $35. It is really pathetic. Brook

I am a little over halfway done rebuilding everything. I am getting good at patching together hoops from a pile of bent pipes. My cordless reciprocating saw is getting some good use. The high tunnel is 26 pieces of top rail; I bought 3 new ones. The rest will be the smashed pipes. It will be lumpy when I'm done, but it will still work. I had high hopes for the sleeve clamps, but they are junk. They rip apart immediately under stress. I have had much better luck by cutting up pieces of 1.5" EMT conduit elbows. They fit over the outside of the top rail. I think I could use the elbows to make an A-frame with top rail quite easily. A gothic arch would be trickier, but by cutting sections of the EMT elbow, I can make sleeve clamps that are angled. I'm surprised I hadn't read anything anywhere about connecting top rail with EMT elbows. It is easy and cheap. A 1.5" 90 degree elbow is about $4. Cut in half, it makes two nice 45 degree elbows. Tek screws hold it all together. If the same EMT pieces were sold as special greenhouse connectors, they would be 10x the price.

Looks like a Cicada Killer wasp, a large ground dwelling, solitary wasp who's usual pray are adult cicadas. It is the male wasp who behaves aggressively, comicality so. He is totally unarmed and harmless, however. The larger female will only defend her nest and is very loath to sting. Good thing, too. They are said to have one of the most painful of all bee, wasp, or hornet stings. I have nothing to compare it to, but I can tell you that I accidentally stepped on one with a bare foot......youch!