I was over at my brothers property where I cut wood, he is eventually building a house there and lets me cut trees that will be in the way of the house in the future . Part of the deal is that I cut the 'junk softwood out of the way when I go for hardwood. The plan Saturday which was fairly raw and cold was to clear out a bunch of small stuff that I had been leaving standing until we decided where to dump them, When reviewing the area for hazards and figuring out a cutting plan, I noticed a large paper wasp nest hanging up in the trees. I watched it for awhile and there was no activity and figured out it was abandoned. I worked on some other wood for awhile before returning to the area with the nest. I started cutting in that direction of the nest and didn't pay much attention to the nest, but when I did it wasn't active. I finally cut a tree immediately next to the nest which when the tree fell shook the nest. I had the chainsaw helmet on and when I looked up I saw the nest with this black liquid pouring out the side through a hole. It took me a few seconds to figure out that wasn't liquid and the nest was active. I quickly cleared out and avoided getting swarmed. I figure the cold damp weather is what saved me as the wasps were most likely groggy inside. We are going to leave the nest for a few weeks until we get a hard frost.
Wasn't all bad, after the near miss I dropped a nice white birch some distance away, bucked it up and hand split it before loading it in the truck.
Wasn't all bad, after the near miss I dropped a nice white birch some distance away, bucked it up and hand split it before loading it in the truck.
How big was the nest?
