fresh frozen cherries and mint tea - pay attention ...

[billkilpatrick]

very little - if any - mandolin content.

a client of ours served my wife some very refreshing mint tea made like this:

dissolve sugar to taste in boiled water - allow to cool - add a small amount of fresh mint, cover and refrigerate over-night. add several fresh, frozen cherries instead of ice cubes and serve.

[OldSausage]

Nice. That reminds me. I have a wasp nest in one of the garden waste bags in my garage. Anyone got a clue how to get it out of there without getting stung? If I get stung, I may not be able to play the mandolin.

[mandolirius]

Nice. That reminds me. I have a wasp nest in one of the garden waste bags in my garage. Anyone got a clue how to get it out of there without getting stung? If I get stung, I may not be able to play the mandolin.

dissolve sugar to taste in boiled water - allow to cool - add a small amount of fresh mint, cover and refrigerate over-night. add several fresh, frozen cherries instead of ice cubes and serve.

[billkilpatrick]

serving mint tea with iced cherries will only confuse them, gives them the wrong signal - you must be firm, say it's been wild n' wiggy but now it's time to leave.

failing that, there's a spray can of stuff here in italy that shoots something awful at them from a safe distance - you can worry about what it's doing to the environment later.

there's also a rat poison here that works a treat - it's called "ciao, rat."

[Mike Bunting]

How about substituting champagne for the water? It won't be tea but what the heck.

[billkilpatrick]

nice ...

[Brutus1999]

My research has uncovered that the formula used by that great 17th century Italian mandolin luthier, Lloyd Fibonacci, to make his spectacular varnish consisted of the following process:

dissolve sugar to taste in boiled water - allow to cool - add a small amount of fresh mint, cover and refrigerate over-night. add several fresh, frozen cherries instead of ice cubes

[Randi Gormley]

Does he add the wasps for color?

[journeybear]

Nice. That reminds me. I have a wasp nest in one of the garden waste bags in my garage. Anyone got a clue how to get it out of there without getting stung? If I get stung, I may not be able to play the mandolin.

First of all, congrats for finding a way to work MC into this.

OK, take some high alcohol content liquor - Stolichnaya 100, Wild Turkey 101, maybe even 151 rum - and leave it in a shallow bowl (the easier to evaporate) right by the bag. Let it do its thing for a couple hours, as the fumes waft about and intoxicate the wasps. You'll know they're feeling no pain when their buzzing sounds erratic, sort of slurred. Then slip in and close the bag real fast before they know what happened. Easy peas-y. OR imbibe the booze yourself so YOU'RE feeling no pain, at least emboldened, and proceed - just a bit quicker.

OR just leave them alone. Wasps are predatory, and these are very likely reducing the population of other, peskier insects. Enjoy some refreshing mint tea with frozen cherries, play some relaxing mandolin, and reflect on the wonders of nature.

Let us know how it turns out. And if things don't go well, don't blame me. You should know better than to believe everything you see on the internet.

[John McCoy]

Nice. That reminds me. I have a wasp nest in one of the garden waste bags in my garage. Anyone got a clue how to get it out of there without getting stung? If I get stung, I may not be able to play the mandolin.

dissolve sugar to taste in boiled water - allow to cool - add a small amount of fresh mint, cover and refrigerate over-night. add several fresh, frozen cherries instead of ice cubes. Carefully fold in two gallons of kerosene. Serve to wasps (i.e., dump it into the bag), then quickly light match, drop match into bag, and run like heck.

Wait 24 hours. Then contact at least three construction contractors for estimate on new garage.

P.S. to billkilpatrick: That stuff really does sound good.

[Marty Henrickson]

If someone can tell me what insect is peskier than wasps, let me know. I'd spray 'em.

The subject of tea reminds me of Pigpen:

Gotta find a woman be good to me,
Won't hide my liquor, try to serve me tea
'Cause I'm a stone jack-baller and my heart is true,
And I give everything that I got to you, uh yes I will.

[journeybear]

Skeeters, black flies, no-see-ums - these little bugs are going after your blood. Wasps will leave you alone as long as you leave them alone, which is easy enough to do. If they want to go after smaller insects like the above that is fine with me. Not crazy about them living in my space, but if they can make themselves useful, they are welcome.

[billkilpatrick]

mandolin ...

[blueron]

talking of red (cherries) it has only now occurred to me that the Thai name for my favourite fried rice - with 'char siu', or Hongkong-style roast pork, is Khao pad (fried rice) moo daeng (red pork). Once I get a bowl of that stuff down me, there's no stopping afternoon mandolin practice, though short naps can certainly help.

[Dave Hanson]

Pour a large measure of Ardbeg Uigeadail into a glass, no ice or anything, and sip it very slowly, heaven.
Dave H

[Bertram Henze]

Take the juice form one bottle of Ol' Janx Spirit.
Pour into it one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V.
Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to melt into the mixture (it must be properly iced or the benzine is lost).
Allow four liters of Fallian marsh gas to bubble through it, in memory of all those happy hikers who have died of pleasure in the Marshes of Fallia.
Over the back of a silver spoon float a measure of Qualactin Hypermint extract, redolent of all the heady oders of the dark Qualactin Zones, subtle, sweet, and mystic.
Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger. watch it dissolve, spreading the fires of the algolian suns deep into the heart of the drink.
Sprinkle zamphour.
Add an olive.
Drink... but... very carefully.

(from D. Adams' recipe for the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster)

[G7MOF]

Don't you just love the Banter?

[Beanzy]

There was a nest just above our garage door which was beginning to get a bit lively every time the youngster went to get his bike so I used something like this Wasp Nest Foaml or and it was great. I did stick a broad brimmed hat and a head-net on with some gauntlets and my fishing waterproofs incase they went ape before I got the spray on the entrance to the nest.

Then I went and had a G&T with ice & lemon. Simple but great summer evening drink.

[billkilpatrick]

beanzy - that's the stuff - you can spray it accurately from very far away - wasps drop like ... flies

mandolins are very important - don't forget your mandolin

[CelticDude]

Okay, I thought I was paying attention, but... Why do we want minty wasps? Or am I cherry-pickin' the evidence? As opposed to flat-picking? Not to worry, at least I remembered my mandolin (which does make a fine fly swatter and would probably work on stinging insects.)

DWP - up way too early in the AM

[Geordie]

... Wasps will leave you alone as long as you leave them alone...

That's crazy talk. Maybe you have some laid-back wasps in Florida, but around where I live those little suckers will go after you just for looking at them wrong. Wasps can sting multiple times and take full advantage of that fact.

OldSausage; perhaps you could play some mandolin for them? That might calm them down and make them more friendly...

[OldSausage]

Hm, you think music hath powers to soothe the savage mini-beast? I've seen the way they operate when they sense attack, and frankly, dear reader, I fear them. Last time this happened, I was stung four times and found 15 of them on or in my clothing when I (hastily) took it off afterwards.

[Geordie]

Hmm... I just Googled it; it seems that wasps don't have any ears.
So I'd go with CelticDude's suggestion of using the mandolin as a swatter.

[OldSausage]

Hmm... I just Googled it; it seems that wasps don't have any ears.
So I'd go with CelticDude's suggestion of using the mandolin as a swatter.

So pretty much like any normal gig, then.

[journeybear]

Well, people have ears, but they don't always use them. Or they're not wired to their brains or something. So what am I saying? OK - yes, pretty much like any gig.

I dunno, Geordie - never had any problems with wasps here, nor in the fifty years spent in more temperate climes. Yellow jackets, sure - much more aggressive and madly attracted to the sugar in that very soda can right there in your hand ... but wasps - nope.

Isn't there some method for dealing with wasps that involves smoke?