Yellowjackets

There was a story in yesterday's paper about how wasps are a bigger problem than usual this year (at least I think that's what it said), which isn't too surprising since last weekend I think we had to kill at least six yellowjackets (or the Swiss equivalent) in our house. Windows here by and large don't have screens (mosquitoes are only a minor nuisance), so when it's warm and you open the windows, you get all sorts of little critters--most of which fortunately aren't as menacing as yellowjackets--in the house. This gives Grady endless hours of amusement, as he sharpens his reflexes trying to catch flies and moths. [On a tangentially related note, we were walking Grady one evening last week when he all of sudden tried to pounce on something. We pulled him away and there was an animal of some sort that looked a little like a porcupine (or echidna, for our Aussie friends), but since it didn't stick quills in any of us, we think it was probably a hedgehog instead. Fortunately no harm seemed to be done; it curled into a ball and Grady went merrily on his way.]