The scene of the infestation!
Hubby and I spent another fine weekend deep in campground country chilllaxin’ this weekend. And yes, we brought my shit shack with us; otherwise known as Nat’s Stool Shed (why hubby has chosen that nickname is beyond me…I only use it for number 1). I think he’s having a sign made. How wonderful.
Anyway….back to the point of my story. We soon discovered that it’s caterpillar season at the campground. There were oodles of the little creatures everywhere. Mostly the white/black type which kind of freaked me out because I had heard they can be deadly. After a little Google search, turns out I was being a wee bit dramatic (shocking…I know….). They aren’t deadly but some people can have an allergic reaction to them in the form of an itchy rash after touching. So I was not going near them.
In all honesty, I am just not a huge bug fan. Hubby is actually surprised I enjoy camping as much as I do given my distaste for all things insect. Bugs, ants, spiders, flies…UGH. I mean, I am not afraid of ALL of them but I certainly don’t want to be BFF with any of them. And yes, I do scream and flail around like an epileptic having a seizure when I surprisingly find something on me. This weekend, that happened a lot.
There we’d be…playing crib at the picnic table. I’d be kicking hubby’s butt when I’d just happen to glance down at my lap and BAM…one of the white crawling devils would be plotting my rash demise. I’d leap up in a single bound, scream hysterically and start doing the dance of “get this freaking creepy caterpillar off me NOW!!!!”
UGH!
It was exhausting standing on guard all the time. Where were these bad boys coming from and how the heck were they getting on my lap? I started wearing a hat fearing they had hidden wings and were circling the obvious weakest link.
But I must say hubby proved to be my hero time and time again.
He got up from the table or his chair a hundred times to “magically sweep” away the persistent little bastards. This was no small job given the world-wide domination and infestation that was going on (perhaps being a tad dramatic here but there were a LOT of them). Not to mention, I started developing a keen eye for spotting one within a 20 foot parameter of what I deemed my “caterpillar-free safety zone”. I armed hubby with a fly swatter and was commander-in-chief sending him out into battle over and over again.
“Hubby…there’s one over there crawling over a leaf 10 feet from the fire pit on the left hand side next to the green twig. Quick…get him!!”
No insecticide needed here. I had Soldier Hubby in the trenches fighting the good fight; being the deet to my Deep Woods Off.
I gotta say, there’s nothing quite so romantic as your loved one putting a smile on his face time and time again regardless of the incessant inconvenience to do you a solid.
Sweep. Me. Off. My. Feet.
How does your significant other sweep you off your feet? What things does he/she do that you know deep down drives him/her batty, but they do it anyway…with a smile…for you? Come on…share the wealth….
More blog deliciousness here:
- August McLaughlin’s post on learning to trust our instincts was bang on. Not just in your writing life but across the board!
- Loved this post by Lisa Hall-Wilson on what makes a real man. So timely with today’s post because I am so grateful that I held out for hubby…he is the real deal! And the real deal is always worth waiting for.
- Fab post by Elena Aitken on taking time to unplug and how important it is that we all do it from time to time. Tks for the wonderful reminder girl!
What a great guy! He’s a keeper, for sure! I hear ya on the bugs, Natalie, esp. when there is an “infestation” of them. Ugh.
My honey’s fab, too! We’re not “outdoorsy” folks usually, but he is the patient spider/cricket/beetle/bee trapper of the household, LOL. Here’s a particularly icky specimen that got into our basement (I DO NOT want to know HOW) which he valiantly disposed of (hope the link works!): http://www.flickr.com/photos/kbowenwriter/7618981458/
The picture worked and I vomited a little bit in my mouth. O.M.G!!!!! Your hubby is a freaking SUPER STAR!!! God love him…save the day…
I’m going to forward you some of my MASQUE samples so you can thank him appropriately. LOL!!!
Holy crap, Kathy! I don’t think I’d ever have been able to go back in the house!! What if it *bred* or had a wolf coven or something…
Oh, the bugs. Yikes. Don’t even have me start on that. Blah. I don’t camp. Period. We went camping once (yes, once), I think it was in 1999 or 2000 and after one night we both decided that hotels are our best bet, haha. There was a yellow jacket nest somewhere close to our tent, so you can imagine the speed in which we were packing and leaving.
Talk about bad luck for your first camping experience Angela. LOL!! Yellow jacket nest – good lord. NO FUN!!
Hubby was saying this weekend that he sees a switch from camping to hotels….someday! LOL!!
Such a great guy! And come on…the fuzzy little caterpillars are cute! Just yesterday the kids and I found one on the road and named him before releasing him (in a much safer place).
But wasps…you can keep them! and we seem to have an infestation of them currently. EEP
1 caterpillar (from a distance) is cute! 35+/- caterpillars are NOT cute! LOL!!
I was encouraging hubby to do catch and release for the first few hours. Then I got tired of them coming back. I said “murder the bastards and lay the dead out for their brothers and sisters to see…so they know…to stay away!” I thought it was a fair warning. LOL!!!
Yeah, wasps are NO fun. When we lived in the mini home, I was mowing the lawn (I think the one and only time) and I just happened to mow a nest of wasp. Hubby said he looked over to find me doing the most insane dance in the middle of the front yard screaming like a banshee…not pretty! I only got one sting but it hurt like hell!
Bug free way to be. LOL!!
Aw!
I love it, Natalie. It really is the simple things that show us how much we’re loved—even the
So glad you had a fabulous weekend, devoid of killer bugs!
not-so-obvious/non-Hallmark moment-type things.
I have to say, I’ve never felt as loved as I have when my hubby’s been there to help me through a gross, sick-feeling, most un-glamourous times. And this weekend he spent time scrubbing my headlights (UM… Totally not what I mean, you naughties out there. LOL) *clears throat* I mean my CAR’s headlights to make sure I can safely see.
Awwwww….your hubby deserves gold stars too August. I agree, it’s those little un-glam moments of true love that make our hearts go pitter patter!!! Love it!!!
Totally! Also…thanks for the super shout out.
Your support means so much. *hugs*
Absolutely gorgeous!!!
HUGS!!!
Yeah, I figured she was using code for “if you know what I mean.”
Yay for your hubby! My hubby takes care of all the creepy crawlies. Good thing, because I once broke my finger after going all ballistic trying to get away from a spider!
ROFL!! That’s awesome Coleen. In the name of SAFETY, he has to take care of these things. I mean…we can’t have you getting hurt!!! LOL!!
Gotta love husband who care so much…and are braver than us! LOL!!
I think your hubby, by virtue of his wife protection skills, deserves to be nominated for Mr. September, too.
Yet another reason I prefer hotels over tents. The flush feature is the main reason (though I would love to see the sign for Nat’s Stool Shed…LOLOL!), but bugs are a close second. Unless it’s a big spider, I don’t scream or dance (unless the spider happens to be found on me…and then I’m an extremely good dancer), but I hate them all. Not an outdoorsy kind of person in any way.
Hmm…searching my vast store of memories here… Nope, can’t say that any guy in my life has ever swept me off my feet. Guess I need to reevaluate my expectations and add feet sweeping to the list.
Flush factor…WAHAHAHA!! Love it Kristy!!!
It is definitely one of the downfalls to camping. I keep hubby hoping with bug bashing requests. LOL!!
YES…definitely add feet sweeping to the list. A must have and well worth the wait.
Mr. September eh? I likes the sound of that! Hahaha!
Another month of finger snap/pointing with head tilted to the side as I reply in my best lounge singer impression….”Mr. August!” in response to Nat’s questions like:
Who do you think you are?
Who’s going to clean this mess up?
What do you want to be for Halloween this year?
Who has to be right all the time?
And thus questions keep rolling in…
But if I was both August and September….would I have to portmanteau into Mr. Augtember?
I leave that to my fans….is that a caterpillar?
I can’t take it people…Mr. August was enough….TRUST ME!! LOL!!!
I love you Caterpillar Defender!!!
Oh, I simply might have to rise to the Mr. September challenge now that he’s thrown the “P” word out there…
You go girl! If anyone can ‘rise’ to the occasion, it is you…give the Ol’ guy a run for his money…
Hmmmm…I’ll have to see.
Aww – thanks for the link. Great story. Bugs don’t bother me. I grew up with a younger brother and a bunch of cousins. They stop chasing you with worms and other creepy crawlies if you don’t run away and scream.
You…are my hero Lisa…brave girl! Hubby can only dare dream that I grow used to the critters.
Awww, that’s sweet. Not everyone has their very own bug beater. We have the opposite situation in my house. I am very calm whenever I feel something crawling on me. I freeze, examine, determine whether or not I’m in danger, then take required action if necessary. My husband just swats, flails his arms around, jumps up and down, screams, whatever. He’s a big wuss. And he often gets stung because he annoys the hell out of the bees by swatting at them. Duh. Just sit still you silly.
But he is my hero because he cleans the bath tub for me so I can take my long soaks. I hate sittng down in a gritty or scummy bathrub and thanks to my hubs, I never have to clean the tub.
Sounds like we both got keepers.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
OMG seriously?!?! LOL!! I love it Jansen.
Hubby was totally telling me the SAME thing this past weekend whenever a wasp would fly near. He’d tell me to use Tai Chi type slow movement instead of flailing around like a banshee. Luckily, I didn’t get stung but keeping my cool was a struggle.
Bathtub scrubber extraordinaire. Love it! Definitely both keepers!
I just wrote about how my hubster keeps surprising me! We are lucky!
Funny post. I have never heard of “shit shack” although I have spent some time in them!
I saw your post Susie. Love that he brought cheese and wine ON the trail. DREAMBOAT!
LOL!! I love my little shit shack! That’s for sure. LOL!
Thanks for stopping by my virtual hike!
Give another “Hubby” a shot at Mr. September …sounds like there are plenty of candidates to pick from.
Gotta love hearing that there are so many other GREAT hubbies/partners out there. Warms my heart…
Well I can see that you and hubby have quite the set up in the deep woods Natalie. But what was up with the creepy crawly buggers? Hate them. That is why my husband has always been my hero. And also why I do not sleep on the ground in a tent. A pop-up tent-trailer or RV is the way I roll girlfriend. Even though you were on red-alert, glad to know you both had a fantastic weekend!
Girl…you roll right!! LOL!!!
Love it. Thanks so much Karen. It rocks that your hubby is your hero too – gotta love keepers!
Even on red-alert, any weekend with hubby is fab.u.lous! LOL!
True love … pure and simple.
Amen to that Patricia!
Hey, Natalie – Why don’t you get one of the huge rats being trained to sniff out IEDs in Afghanistan to take camping with you – only order yours to sniff out bugs and such. I’m with you on not liking the creepy crawley stuff. Hubby and I have an agreement – our idea of camping is a minimum 4 star hotel that turns down our sheets and we have to have a chocolate (European of course) on the pillow.
GENIUS Sheri!!!! LOL!!
Well your idea of glaming is quite…LOVELY I’d say!! Magical….hehehehe
I don’t kill bugs in their natural habitat unless they get on me, but I do call in the Handy Hubster to vanquish all roaches that dare to cross the threshold of our house. (Nasty things.) I have to give you super-kudos for your willingness to camp out. That’s one area in which I’m a total princess! Our church is having a family campout this fall, and I asked, “Are there any Hyatts nearby?”
I don’t blame you on the roaches Julie. NASTY!! Love the Handy Hubster term of endearment. LOL! That’s fantastic.
A Hyatt nearby…LOL!! Here’s hoping….