The Most Dangerous Thing on Granite Glen…
There are many creatures around this neck of Australia that can give you pause.
Some that can make your heart go pitter pat.
And not always in a nice way.
There are animals that it always pays to avoid, or pretend that you just don’t see.
*If I can’t see it, it can’t see me!*
(This is a tactic I try on everything from rats to cane toads and snakes.
Either that, or I call on Mr Incredible to come a ‘get it’ for me.
I am sooooo tough!)
…
But the scariest creature is something I have never actually posted on before…
So, do you want to meet The Most Dangerous Thing on Granite Glen?
OK then, if you think you are really ready for something shocking…
OK then, if you think you are really ready for something shocking…
.
.
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It’s a paper wasp.
A tiny little orange and black insect.
And the sight of one of these little beasties is quite enough to make most of us nervous – a sting can burn like all get out. And the swelling can be fierce. But for some, this little creature can mean something so much worse…
A tiny little orange and black insect.
And the sight of one of these little beasties is quite enough to make most of us nervous – a sting can burn like all get out. And the swelling can be fierce. But for some, this little creature can mean something so much worse…
People, like this guy…
My brother, Pig.This big, burly bushie, this ex-front-row rugby player, this Queensland Schoolboy weightlifter, this ex-B&S fiend and now-father-of-three… is also morbidly allergic to paper wasps.
Like pass out and may not wake up kinda allergic.
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…
And last week, he got bitten by two of the blasted little things.
On the face.
While at the yards by himself.
Wasps often build around yards and watering points. It’s like we humans have made these locations – nooks in gates and fences – especially for them to tuck their pretty little honeycomb-designed homes into. They love the yards especially. And most of the time we never notice their presence… most of us never get stung by them.
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But Pig… honestly, he attracts wasps like honey attracts bees. I have never known anyone to be bitten as much! And every single time it happens, his body goes into serious shock.
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Luckily, yesterday as he did some work on his own and two wasps flew out from the gate he was opening and attacked his face, he had his very last epi-pen with him. He calmly injected himself in the thigh with it, and called us on the two way radio to let us know what happened. Driving back to the house here (so we could keep an eye on him in case he passed out) his hands began to lose sensation and dizziness set in. And for the next two hours, his face purple and stomach churning, he was literally unable to do anything as his body recovered from the sting and the adrenaline shot.
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Luckily, yesterday as he did some work on his own and two wasps flew out from the gate he was opening and attacked his face, he had his very last epi-pen with him. He calmly injected himself in the thigh with it, and called us on the two way radio to let us know what happened. Driving back to the house here (so we could keep an eye on him in case he passed out) his hands began to lose sensation and dizziness set in. And for the next two hours, his face purple and stomach churning, he was literally unable to do anything as his body recovered from the sting and the adrenaline shot.
…
And as I got him a glass of iced water and an empty bowl, I reflected on how shocked I am every single time we go through this process. It began when he was a child – I recall him getting a wasp bite when he was only about three or four while on holiday. He swelled up and swallowed his tongue and was rushed to the ambulance station. It seemed surreal then, and somehow even more so now. This big guy felled by something so seemingly insignificant.
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I thought about how unlucky he is, a man who works every day amongst Mother Nature’s finest and some of her scariest animals, to be unable to physically cope with a drop of poison from one of her smallest creations. 
And I thought about how lucky we are to live in an era when he can carry little lifesaving vials of medicine ready to inject into his leg, to keep his lungs doing their job.
And how, within a couple of hours, he’s back at work beside us in the yards.
And I thought about how lucky we are to live in an era when he can carry little lifesaving vials of medicine ready to inject into his leg, to keep his lungs doing their job. And how, within a couple of hours, he’s back at work beside us in the yards.
Working the branding cradle almost like nothing has happened.
But still feeling the effects of his morning encounter with his mortal foe.
His heart still racing a bit, the dizziness not quite gone.
…
They are tough, these bush boys.
It’s something I think about often.
It’s something I think about often.
And give thanks for.
Amen!
What’s the deadliest thing in your part of the world?
17 Comments
Mary Paddock
I am so glad your brother is okay. How lousy it must be to be so very dangerously allergic to something so very common.
I think you guys have us beaten on spiders, but around here we all have to watch out for Black Widow spiders. Recluses (very common spider also known as a Fiddle Back) can make you pretty sick as well. Copperhead snake bites are pretty foul as well.
Jenni
I’m glad he was okay!
We have a lot of those copperheads Mary mentioned on our property. This used to be a rock quarry and they seem to like the rock. Their bite is very rarely fatal. I think the only fatalities have been very small children bitten in just the wrong place–and I don’t think there has been a fatality from one in a very long time. So, if ya gotta have venomous snakes, copperheads aren’t so bad. I’m thankful rattlesnakes don’t seem to like it here. (I’ve heard some have been found across the river.) And I’m very thankful we don’t have coral snakes like Oklahoma and Texas do. Of course, the armadillos are supposed to stay south of Kansas, too, and they’ve made their way northward. They had just better not bring any coral snakes with them.
sues2u2
Oh boy, am I glad to hear that your brother is okay! (remember I'm one of your former lurkers! ha,ha) That can be quite a terrifying experience.
We've moved here not too long ago so I'm not too certain what the most dangerous critter/insect is but I will tell you what terrifies me the most. We have sun spiders, centipedes, scorpions & killer bees to name a few. Plus there are mountain lions, javalinas (similar to wild pigs) & even bears. We live in Arizona, USA but in a more mts region.
Stay safe!
Pony Girl
Goodness, that is scary! I hate bees and wasps! I haven’t been stung in years, but I’m terrified of it.
We don’t have anything really dangerous around here! 🙂 No scary snakes or spiders. Maybe a brown recluse spider around, but rare. Mostly, if you are outdoors, you have to worry about getting too wet (just kidding.) Or, if you are in the wilderness, maybe cougars or bears.
Deb
I’m so glad your brother is ok – bee sting allergies are incredibly scary. Luckily he stays calm and knows what to do and that you were close by the tend to him.
My youngest had a horrible reaction when he was five and swelled up like a balloon. We did not know he was allergic and he went into full shock. The ambulance transported him to the hospital and gave him a shot of epinephrine on the way. I know that’s what saved his life. Now we have epi-pens for him.
Can’t think of a deadly thing around here – perhaps a bull moose in the rut or a pack of coyotes after one of my sheep but no creepy crawly critters which is fine with me!
Dawna Drake
That is scary! We have wasps and bees obviously but I’m thinking the most deadly is not a creature at all but the wind! If it’s gets cold enough and the wind picks up enough, it can get to -50 celsius (or worse!)
Cactus Jack Splash
I am glad your brother is okay. That is indeed frightening that such a little thing can cause such a horrible reaction.
jeanie
Oh my – I hadn’t heard this had happened – thank goodness for the epipen.
Reddunappy
We have nasty paper wasps and ground yellow jacket wasps, they get bad in our fall, yellow jackets make those damn paper nests everywhere, and I try to keep them sprayed. We have a lot of different kinds of wasps, hornets, and bees. Also the spiders the other gals mentioned.
Around our place it is hard to think of what is dangerous, we have no poisones snakes. I would have to say that racoons are a nuesense, a lot of people feed them, but they carry distemper, and if a human got bit by one it is not a pretty picture.
Natarojo
Yikes! Talk about a close call! There isn’t too much to worry about around here unless your alergic to something. But if you head a few hours East to the Okanagan and Valley, It’s hotter anda little more desert like. Black widows and Rattle snakes aren’t uncommen. They mostly stay up in the hills and not so much in town, but you can never be too careful.
A Novel Woman
Oh, that’s awful!
Well, let’s see. We have bears in the yard at our cottage. They leave their scat on the bottom of the porch steps, which I think is quite rude. But they generally leave us alone and take off running so I wouldn’t call them dangerous, unless of course you get between a mama and her baby.
I did step on a hornet’s nest one summer and those buggers really attack. Two of the beasties got me – one was trapped under my arm and the other beside my right eye. Luckily my glasses stopped it at the bridge of my nose because it was going for my eye, but it still got me good. Now I’ve been stung by bees and wasps before and it’s bloody painful, but they say a hornet has 10 times the venom and I believe it. I felt like I’d been slammed right between the eyes with a hammer. I’m not allergic, but my eyes swelled almost shut and stayed that way for close to two weeks. My kids told me I looked like a cave woman, sweet darlings that they are.
My daughter IS allergic to bees, so it could have been much worse if she had been outside. Let’s hope your brother is lucky enough to avoid them in future. Horrible things….
Jayne
And I hope he restocked his epi-pens immediately?!
Damn lucky.
Debby
EEEEEE-yowza. I’m with Jayne. I hope he restocked his supply of epi-pens right away, even if it requires a special drive into the big smoke.
Questions: How long a drive is it to the nearest medical facility? And again, why in the heck do you call your brother pig?
The most dangerous thing around here is gossips.
Reddirt Woman
Mary Paddock listed most all the ones we have here in Oklahoma, except for rattlesnakes and water moccasins. From what I understand, copperheads and water moccasins are two of the more potentially deadly snakes we have around this area. Of course, if you are allergic to wasps and bees, you better have your epi-pen because we have plenty of those around. It’s amazing how quickly your body reacts to the stings, bites or food allergies. Amazing and scary.
Glad Pig’s alright and back at it.
Helen
Pam
Have just completed a training course on emergency procedures, including epi-pens.The lecturer said the needle was designed to go through wetsuits if necessary.Your brother is brave -scary stuff for him and you!
Andrea
What a scare! I am glad your brother is okay. I am alergic to bees, hornets, wasps, anything like that.
We have deadly snakes. Those are pretty bad here. And huge, not normal sized spiders!! They are gross, and very deadly.
Scotty
Well, my ex-wife still lives a little too close for my liking; does that count?
🙂
Glad to hear your brother is okay though