Closet-wall, Day 3. (The Wasp)

2/12/19:

Building Summary: Today I measured, cut, and fastened supports to the closet-wall. In doing so, I made two wall frames into one. I also cut an additional 16-foot 2×6 into two 95 ¾” boards so I could fasten them in as the vertical lengths for the inner side of my bedroom/office shelving.

Commentary: It is 9:33 PM here and I still have yet to make dinner, so I’ll be keeping this post rather short. Before I describe today’s highlight, however, I must note that I was quite pleased with my progress today. I went from having two wobbly wall-frames to having one sturdy closet-wall ‘shell’. Tomorrow, I plan on fortifying it further and possibly shimming it up so the top 2x6s can be fastened to the ceiling with self-tapping screws

As for the highlight, it came about when I was messing about with the 16-foot 2×6. Whilst doing so, I saw a red wood-wasp flying around. I thought it was just enjoying the meal I had provided for it (a nice, new pressure-treated piece of lumber), so I let it be (bee) and didn’t think anymore about it.

However, as I was measuring the board, I felt a sudden sting on the underside of my arm. I quickly slapped the spot (more like bashed it), but nothing came of the maneuver. The red wasp was still flying around, but it didn’t seem to be in attack mode. Hoping the sting was just my imagination, I picked up the measure tape once more, and began to measure. This time, however, my entire arm jolted in such a way that the tape got thrown a short distance.

It took me a few moments to figure out what was happening. Apparently, the long board I was measuring was overlapping the electric wire that protects Jacobhouse from invading cattle. Thus, it wasn’t a wasp that was attacking me… It was electrified measuring tape.