my friends, the bald faced hornets

i like these guys ... we leave them alone, (mostly) and they leave us alone and amuse us with their wonderful creations ... it seems that every year we have a nest of them somewhere, usually in an out of the way place on the house or in the woods nearby ... i was wondering where they were this year until i spotted them last night while sitting on my back deck and looking up at the incredible blue fall sky .. hi guys ... nice spot you picked this year ... probably the best one yet ... click the photos to enlarge them ...

last year they were occasionally warmed by the outside lights

but one year they decided to do the garage door thing, which made me nervous each time i backed the convertible out with the top down. in the end, with regret now, i nuked them in early august when the buzzing got really loud ...

and here they were, high in the tree tops back in 2008 ...