Rural Life in the UP of Michigan Some stories about life on 160 rural acres in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

It is my belief that doing the right thing should be rewarded. Yesterday, for example, I was working on the firewood project in the woods, and a log rolled onto my toe. I’d just replaced my long suffering steel-toed boots with some beautiful Red Wing safety boots a couple of weeks ago. When the log rolled and my toes were unscathed, I gave myself a mental attaboy for choosing to wear the proper safety gear on the job.

This morning, as I often do this time of year, I walked out to the entryway where the firewood is stored, and gathered what I needed to start a fire in the kitchen stove. The pieces of maple available to me were too big, so I grabbed one and carried it over to my splitting station. As is my (good) habit of many years, I put on my well used hearing protectors, which are shown in the picture. These poor things are probably 20 years old, and the plastic inside the earpiece is all broken up and jagged, such that it isn’t unusual for me to receive a “poke” when I put them on. Today’s poke, when it soaked in, exceeded all other ear pokes put together.

I took the protectors off, looked inside, and was greeted by a pulsing, black and yellow striped butt poking out of the inside. That is when I uttered to myself the famous quote, “That’s a new one.” Instead of being rewarded for using hearing protection when pounding on the firewood splitter maul, I was punished by being stung by a wasp.

Fortunately, this time of year they are sluggish with the cold. I tipped the earpiece upside down and gave it a tap, and the sleep-disturbed lady crawled indignantly away. I wished her well in her journey, and hoped she would find a better place for her long winter’s sleep than the inside of my hearing protectors.