As I was painting Ingrid’s play house, I found the beginnings of a wasps’ nest inside. They’re fast builders: yesterday I saw one of them was flying around there, but no sign of a nest yet. Early this afternoon she had built slightly more than half of the first sphere. Now at ten o’clock when Eric took it down, that sphere was almost closed and she had started on the second layer. It was a beautiful, delicate construction. I wish I didn’t have to destroy it, but kids and wasps in a semi-enclosed room make a really bad combination.

We have had wasps in the garden both last summer and the one before. First they had a nest under the ridge of our roof (outside) and afterwards we kept finding dozens of dead wasps in the bedroom on the other side (which wasn’t in use at the time). The second time they nested inside one of the railway sleepers that make up a low wall around our garden. With a bit of luck perhaps the queen will give up after this failure and go somewhere else.