Attack of the Wasps!

I had fixed all the roof problems some time ago, but in every life, a little rain must fall. A new leak has developed that has baffled me once again. I tried one thing, and took care of most of it, but one small leak remained. I studied the problem again and decided I needed to try once again to eliminate it. I bought a new can of tar and was waiting for a nice hot day to spread it along my latest discovery. Today was a nice warm 98 degrees so I got up on the roof to spread some more tar. I had a problem many years ago (near 40) where the leak came in on one side of the house but started on the other, so I studied the roof line and tarred accordingly. Break time came and I was out of beer so I headed into town to get some for when I finished the job. There has been a bad wasp problem this year and they have made nests up under the soffits. I checked earlier and checked for wasps the second time I was up there today and I didn’t see any wasps so I thought I was good on that score. The second time during my tarring process, the wasps had returned unknown to me from wherever they spend their days. They were huddled around their entrance under the soffits. I was working about 10 feet away and everything was fine. Joyce stuck her head out the door and yelled up to me saying it was 98 degrees and I needed to get off the roof which happened to be closer to 140 degrees in the sun. I told her I was finishing up and was working in the shade at that time. She said okay and went back in the house. When she went inside, the door slammed and that set the wasps into frenzy. They attacked me from behind with an entire squadron of kamikaze fanatics. One stung me hard and two others hit my shirt, but did not penetrate enough to bother me. I jumped up, pulled my wide-brimmed hat of and started swatting at them (a trick I learned from my son-in-law). That broke their attack long enough for me to get off the roof. I had sprayed the area two weeks ago, but apparently the sprays available these days are not strong enough to do anything but annoy them. I know the EPA has had manufacturers dilute chemicals to protect the environment, but that little trick has done nothing to protect me! The good news is I only have one bad sting to suffer with and hopefully I have solved yet another roof leak. Perhaps Tuesday’s predicted rain will make me very happy when the roof no longer leaks. I am starting to get up in years and do not need to get up on roofs any more.