Tuesday 27 July 2010

Oi! Stop nicking bits of my shed

I noticed a few weeks ago that the paintwork on my studio exterior is weathering in a very odd manner.

I discovered the culprits today - wasps are nicking bits of my shed and taking it away to build their nests. I don't remember this happening last year. The shed was painted with preservative shortly after I got it about two years ago. I guess that last year, the preservative was still quite fresh and tasted bad for nest building. This is all telling me it's time to re-paint the shed. I'll wait till the Autumn when the wasps have stopped nest building.

Tom up the road (he of ferret fame) has done a lovely job of repainting the large old timber barns outside his place in black.

It looks very traditional, which also appeals. I'm very tempted to do mine black as well. I know black tends to absorb heat but the studio is insulated on the inside with Kingspan on the roof and sides so I don't think it being a darker colour will make it much hotter than it already gets in summer. I find mornings are cooler for beadmaking, by lunchtime, the sun moves round and is streaming through the windows which ramps up the temperature a bit too high for comfort even with the window and door open and the fan going full blast. I tend to spend hot afternoons indoors making jewellery. As we live in a stone cottage with thick walls, the downstairs is relatively cool.

If I find the studio does get much hotter afer it's painted, I'll just have to wait for a year before the wasps get at it again!

4 comments:

  1. I like dark colours on fences and sheds. Even grass growing beside them looks greener. Paint it black :-) x x x

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  2. Those wasps are probably building themselves a new shed with the amount of stuff they've nicked! hmmmmmm - have you actually looked in your shed for wasp activity cos they are renowned for building nests in sheds .... bzzzzzzzzzzzz

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  3. Hi Midge - you talked me into it, black it is!

    Hi Sandy, no sign of them inside, occasionally one appears but they soon buzz off. They are too busy raising the next generation, they don't have any time to make a nuisance of themselves just yet. I only noticed the one I photographed by pure chance. Give them a month or so and I'll be blogging about how annoying they are!

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  4. Oh no! Watch out everybody! If a wasp gets in her shed the mad hysterical woman will soon be doing her half naked demented Scottish Kaylee/Morris type dancing while doing the girlie shrieking type noise. *YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*

    ;O)

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