Hornet Swarm Hat

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=92 BGCOLOR="#111111" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#33CCFF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B>Seven  Creeks  Roadside  Spring Water</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Seven Creeks Roadside Spring Water"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id547.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Judge halts water bottling operation">Judge halts water bottling operation</A>   |   <A HREF="id548.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Flying Squirrel Story">Flying Squirrel Story</A>   |   <A HREF="id589.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PostGazette Article">Post-Gazette Article</A>   |   <B>Hornet Swarm Hat</B>   |   <A HREF="id726.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Misc">Misc</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#111111" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> We tend to remember when bad things happen to us and forget when things work out for the better. When things start looking down, I'll just try to remember how lucky I was on this day.  </div> </td> <td valign="top" height=388 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#111111" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <I>Hornet Swarm Hat</I></div> <div>  </div> <div> In the summer of 2007 while cutting grass at the spring with a riding lawnmower, I cut between a telephone pole and guy wire. Just as I passed between them, I felt a sting on my forearm. Flying around my face were hornets. For some reason, I flipped off my tape colored hard hat by hitting the underside of the brim. I  thought of running and jumping into a amsll pool of water in the nearby creek but I noticed the hornets were gone. I stopped the mower about  20 feet beyond where my hat had landed and swarming around it were at least 200 hornets swarming all around my colored hardhat lying on the ground, and not one on me. They had come from a nest on the guy wire hidden by Japanese Knotweed branches in the background. I got bit on both arms and my neck, and each swelled considerably. If I had been bitten by all those hornets I might have died or most certainly would have been hospitalized. If I had grabbed my hat with my hand on the top, I probably would have had more stings on it. Just luck? I don't think so. Too many coincidences. Someone or something was definitely looking after me that afternoon. I always wear my hardhat when I work or am in the woods to keep from hitting my head. This time it may have saved my life. Below is a picture of me and my hardhat and to the right where I am  pointing is the hornets nest. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="1c63cc2d0.jpg" border=0 width="460" height="557" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> </tr></table></body>