Bleak Season Journal Entry #1: Hornets & Rotting Meat
It’s not quite Bleak Season yet but I just had 2 weird experiences this morning. Here’s the scoop …
What happened:
Saturday, Nov. 7th, 2026 in my yard between 9:30 AM and 10 AM, Thurston County, Washington
Two experiences occurred: First, when I went to feed the chickens and give them water, I noticed the smell of rotting meat in my backyard. It wasn’t a section of the yard, it was all of the yard.
Second, when I went to get the mail from the carrier, I could smell rotting meat along the north property line and facing the road. Then, hornets started to buzz the carrier and me. Probably about 3 by the mailbox. When I closed the gate and went back in the property, 2 more hornets tried to sting me by a giant Colorado Blue Spruce. I was picking up dog dookies when it happened.
What I noticed:
Besides the smell and hornets, it was a normal morning. Cool, damp and mostly sunny. A typical morning for the PNW in early November.
The setting:
Nothing unusual besides the smell and hornets. Dogs went out earlier and had fun running around the yard. The hornets didn’t try to sting them.
The story around it:
There are no tales about creepiness in my town at this time of year. Actually, there are no stories of hornets or rotting meat here. The only monsters you hear about are random coyotes, eagles and bobcats running around the forest.
What I checked:
For the rotting meat, I looked for dead animals along the roadway and in the backyard. I have fences that create alleys between my neighbors but I didn’t find any dead critters.
As for the hornets, I checked lifecycle patterns to see if they’d still be active this late in the year. And they would be if it’s warm enough. The morning temperature was 54℉, which is warm enough for hornets to function. German yellow jackets are also known to use tunnels in berms as they prepare to overwinter. And we do have mole tunnels in the berm. So, the hornets seem to have a natural explanation.
The rotting meat … not so much.
You can participate in the mystery journal project. Check out the Bleak Season and journal posts about what to track for 2026. Also, if you have had a weird experience for this time of year, tell me about it in the comments below.
Thanks for reading Ghostly Activities. Much appreciated and take care!
