Prelude "We have some bees, and need them to get out. You can have them, if you want to come and get them." That is how the conversation began last week. I have been catching swarms the past couple of weeks, and so free bees always sound good. But I had a suspicion. "Are theyContinue reading "109… OW! 110 stings."
Cool Day for a Cutout
I had just finished my conversation and was walking back to my truck. Remembering something, I went back inside and handed her my card. "I always forget to do that. Seems silly to carry them around if I am not going to hand them out." "Thank you. We really need those things gone." The womanContinue reading "Cool Day for a Cutout"
Straightforward. Yeah, right.
"WHY would I use the word 'straightforward' in ANY sentence involving beehive removal work??" I stared at the wall, hoping solutions would appear. Solutions failed to appear. I stared some more. Solutions persisted in their absence. The job was supposed to be relatively straightforward. My boss at the Corps had a hive that had shownContinue reading "Straightforward. Yeah, right."
Scammed. Dammit.
...in which our hero briefly gets involved with Cameroon gangsters while trying to buy a queen. Maybe three. I have a newly relocated hive, and it appears that the queen did not join her comrades in the move. So I need a queen. I have helped a friend of mine, Danny Ferguson, capture a coupleContinue reading "Scammed. Dammit."
Gotta run for shelter, gotta run for shade
Kool & the Gang had it right. It's too hot. Too hot, lady. With temperatures at or over 100 degrees this week, my only refuge was to work in the early morning hours. This past week I scheduled a removal from a cemetery. A couple of weeks ago the tornado came through and tore upContinue reading "Gotta run for shelter, gotta run for shade"
Equal and Opposite
...in which our hero learns the important lesson of Newton's Laws of Motion. The job could not be more straightforward. (I have learned to say that only afterward, but this one truly was.) Dinah had asked me to remove a hive from a house on her property so that she could move the house toContinue reading "Equal and Opposite"
Panic in the suit
I love bees, and I love reading and learning and understanding more about bees. But I am no bee whisperer. One of the statements I get a lot is, "I guess you have gotten to where stings don't bother you." Um, nope. Not at all. They hurt like the blue blazes, and it is aContinue reading "Panic in the suit"
Tornado Bees
Rolling Fork, MS, was hit by an EF4 tornado. The town is destroyed. Cars on top of houses. Tractor trailers thrown through houses. Houses on top of trucks. The entire town looks like a Hollywood set for a post-apocalyptic thriller. Three days after the storm, one of my co-workers, a lovely woman who works asContinue reading "Tornado Bees"
Un-Churched Bees
"This one will be easy." I have got to learn not to say that. But this one was going to be easy. Bees coming and going from the corner of the downstairs window in the Holly Grove Missionary Church. A flimsy interior wall that had belonged to the pastor's study. All I would have toContinue reading "Un-Churched Bees"
"I don't usually do beehive removals in the winter." Removal work is seasonal, I went on to explain to Chris - the guy on the other end of the line. But it isn't just because the bees are active or not active - it is more a matter of their survivability once they have beenContinue reading
Stockholm’s Bees
My plan is to use a mob to incite a riot. As far as my plans go, today's is a good one. But there are a LOT of things that can go wrong. I helped split some hives yesterday. One of those hives had a series of queen cells, with one of the queens justContinue reading "Stockholm’s Bees"
Stalin with a Southern Accent
Bee suits are meant to be worn standing up. When you are standing up, the veil is held away from your face, and the double layering of the cloth of the suit falls loosely away from your body. Any angry bee with a grudge sting that manages to penetrate the first layer of the clothContinue reading "Stalin with a Southern Accent"
When things just…work
Years ago, back before online commercials were common, Honda released an online commercial. At 2 minutes long, it was a mesmerizing video of a Rube Goldberg interaction, starting with a rolling hex nut that started a long series of chain-reaction touches, concluding with the rolling of the Honda Accord across the floor. At the endContinue reading "When things just…work"
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