Monday, August 22, 2011

Bees

The Farmer just stumbled across some pics of the day the bees came to the house.
This was at The Farmers previous farm.
The Farmer was out of town and got a call from the Farmers Wife
She was frantic, bees were everywhere.
She asked if she should try to spray them with something.
Bees are our friends The Farmer explained.
The Farmer called around and found The Bee Keeper.

This was the shot taken by The Farmers Wife from the safety of the house.
It doesn't do justice to the number of bees but you get the idea.

By the time The Farmer got home they were all settled in one spot

The Bee Keeper arrived armed with bee keepers attire
and a squirt bottle of water

He had a big box of empty honeycombs
A few drops of queen bee pheromone
and way more nerve than The Farmer

The Farmer stayed suprisingly close to document the event.
First The Bee Keeper sprayed the swarm with water.
He explained that in his opinion smoke upsets bees.
Cool water just makes them huddle closer.
This way they keep the queen warm and dry.

Now for the real fun part.

By jently resting a comb section under the swarm
and shaking the branch a bit.


The Bee Keeper was able to remove most of the bees this way.
He used three or four comb sections and placed them into the hive box.

Now The Farmer is a friend of bees.
But .
He is very nervous of being around them.
A few nasty life shaping events have helped this feeling ingrain itself.
So standing there while this was done was a great feat of bravery.
Many of the bees didn't want to go into the box with the rest.
They flew all around The Farmer and Bee Keeper.
The Bee Keeper told The Farmer to stay calm and move slowly.
There the two of them stood chatting for an hour and a half.
As sunset fell every bee eventualy entered the box to be with it's Queen.
The Bee Keeper slid a little door closed on the box.
He put it in the back seat of his little Bee Keepers car.
Then he drove off into the night
happy to be the keeper of a brand new hive of honey bees.



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