Some bees done, some go away

 

Following on from the previous post.....

 

 

It was late in the evening. Time to do.

 

With stealth did Lester carry the newly purchased beehive out to the old rabbit hutches, putting it down, quickly, silently, just in case the bees in the box woke up. They don't like him. He put them in the box in the first place. They would have preferred to stay glued to the underside of the rabbit cages.



 

Oh dear. A minor problem. Hive needed to be put on block bricks. Bees still oblivious.

 

 

 

Back indoors. Bee suit on. Tucked into several layers of trousering. Hopefully the bees will not find their way inside the suit like they did a few days ago. Not to worry. The stinging pain of the stings did not last very long.

 

Back outside. Pick up still asleep box of bees. Ah. A slight rustle. No probs. Box still closed.

 

......oh so carefully opening the lid of the box...

 

...bees now not so asleep....

 

 

With speed Lester upends the box.

Bees fall into their new home. Upside down. A bunch of very unhappy bees.





 

 

Best to get the lid on before all hell lets loose.

 

 

And well done to Lester.

And well done the long range lens of the Lumix camera.

And well done to the bees who are now all settled in.

 

However, it would appear that we have inadvertently got a swarm production line here,

because five days later, and the bees in the original hive were at it again,

and a few days later there was a humungous load of bees flying around,

eventually settling on a nearby branch.

 

And not so well done to me, because the battery of my camera had gone flat!

Not to worry,

I parked myself on a chair near to where they were swarming,

put an umbrella up to shield myself from the sun,

and watched.

It was absolutely fascinating.

And when they were settled down,

I said to them,

"If you would like to stay here you will be more than welcome,

but if you want to go somewhere else, then that is OK as well".

They went.

I didn't see them go because I was busy elsewhere,

but when I saw them gone, I looked up into the sky and wished them bon voyage.

It was like sending a grown up child out into the world.

And it came into my mind, that although we are not exactly the most efficient of bee keepers at the moment because we are not managing the hives well enough to get a honey harvest, (when bees swarm they take the stored honey with them), we are doing our bit towards helping the declining bee population by having a hive which is sufficiently healthy enough to act as a swarm production line.

 

*****

The Bollards ( our little band) : we had our first little gig a week ago. There is room for improvement, but we are only a month old, and we did rise to the challenge.......

 

 

John (left) on homemade drum. Lester (centre). Kathy (right)

Boolie (centre) feeling the pain of listening to us rehearse.

 

We now have a rhythm guitarist (Mike), and Sarah from down the lane at La Maison des Chameaux has joined us a trainee whistle and banjo player.

I, meanwhile, am back on the keyboard, because a heavy jamming session whilst playing the piano accordion has sprained my hands and wrists. Not to worry. I can still make a noise.

 

That's all for now. Hope you make music. It is fun.

 

Vx