To Bee Or Not To Bee
Peter Robinson ·
April 18, 2011 at 7:27pm
The drama of the hour chez nous this morning? Honeybees. Over the last 24 hours
a swarm has taken up residence in our back yard, attaching itself to the bottom of the kids' trampoline, to the perplexity, as you'll see nearby, of our poodle, Crusoe, and, most recently, engulfing several branches of an oleander bush about a dozen feet off
the ground, where the swarm now remains, as witness the other photo.
The attitude of my three fine teenaged sons? "Well, Dad, just what exactly do you intend to do about this?" Dad, who awoke this morning with the general attitude that the day ought to be devoted to celebrating his birthday, and not to warding off the incursions of an indifferent Nature, has yet to figure it out.
I'll keep you posted.
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Comments:
Feb '11
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Peter Robinson:
The attitude of my three fine teenaged sons? "Well, Dad, just what exactly do you intend to do about this?" Dad, who awoke this morning with the general attitude that the day ought to be devoted to celebrating his birthday, and not to warding off the incursions of an indifferent Nature, has yet to figure it out.
Peter, first of all, happy birthday. What a great birthday gift it must be to have three teenage sons who, I am sure, are fully capable of taking care of these bees as a homage to their father's birthday.
May '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Peter -
First off, I figure that you're about 3 years older than I, so Happy Bithday 39 ver. O. ( I am hovering at 39 ver. L.)
You need to call a beekeeper. With the Hive Collapse Syndrome seen in recent years the bees need to cared for.
Jul '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
I just knew this would happen if the House passed Paul Ryan's budget.
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
What an incredible sight! I'm almost jealous.
And I thought global warming was supposed to have killed all the bees...
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
As of this hour, we've found a beekeeper. He's on his way.
More when he arrives.
(And thanks for the bday wishes, utra and EJ.)
Mar '11
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Happy Birthday, Peter - even the bees wish to join the party!
My only comment about the bees is....please put cutie Crusoe inside. Your new visitors might mistake him for an oleander bush!
Sep '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Happy B(ee) Day.
May '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
What a great Birthday story! The happy B(ee) Day above is just too good. Have a great day.
Jul '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Peter, in the logging camp where I spent a great deal of my childhood, we got four massive insect swarms each summer - golden monarch and yellow swallowtail butterflies; dragonflies and ladybug beetles.
The swarms numbered in the millions; perhaps the hundreds of millions. If one stepped outside during the ladybug swarm, one would almost instantly be covered in a tickly garment of the little beasts. The butterfly swarms were so numerous that they literally blanketed the ground for acres. And the dragonflies filled the air so densely that one couldn't make out objects a hundred feet away.
Each swarm lasted for a day, sometimes two. Millions of lovely little creatures descended upon a square mile in the Sierras, went about the business of engendering their next generation and then, overnight, disappeared.
Dec '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Happy B(ee)irthday!
Feb '11
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Happy birthday, Peter. I hope it's better than anything you wished it to b(ee).
May '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
This is plainly a sign God wants you to take up bee-keeping, Peter. It's the ideal hobby for conservatives and writers, and Catholics.
I did it and loved it for a few years before we moved to an in-town house with a tiny yard. Mine were Buckfast bees--a breed developed at Buckfast Abbey in England by an ancient bee-keeping monk, Bro. Ambrose.
Now I settle for the similarly sweet and rewarding hobby of maple-sugaring in the spring.
But I do miss my bees.
Dec '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Happy birthday! And it's good to see that reports of Colony Collapse Syndrome seem to be exaggerated, at least in your neck of the woods.
May '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Just take comfort in the fact that it was bees, and not locusts or frogs.
Nov '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Happy Birthday Peter. I hope the bees are gone before the newly proposed Bee Tax becomes reality in California.
Oct '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
I look forward to purchasing Ricochet brand honey--fresh from Peter Robinson's back yard bee farm.
Dec '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Happy birthday. Your job will never be done. Reagan battled hive mentality into his 80's.
Oct '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
Happy B Day. Mine was yesterday, happened to fall on an Easter Sunday of long ago. Dear old Mom always reminded me I had spoiled her Easter ! Thanks Mom...
Hope the bees were not of the variety with a bad attitude from further South.... Not good for the family or dogs... Or did that thought occur ?
Nov '10
Re: To Bee Or Not To Bee
The answers you seek may be found here (language warning.)