Thursday, April 5, 2012

Bees swarming...


Reading up on bees swarming, this is that time of year.  We experienced a bee swarm just recently here at the Casita.  Overnight a big bowlful of buzzing bees had gathered and formed a tight huddle under the old wooden bench in the back garden.  This was not a good situation for Henry or me as we are constantly in that part of the garden, and so I called a good company that removes bees alive and intact.  The beekeeper and his wife came to see the swarm in the afternoon.  "A healthy bunch of honeybees" he said with a smile.  The bees remained huddled, a handful of strays buzzing around.  "Those girls are coming home to join the hive."  Now I have never thought of honeybees as "the girls" but the hive is 99% female after all.  We agreed, and I didn't mind if he took the bench as well, and so Mr. Beekeeper came back the next morning before dawn, as promised.  When I woke up at 7 a.m. they were all gone, the bees, the beekeeper, and the bench.  It's a good feeling, knowing that those honeybees are out there in a field or on a sunny hillside somewhere, free to build their hive without disturbance, and that there is a friendly beekeeper who watches over them.

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