We got up early yesterday morning and headed into Salt Lake to pick up two "packages" of Italian bees. Each package or box contains one queen and 2 1/2 pounds of worker bees. That translates to approximately 10,000 bees in each box!
We put them in the back of the suburban and listened to the buzzing all the way home. There were a couple of stray bees flying around by the time we got home but they seemed more interested in their sisters than in us which was good! Nonetheless, it was sort of a tense drive home!
When we got home Bob put on his bee suit and headed to the backyard. He pried out the can of sugar water that was feeding the bees and then removed the queen who was in her own little cage inside the box and put her down in the hive. Then he turned the box over and started shaking the bees out into the hive. 
This was the point I decided to retreat inside and watch from the window! Dart wouldn't leave though. The bees just fascinated him. He is standing just beside Bob and tried to catch and eat the bees! It was fun until they had enough of him and started stinging him! He would run away and roll to get the bees off and then go back for more! He might not be the smartest dog in the world...This is some video I took of the package of bees. I wanted to record the sound of all the bees buzzing - it's a one of a kind sound, that's for sure. Anyway, it has been fun and amazingly peaceful to watch the bees humming around their new hives and all the blossoms on the trees. They really do seem to be as gentle as the books say they are. If you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. In spite of all the shaking and everything Bob had to do to install the bees in their hives he got stung only once and it was by a bee that got trapped in his pant leg and couldn't get out. Next time he is going to put rubber bands around his ankles!
3 comments:
I'm absolutely loving Bob doing his thing and you supporting him. And bees are just cool! Yet looking at all of them crawling around gave me the shivers.
It has been a while since I stopped by your blog. What fun you have been up to! Not sure about the bee thing. We planned a special primary quarterly activity to the Palmyra temple last summer and just as we were starting with our opening song a bunch of kids started screaming. We had placed our blanket too close to a nest and disturbed the little guys. Half the kids got stung as well as most of the adults. What was supposed to be a great experience for the kids at the temple didn't turn out so great. You could hear crying kids saying "I never want to go to the temple again" or "this the the worst place ever!" Not quite the message we as a primary presidency wanted the kids to leave with:)
That's pretty cool! Sometimes I think it would be neat to have a beehive. I haven't stopped by in awhile, but I was looking at past posts, and I can't believe how big your kids are getting! Gracie is so big now!! :)
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