Happy Bees Are Here Again...

Had to go visit the livestock and see how they were doing. Earlier, the air in front of the super was thick with arriving and departing flights. These gals have super air traffic control.


Here we see them on the runway and parked in the hanger for the evening. Just a little traffic left. Some of the girls go out for an evening adventure, but they are back before dark.

I think they have accepted their new home. When I opened the top to check on the feeder, only a couple flew up. The rest were busy doing bee things.


Well fed bees are happy bees, I guess. Notice the level of the syrup. It was full to the top yesterday evening. You have to wonder how many thousands of miles a little feeder adds to their lifespans. Looks like one jar a week will likely keep them flush. Silly autofocus couldn't make up its mind what was important.

Settin' Back An' Bein' Cool

It looks as though the swarm has accepted their new home. I went in this evening, (smoking, of course) and they hardly flew up. I added a deep super, with only two frames along each of the sides and the center clear, set a a pair of 3/8" high blocks crossway on the top bars of the super below, and put in a feeder jar with 50-50 sugar syrup. That should make them happier. Then I removed the entry reducer and added a ventilated top cover.

Now to let my female slaves go to work!!

Hived a Swarm

Young Matt comes home a little after 11PM and says the neighbor told him earlier in the day that a swarm of bees was hanging in a bush at the back of their lot. We go out and look -- certainment, bees. Beautiful bees. Tight cluster, but big. Only 3 feet off the ground. I staple a super onto a bottom board, insert a reducer, and off we go. Matt stands back about 20 feet and plays the light on the swarm. I hold up the super, letting the bottom of the swarm touch the top bars of the frames, and give the branch a yank.

Bulls-eye! Almost the whole swarm drops on top of the bars, and after a moment or two, starts to disappear between the frames. Queenie must have headed for the innards. I scoop up a few of the fallen bees, brush most of the ones on the lip of the super onto the bars, and pop on a top cover. My gauntlet blocks the reducer entry. I start carrying it to its spot. Bees are heavier than you think.

Then it starts to happen. I feel movement inside my jeans. Soon there is a burning sensation. Then another. Then another. Smart aleck Matt. Tells me I should have tied off my cuffs.

I set the super down, and head for the house. Matt is trailing behind with the light. He should not have walked past the super. He gets to the bottom of the hill and complains bees are all over him. Not many, really, maybe 2 dozen. I understand, though. It can feel like a lot more. I tell him to turn off the light and stand still, then get a rag and go to him and start brushing them off. Soon he is clean. Me, not so easy.

So, we killed a few, we lost a few, but I figure between 40,000 - 50,000 went into their new home. I had some drawn comb in the super; maybe they will stay. I hope so. Just be careful where you walk in our yard for the next few days. Those ladies were not happy.

Michelle will be coming home from work in a short while. I hope things are calmed down on the deck by then. I'm going to sleep. Its after midnight and I have to be on the road to Columbus at 5:45.

WhatIfI?

So yesterday I slipped the clutch on my mind and let it free-wheel, and with Demogogic Party politics in the news, I began to fantasize. What if someone were to illegally run for Congress? Well, why not. They could be an Official Illegal Congressman. To get there would require violating election law and getting elected anyway.

The political parties have a lock on the US electoral system, except at the grassroots level. If a person wants to run for President, and is not the annointed cherub of his party, he is out of luck. You just ain't gonna make it as a write-in. It takes money, and money has to be accounted for to the Elections Police. Same thing for the office of Senator or Congressor. (I just made that one up, but you have to admit, it makes sense in a gender-neutral world, and follows general grammatical structure.) Now that Obama has finished (or nearly so) his jihad against Hilary and is ready to take the battle to Gentleman Johnny, it may not be politic to mention McCain-Feingold, but that law and other FEC regulations make a home-brewed, roll-your-own candidacy very difficult.

Nevertheless, I Have A Dream. A real nightstallion. So this guy runs for Congress in the 13th Ohio District as a write-in. In order for the votes to count (if he actually got any) he would have to file as a write-in candidate with the Boards of Elections in Summit, Medina, and Lorain Counties. That must be done by September 3 of this year. What if, until that time, he were not officially running for anything? What if an Internet campaign were waged, with no political committee -- just a bunch of wild mushrooms posting "Vote for The Illegal One" posts everywhere? Sig files that said, "Vote for The Illegal One". Handmade posters tacked up all over the district, unorganized (heh, heh) and officially unrecognized, saying "Vote for The Illegal One". "I'm The Illegal One, and I didn't approve of this message, but I'm not going to stop anyone from saying what they think".

Yes, I know the name of The Illegal One would have to be inserted in that space to be effective, but what if, come election day 2008, The Illegal One took the seat as a write-in candidate? Would that not tie some shorts and panties in knots in Washington?

And what could be done about a person who said repeatedly, "If you elect me to Congress, this is what I will not do", if he were not an official candidate until September 3? Could he be arrested or fined for campaigning illegally, if he were not officially a candidate? And what if he did not have any election expenses (think grassroots, unorganized, etc.) to report? Could he be jailed for violating campaign finance reform laws due to the fact that he did not have any campaign finances?

I generally eat oatmeal in the morning. Just think what the nightstallions would be like if I had oatmeal nightcaps.

And no, I have never smoked marijuana, even if I was exposed to marijuana smoke from students in the restroom next to my classroom. (And you wondered where some of your teachers got those silly grins -- it was an occupational hazard.)

Now here's a thought. Maybe its the apples. Do nightstallions like apples?

Oh, and before I'm done, a plug. Visit NorthernLightsWool.com sometime. But not too soon, because we haven't put a page there yet.