Today a friend said she had two swarms of bees at her house and I could come get one if I wanted. But it was about 20 feet up in a tree.
I like a challenge. The hub was reluctant, in the middle of a project… but he’s a game guy. This time our 13 year-old daughter came too, all three of us suited up in our bee suits.
It was a huge swarm. Actually, the two swarms merged into one. We went back and forth with ideas of how best to get it down, if it was even possible. The professionals from our bee club said it was too high; they’d just leave it.
But we figured out a plan. The hub climbed up a ladder tethered to his truck, lassoed the branch with a rope and shook this huge swarm into a big crate he held underneath. The air was suddenly buzzing with thousands of bees. One part split off and swarmed to a tree a little ways away. But we got our bees and took them home to rehive.
Once they were rehived they started swarming again. It is now an hour and a half before sundown, when bees like to be inside. Not sure what their plan is, or if there is a problem with the log hive we put them in. Or if they have more than one queen and therefore need more than one hive.
So we will see. And meanwhile, I go back to writing. I planned to write outdoors today, to have an outdoor day, like camping at home, enjoying the glorious weather, but with a comfortable bed at night. Instead, I’ve been chasing bees.
What do you do when the unpredictable happens? Because life is that way, right? And we have to flow with it, or get swept away. I’m going to flow as best I can, and write now. Then check the bees. Hope for the best.
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