First, I want to let you know how much I appreciate you, my followers and readers. Sometime in May, I passed 2000 followers! What a surprise! It seems these things happen when I’m not watching the numbers. I wish I could read every post of every follower, and while that might be possible, life calls me to a variety of responsibilities and adventures. I do enjoy learning about people from all over the world as we share our ideas, hopes and dreams. Thank you for your patience and your support!
♥ ♥ ♥
Next up, my story, “I Almost Gave Up on Romance,” is now available in
I’d submitted stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul twice before, but they weren’t accepted. Another reminder to persevere! As I begin reading The Miracle of Love, I’m finding the stories rejuvenating and easy-to-read.
If you’d like the juicy (and mostly clean) details of my story, just click on my book, Trust the Timing, up on the right side bar for more information.
And now to the BEES!
A little while ago I mentioned about the bees in the wall at my church and our plan to bring them to our backyard. It took a couple of weeks to get everything ready including putting up a fence around the bee area to keep Doodle out. Then we had to wait for the rain to stop. During that waiting, David noticed fewer bees coming out of holes in the brick and wondered if they’d “swarmed” to a new location.
On Monday, he opened up the wall while I handed him stuff and took pictures.
Once David opened up another section of wall, he discovered there were only a only few hundred bees and no brood. Most hives have several thousand bees. The original hive had swarmed. The bees present were likely “robber” bees from another hive attracted to the remaining honey. I prefer to think of them as scavenger bees doing a job.
David vacuumed the bees out of the wall with a very gentle vacuum he built himself. The inside of the hose was smooth which is extremely important for bee survival. I’d been worried about this common procedure, but it worked.
Since this collection of bees was not really a hive (there was no queen), David decided to let them go. When he opened the box outside, hundreds of bees immediately flew away – hopefully to their own hive. A small group hung around getting their bearings, but went home before dark.
Being an aspiring vegan, I’m not 100% comfortable with this whole process, though it is interesting. David, who jokes about being allergic to fun, greatly enjoys working with bees. He had fun even though he didn’t get to bring home a hive. So I’m supporting him in this interest and learning a lot about bees myself. Besides, the bees could not stay in our church wall, especially since our music director is allergic to them. The more I learn about bees, the more I appreciate them. As pollinators, they are part of a wonderful system and responsible for most of the food we eat.
Here’s a moving video about compassion for one special bee.