Brosville
Queen Bee
Rock and roll...........
Unfortunately, not the easy way (the easy way is that they like the look of it and move in unaided).......... There's me quietly drinking tea, discussing the finer points of night before last's TV programme about the vicar living without money on another forum at about 10.30 yesterday morning, looking forward to meeting a couple of fellow top bar users at the local bee fair at lunchtime....... and in wanders 'er indoors - "there's a swarm in the trees opposite the drive"
Elation rapidly turns to "omigawd" when I realise it's 20' up in a mix of holly, briar and blackthorn (amongst others). Try to enlist help of local swarm man - no reply - obviously at bee fair, 2 miles away...... race to bee fair, find swarm fella engrossed in arranging stuff for auction - "let's hope they're still there tomorrow"..........
Return home, 'phone friend who used to have fire engine...... silly sod has sold it!.... enlist help of very obliging neighbour with long ladder, and spend a good hour at the top of a long ladder hacking away spiky bits to be able to get a cardboard box under them..... as it's blooming hot, leave veil off while snipping and get stung in corner of eyelid....
back up ladder with veil and box, position box under big swarm and attach string to branch - retire to ground level and yank heftily several times, satisfying "plop" as swarm lands in box - carry down ladder, place on ground covered in sheet, thank neighbour profusely, and retire for tea and swift hurtle to meet bee bods.......... (decide to leave the bees in the box until around 7, then move them........)
Upon return three hours later, check to see if they're ok - gorn, not there, cluttered off.......... say lots of rude words, come in and put kettle on - while it's boiling, pop back out with binoculars, scan treetops - nowhere......... Just about to give up - there they were, all clustered round a tree at waist height.
Decide it's time for the big guns, so smoke the bejaysus out of them, and brush into cardboard box, cover with sheet and walk the dogs.......... eye swelling magnificently......
Then at 7 carry the sheet-swathed box into garden and place carefully on ground close to hive - pick up box to put them in hive, box does collapsing act due to hefty weight of bees.......... I won't go into the gory details, but after a great deal of ballet dancing, loads of my patent "smoking twirls" (when you just get totally surrounded by angry bees, you "make smoke" like first world war battleship and revolve out of harm's way...), and sheets pinned to front of top bar hive under the entrances, they are now safely esconced.
Madness? - probably! - but having watched the only bees for sale at the bee fair fetching £290 for a small "nuc", well worth it!
Unfortunately, not the easy way (the easy way is that they like the look of it and move in unaided).......... There's me quietly drinking tea, discussing the finer points of night before last's TV programme about the vicar living without money on another forum at about 10.30 yesterday morning, looking forward to meeting a couple of fellow top bar users at the local bee fair at lunchtime....... and in wanders 'er indoors - "there's a swarm in the trees opposite the drive"
Elation rapidly turns to "omigawd" when I realise it's 20' up in a mix of holly, briar and blackthorn (amongst others). Try to enlist help of local swarm man - no reply - obviously at bee fair, 2 miles away...... race to bee fair, find swarm fella engrossed in arranging stuff for auction - "let's hope they're still there tomorrow"..........
Return home, 'phone friend who used to have fire engine...... silly sod has sold it!.... enlist help of very obliging neighbour with long ladder, and spend a good hour at the top of a long ladder hacking away spiky bits to be able to get a cardboard box under them..... as it's blooming hot, leave veil off while snipping and get stung in corner of eyelid....
back up ladder with veil and box, position box under big swarm and attach string to branch - retire to ground level and yank heftily several times, satisfying "plop" as swarm lands in box - carry down ladder, place on ground covered in sheet, thank neighbour profusely, and retire for tea and swift hurtle to meet bee bods.......... (decide to leave the bees in the box until around 7, then move them........)
Upon return three hours later, check to see if they're ok - gorn, not there, cluttered off.......... say lots of rude words, come in and put kettle on - while it's boiling, pop back out with binoculars, scan treetops - nowhere......... Just about to give up - there they were, all clustered round a tree at waist height.
Decide it's time for the big guns, so smoke the bejaysus out of them, and brush into cardboard box, cover with sheet and walk the dogs.......... eye swelling magnificently......
Then at 7 carry the sheet-swathed box into garden and place carefully on ground close to hive - pick up box to put them in hive, box does collapsing act due to hefty weight of bees.......... I won't go into the gory details, but after a great deal of ballet dancing, loads of my patent "smoking twirls" (when you just get totally surrounded by angry bees, you "make smoke" like first world war battleship and revolve out of harm's way...), and sheets pinned to front of top bar hive under the entrances, they are now safely esconced.
Madness? - probably! - but having watched the only bees for sale at the bee fair fetching £290 for a small "nuc", well worth it!
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