he other day I showed you our little Fairy House in the Catalpa tree and mentioned that we were doing some work around the tree. There’s more to the story. Many of you know that, for as long as we’ve lived here, there have been honey bees who lived in the Catalpa tree. Thousands of them hovered around a big opening in the tree, peacefully flying back and forth, making honey and we all got on swimmingly. Until last year. Early last spring, we noticed a bee aggressively flying at Don when he was in the dog corral which was at least 15 feet away from the tree. We wondered about it but shrugged it off as a one-time bizarre occurrence.
Later that summer, when I came back from Wisconsin, it became obvious that something was wrong when I was repeatedly attacked if I got too near the tree, especially if I was mowing the lawn. I was stung more than once. It got so bad that we couldn’t mow the lawn on that side of the property.
So we consulted a bee keeper named Chris Harp. Chris is a true lover of nature and bees and tends hives for many people throughout the Hudson Valley. He is also a teaches workshops on beekeeping. He is a gentle soul and reminds me of a character out of an Agatha Christie mystery set in the British countryside. Chris came and looked at the hive and promptly got stung on the lip. He was shocked because honeybees just don’t do that. An African Bee strain had evidently been bred in the current batch of bees – they weren’t fully African bees, or I would have been stung to death – and they were so aggressive that they would have to be killed. We put that off because of the money it would cost and also because of concerns about the tree. If we were to put some sort of poison in the tree to kill the bees, would it kill our Catalpa? Plus, I hated the idea of killing them. We ended up steering clear of that part of the yard.
Fast forward to the present. I have been keeping an eye on the tree ever since it started getting warm and I hadn’t seen any bee activity. Don called Chris, who said if that was the case, the bees didn’t make it through the winter. I was greatly relieved and grateful that they died naturally. He told us to cover the holes with window screen mesh to discourage some new bee scout from attempting to set up camp there. So, besides cutting away brambles, that’s what we were doing that day by the Catalpa.
Chris came by last night and brought a bee box with him. His idea is to see if any bees are attracted to the wax in the tree and the wax in the box. If they are, they will start to fly in and out of the box and I am to call Chris and he will come collect them. That way he gets some bees for his work and any possible interlopers go to the box and not the tree. We get the benefit of his time and expertise and he gets some bees. A good trade.
The bee box has to be placed so that it is fairly elevated and facing in a southeasterly direction. So we put it up on our non-working car. And there it is.
Chris is such a neat guy, with so much fascinating information about bees to share. Don said talking to Chris about the social life of bees; the hierarchy, the fights, the queen, reminds him of a Shakespearean plot loaded with royalty and betrayal and battles – and he’s right. Chris travels around in his van with his faithful shepherd, Maggie, at his side. I could talk to him for hours. We’re indeed fortunate to know Chris. We need more nature lovers like him.
As for Pinterest:
es, I got the email from Pinterest about their updated Terms of Service, but I see nothing in the document that addresses my primary concern, that of copyright infringement and the fact that we (the users) are liable for any copyright infringement, not Pinterest. Pinterest has clarified that they are not going to sell any pinned images. They’ve made it easier to file a complaint about copyright infringement. But there’s nothing there about the biggest concern that bloggers seem to have (including myself.)
I’ve seen a couple of posts celebrating the changes. If the changes listed above were the ones troubling these bloggers, then that’s great. However, make sure you read the entire document. Yes, Pinterest is responding positively to certain complaints, and that’s to be applauded, but they haven’t addressed the biggest one yet. Perhaps they are planning to in the future? Here’s hoping they are.
And one more thing about Etsy:
have this idea. Would those of you who have ordered scarves or shawls from our Etsy shop consider sending a photo of yourself wearing the scarf? I’d love to collect them for a post and I know seeing you in our creations would just tickle Meredith and me. If you’re willing, we’d be so grateful. You can send it to me at the email address on my sidebar. Thank you, thank you!
Very interesting about the bees! We are already seeing bees and wasps flying around…seems so early. This Pinterest stuff going around is confusing. I am afraid to pin anything…am I doing something wrong? I only pin what is on Pinterest already. I may just delete everything and not worry about it. As for pics of wearing your very pretty scarf.. I would be glad to do it! ~Hugs, Patti
I hope you capture your honey bees. I had bee boxes years ago and they are very fun to keep. Enjoy your day!
Chris sound wonderful, Claudia. Any guy that takes his dog around with him in his van/car/truck, etc. is A-okay in my book!
Perhaps Shakespeare kept bees :)
Donna
Good Morning Claudia Sweetie…
What a great share this morning. I so enjoyed reading about the bees, and am so happy that so far they haven’t invaded your tree and yard space again this year. How wonderful of Chris to bring a bee box and assist you all in covering the tree space. Hopefully there will be no stings this year.
Thanks for the share Claudia. I love reading your stories. Hope you are doing well dear one. Many hugs and much love, Sherry
I have a fear of bees, so just the thought of getting stung repeatedly gives me the chills. I am so glad you were able to find someone to take care of it and in such a loving caring way!
Blessings, Joanne
We have the kind of bees (yellow jackets) that make big tunnels in the ground and they sting if you get near them. Glad your bee issue is resolved.
We had a giant bee hive in one of our avocado trees, and had it removed. Such an interesting process!!!
I adore bees. I actually wanted to try beekeeping, but I know I would not be able to devote the time to it that it needs- maybe some day when I work less. I would LOVE to be able to talk to Chris for an afternoon- what great info you must have learned!!
That is scary about the bees being aggressive. I learned something from this post. So glad tht you had your friend come. He has the right kind of knowledge to know what to do, for sure. I want to see the car with the bee box on it.
I am right there with you about Pinterest. We can look but not pin. I am so busy with blogs I don’t have time to.
Thanks for stoping by Cozy Blanket.
I will send a picture of my scarf.
African bees have become a huge problem in Texas. We have a little cottage on a lake in South Texas and a hive that was in our shed, was taken over by the African bees. My son-in-law and young grandsons were outside, there, while my SIL was mowing. The bees came out in a swarm and attacked. SIL yelled at the boys to run to the neighbor’s house. They didn’t get stung buy their father did, many times.
His brother, was working on heavy equipment in another South Texas area and was stung by hundreds of African bees. He was in critical condition, in intensive care, but lived. The doctors were amazed that he survived that many stings. It can be a huge problem and is very dangerous. We have paid hundreds of dollars to have the bees exterminated, but others come back.
nancyr
What a beautiful catalpa tree, it looks huge, and I am glad to hear the bees are gone.
I am highly allergic to them, so I avoid bees as much as possible. Chris sounds very interesting, the world needs more gentle souls like him.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Bees are so interesting. I had a friend who worked bees and I learned so much from him. Glad they died naturally because I’m afraid they might have gotten progressively more aggressive and could have really been a problem. I wasn’t impressed by Pinterests new policy either. hugs, Linda
I’m glad the bee problem resolved itself! I’d like to know who wrote the amendments to the Pinterest agreement. Their ‘legal department’ appears to have grade five English. ~ Maureen
I guess God fixed those errant bees over the winter for you! We always had honey bees on our farm in PA. My Uncle was a beeman (as we called him) and he would collect and maintain the hives and give us honey for the winter. I loved the sweet clover honey the best.
I haven’t done much with Pinterest but thanks for the information. xo Diana
Dear Claudia, What a bee story,-
I think I would have been scared, if it had been here- we have had whesps qubes-which my husbond poisened, but that`s totally different from bees. You were lucky they did not survive the winter. As for Pinterest I agree with you–they did not change the main case…
Hugs,Dorthe
WOW!!!!…YOU SHOULD WRITE A BOOK…..YOU SURE HAVE THE STORIES…
THANK GOD THEY ARE GONE…..HOPE THEY DON’T COME BACK…..TAKE CARE…RIZZI
As sad as it will be, for you and your garden, not to have the bees around, you’re doing the right thing, Claudia! It’s unsafe for you to have aggressive bees so close to your home, preventing you from carrying on with everyday life. I’m waiting for the indoor cleaning bug to hit me. Right now I’m using all my energies OUTside….
I was so interested in your bee post. We have bees in our house rafters. So far they are not aggresive but we have to do something about them soon. I am afraid that honey will start dripping from the interior ceilings. Wish Chris lived in my area.
I can´t believe you have been living with those bees so close – urrgggh, I´m SO afraid of bees. I do hope the problem is solved naturally.
As for the pinterest – I got that email too and though exactly the same as you – no changes…
I’m glad the bee saga has been figured out and taken care of. I remember when they were terrorizing your guys.
Brenda
I’m glad the bee issue seems to have resolved itself. And a great idea to put screen over the bee home.
I just started a Pinterest account. Maybe I’ll bow out before I get too attached to it.
Very much enjoyed the bee story and I am not surprised by your care and cautious nature regarding “nature”.
AS for Pinterest. I think their changes are pretty feeble, self serving and did not sway me one bit..
I think most people ignore the realities of Twitter FB and google etc. but my eyes are VERY open..
xx
z
hi Claudia
It’s been awhile since I commented, but I have been lurking:) I know nothing about bees,so this was very interesting to me.
I’ll be back soon.
Leann
Interesting post about the bees. It’s fortunate that Chris is an expert. It sounds like you are in good hands. It’s sad that people have to try to improve on mother nature and end-up messing things up. It’s scary to think that the aggressive Africanized bees are making their way to the Northeast. I’ve been stung many times during my life and now I have to carry an epi-pen. About three years ago I was stunk 4 times on my ankle and my head swelled, I broke out in hives and my tongue began swelling. My husband rushed me to the emergency room. It was very scary! I’m not giving up gardening and keep my epi-pen on-hand!
Okay time to get to bed. I just realized I said I was stunk by bees! Well, it stunk that I was stung and had an allergic reaction :)
Too bad we live on opposite coasts or my hubby would have been over to try to collect the bees. He just order bee lures to try to to entice some bees to come live at our place (well, the bee’s back in the back). We lost one of our hives to a bear attack a couple weeks ago. As soon as I work up some courage, I’ll have to go back and take some picture (the hubby’s the beekeeper in this family).
I’ve never seen bees living in a tree like that!….
and I just LOVE how your paragraphs start with a really neat letter. How did you make that happen?
Eek! African bees!! So glad they didn’t hang around x
I have a terrible fear of bees. It ranks right up there with my shop phobia, so I would have definitely been freaked out. Glad you will be able to use that part of your yard again.
I have tried to use the alphabet, but have found on blogger it bleeds in with my post (has a shadow around it, which I can’t get rid of). Wondering if anyone else has had that problem.
Laura