"Expense is no problem," says Oren. "By stocking my own beehives, I keep the price down. My do-it-myself approach ensures that Mother Nature's own sweetener remains pure as Los Angeles smog during the food's passage from blossom to beehive to user, to stomach."
Oren works in the great outdoors, despite the cold Slabovian winters. He says that beekeepers get enough fresh air to drive any latent city-born smog from their lungs. During his fifty decades of herding his bees, Oren has never seen a functional beehive thrive inside a house. His bees operate better out in the open where the sage and the rattlesnakes grow.
"If you aren't too ambitious," says Oren, "you can make all of your hive visitations during the weekends. The bees know their jobs better than you do. They don't need an outsider telling them how to make their personal brand of ambrosia."
Beehives seldom have time clocks. If you want to sleep in past six in the morning, the bees will applaud you. They even sleep later than that when the weather is bad. The only exceptions occur when the queen is off on a housecleaning spree and doesn't want drones or worker bees clogging her space.
Bees are smart. They seldom venture forth during snowstorms or freezes. "As a matter of fact," says Oren, "that's when the queen bees schedule most of their housekeeping chores."
However, Mother Nature ensures that nothing is perfect. As an example, bee stings hurt. Oren found that out the hard way and now uses protective gear to limit the stings should his bees get obstinate, cold, or a little bit cranky.
Veils provide good protection most of the time. However, they can develop a Judas complex and let an itinerant bee slip in once in a while. "I discovered this shortcoming the hard way," says Oren. "When I was in college, I took my girlfriend out to help me inspect the hives. All worked well until a bee slipped under her bonnet and threatened to sue her for entrapment. Before I could save her, it plunged its stinger into her lip and gave her a full shot of venom. Her friends then ostracized me, claiming that I had bit her during a clinch. She, in turn, decided to date another student who didn't keep taking her on such dangerous field trips."
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Henry L. Lefevre's Retirement topic, please visit the Discussions page.