A Memorable Memorial Day – The three (3) B’s: The Bar, Beekeeping, and BBQ
For most people Memorial Day is about the first camp out of
the season, cranking up the grill or the first get together with friends for
the start of summer. For me it is those
things and a day of reflection of the sacrifice that friends of mine has made,
brothers whom I have never met but in the fraternity of having served in the
military.
Memorial Day weekend starts out with many flags put on
graves at many cemeteries, front yards across the country, and readying for
many private and public events across this nation. There are many big events planned during the
weekend such as the 100th running of the Indy 500 where there is
much attention paid to what this time means and why it is celebrated and
remembered.
This Memorial Day was a little different from the last few I
have observed in Alaska with a new twist being in Oregon this year. It was busy but also a laid back weekend with
various things going on. Monday brought
a cloudless day with bright blue skies, the snow-capped peaks of Mt. Hood and
Mt. St. Helens showing on the horizon and warmth in the air that was a
beautiful start to the summer season.
Jan, Nate and I left the house around eleven this morning
with shopping stops for supplies that the bar would need for the coming
week. Normally the shopping is completed
on Sunday but circumstances made for the “chore” to be done on the
holiday. A full size pickup truck load
of food, supplies, and other items were loaded and up to the mountain we headed
to take the weeks provisions. A few
minor things were done at the bar mainly getting ready for a fund raiser “poker
run” for a local boy’s family who was killed at the high school several years
ago by another student. This was a tragedy
for sure but the community still remembers and rallies around the family and
the foundation set up to keep these needless shootings out of our schools. Jan
has been mentoring his sister and family as they cope with life after the
incident.
We left the bar and headed to their bee hives to do the
weekly maintenance and see the progress of how the hives were developing. There are three hives that were started about
two months ago so the colonies are developing and spreading like crazy. I have found it to be an interesting
experience as I have gone with them several times since arriving as they
inspect, feed, and see the progress of the hives.
Today was to inspect to see if the inner chambers were
getting at least 70% full so they could expand and put another layer (box) on
top of the existing one. Out of the
three only one was able to expand this weekend but the other two should be
ready by next week’s inspection.
From Wikipedia on Beekeeping:
Sericulture (or apiculture, from Latin: apis "bee")
is the maintenance of honey bee colonies,
commonly in hives,
by humans. A beekeeper (or apiarist)
keeps bees in order to collect their honey and other products that the hive produces
(including beeswax, propolis, pollen,
and royal jelly), to pollinate crops, or to
produce bees for sale to other beekeepers. A location where bees are kept is
called an apiary or "bee yard".
Beekeeping dates back over 15,000 years with depictions of humans
collecting honey. Modern day apiarists
use a movable comb hive and there are many different types depending on what
part of the world you keep the hives. In
North America the most commonly used hive is called, Langstroth's design who has been called
the father of beekeeping in America. The differences in hive dimensions are insignificant in
comparison to the common factors in all these hives: they are all square or
rectangular; they all use movable wooden frames; they all consist of a floor,
brood-box, honey super, crown-board and roof. Hives have
traditionally been constructed of cedar, pine, or cypress wood,
but in recent years hives made from injection molded dense polystyrene have
become increasingly important.
Hives also use queen excluders between the brood-box and honey
supers to keep the queen from laying eggs in cells next to those containing
honey intended for consumption. Most beekeepers also wear some protective clothing.
Novice beekeepers usually wear gloves and a hooded suit or hat and veil.
Experienced beekeepers sometimes elect not to use gloves because they inhibit
delicate manipulations. The face and neck are the most important areas to
protect, so most beekeepers wear at least a veil. Defensive bees are attracted
to the breath, and a sting on the face can lead to much more pain and swelling
than a sting elsewhere, while a sting on a bare hand can usually be quickly
removed by fingernail scrape to reduce the amount of venom injected.
Smoke is
the beekeeper's third line of defense. Most beekeepers use a
"smoker"—a device designed to generate smoke from the incomplete
combustion of various fuels. Smoke calms bees; it initiates a feeding response
in anticipation of possible hive abandonment due to fire. Smoke also masks
alarm pheromones released by guard bees or when bees are squashed in an
inspection. The ensuing confusion creates an opportunity for the beekeeper to
open the hive and work without triggering a defensive reaction.
A colony of bees consists of three
castes of bee:
·
a queen bee, which is normally the only breeding female in the
colony;
·
a large number of female worker bees, typically 30,000–50,000 in
number;
·
a number of male drones, ranging from thousands in a strong hive in spring to
very few during dearth or cold season.
When we
arrived the group had gathered to do the maintenance and other items needed for
this week’s inspection. Several were
already dressed in their protective clothing including the veil. Jan put her suit on and her friend Mary also
dressed out as they started working on the hives. Each one the lid was removed, the different
hive sections (10 in each box section) were removed, inspected for the comb
making activity, the larvae chambers, and to see if the queen bee was in the
hive.
As
things were pulled apart smoke was used to keep the bees in the hive sections
and swarming around calm.
You
could see their agitation at times when the sections were removed or more when
they were being put back into the boxes.
I think as the 10 sections were re-installed the crowding made the bees
start to swarm as they were being moved or slightly crushed as the sections
were added into the box.
Over the
course of the afternoon only three stings were encountered, two on Mary’s
fingers (no gloves) and on Jan’s arm as she removed her veil several bees
swarmed into her hair and as she could hear them buzzing around her head
started moving too quickly and stung her as she ran her hand through her hair
trying to get out the couple of bees that had gotten into her hair. Nate and I did not suit up but moved slowly
when we were in the swarms or next to the hive parts being removed. I have always learned that bees do not attack
unless provoked so no fast movements or actions doesn’t upset their nature.
After
our beekeeping chores we went over to some friend’s house for a BBQ get
together with several of their friends.
It was a fun afternoon but everyone was ready to head back home to
relax. It was a nice quiet day of
enjoyment and reflection. I hope
everyone had a safe weekend with family and friends.
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