The next installment of my beekeeping course was last night. I seem to be getting more excited about the topic as I go along. I almost signed up for some bees last night. What stopped me at first was the fact that I go to Nebraska every summer. Would it be okay to leave the bees for a month each year? As it turns out, summer is the time you’re supposed to leave the bees alone. The honey harvest comes some time during the summer, but besides that, they hardly need any attention at all.
The other thing that kept me from signing up for bees was last night’s topic: getting stung. It helped to hear Steve talk about it, but not having been stung in so long, I am really freaked out about it. He said things like ounce-for-ounce, bee venom is more deadly than cobra venom. But you have to be stung by 2,500 bees to get enough venom to die.
I wonder if I could just ask him to bring a bee in so I could have it sting me. Then I could get the first sting all over with. He said that after a while you build up a tolerance for it, but at first there is some swelling of your hand or even your whole arm. Sheesh!
Steve’s wife was there, and they had brought many of his photography prints, which were gorgeous. They also brought some honey, but I didn’t get any because I still have about a quart left from the gallon bottle I bought in Nebraska a couple summers ago.
I did get a book they were selling. It’s used as a college textbook, so it’s usually really expensive, but they could offer it for cheap because they know the author. In fact, they had asked him to sign the copies they were selling. Cool!
I’ve never been stung by a bee or wasp. (Now it’s going to happen today – thanks, fate.) To ask to be stung on purpose is crazy, although I’ve heard of people’s ailments being helped by bee stings. Maybe you could get some bees to sting your back!
Well dang.
I was going to bring you unprocessed honey next week.
You know, the kind with tiny bee bits still suspended in it?
Yeah! Beth is coming! Beth is coming!
Where are we going to dinner?
She has a long list of places she wants to go, but only two nights. Do you think it would be okay to go to dinner twice each night? We could visit a vomitorium in between meals.
Can we assume a Crab & Shrimp House is on the top of her list?
Maybe we have to plan a nice lunch…while all the student teachers teach.
The Latin teacher in me says “Io, vomitorium!” The co-op in me says “What Kim suggested works for me ‘cept my prize doesn’t do her thing until the last two periods of the day so how late can lunch be?”
And oh yea…next week Beth arrives! Woo Hoo!!
Brad, there are many more things that hurt worse than a bee sting…I am going to walk down the hall and hit you with a hammer now. Maybe that would put things in perspective for you.
And if drinking out of those dirty gatorade bottles haven’t killed you, a little bee venom won’t either.
Can I be there when you ask the teacher to bring in just 1 bee to sting you? Maybee he could make a whole class lesson around your reaction!
You mean my reaction of screaming like a girl and crying uncontrollably?
So how much does a Baltimore Municipal Beekeeping Permit cost?
Oh, Beth is coming! Maybe we can sneak up to Baltimore & meet you all for one of those dinners…
That would be so fun!!
And a double bonus, if it doesn’t work this thim, I’ll be back at the end of April for my second visit of the Student Teachers.
YAY!! I’m goin’ to Balto, I’m goin’ to Balto
(Sung to the tune of “I got some ice cream and you ain’t got none.” You all know that one, don’t you? What’s that from anyway? Karla? You always know that stuff.)
As soon as I read I’m goin’ to Balto, I was hearing the tune… you didn’t even need to tell me! What are the dates?
Probably April 22-25, but I haven’t bought tickets yet.
That’s from a SNL skit that Eddie Murphy did. I think he was making fun of poor people. “I got some ice cream, you don’t have none. Your mom’s on welfare, your dad’s in prison.” Ice cream drops to the ground; he picks it up and starts eating it again.
…or something like that.
Okay, I just found it on YouTube. It was from his standup routine, not SNL. Sorry about that. Anywho, here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JfMCBh1sJQ. But I have to warn you, it’s R rated. I mean, we are talking early Eddie Murphy. The ice cream taunting starts after 1:50 mark.
Brad, does your beekeeping class include bee whispering skilz? If you, you probably could have helped these poor folks the other day.
D’oh! I meant to say “If so,” …
The teacher of my class said that when you transport bees, you seal them in their container. Otherwise, they’ll come out and get lost. So the guy in that truck either was doing it wrong, or was involved in the accident, or let them go on purpose.