Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Today's Musings On What Not To Do

Summer was in full swing. We suited up and headed to the hives frequently. Refilling sugar water, checking on activity, sitting on our cinder blocks and watching bees go by, and whatever other reason took us in that direction. The bees aren't aggressive and pay us little attention. We've been in other hives that were calm.

Visiting a bee yard and inspecting the top bar hive.

We've been lulled into a false sense of coexistence. We've been stung a few times. It happens. Lynn was stung in the picture above. I was stung in the forehead sitting 20 feet from the hive. Lynn flies back and forth past the hives on the lawnmower with the girls only getting a little agitated. Then you do something you really shouldn't.

A friend visits to see the bees. She's curious about the bees and wants to do an inspection with me. Did I mention it's mid-summer? They're building and collecting at a fast pace and I'm not comfortable moving the boxes yet. Time to move the second deep to look in the bottom one. It's really full and heavy. I'm scared I'll drop it. Lynn wants to help. We argue briefly that he needs to put on a veil. Finally he concedes. We then heatedly discuss his clothing choice. He doesn't listen this time. We both have different recollections of the clothing discussion. But it's my blog! Did I mention he's wearing shorts and a t-shirt? He lifts the box and bees swarm out like a cloud of flies from Ihmotep's mouth in The Mummy.

Next Lynn begins his own dance of the bees. I keep yelling don't drop it. He gets mad thinking I'm worried about hurting the bees. I'm really worried more will swarm out of it after him. He places the box on the ground and dances away. Kind of like his own River Dance mixed with a stork mating display. Slapping at his legs and arms. Jumping with each new sting. He's spinning, slapping, jumping, and waving his arms all while yelling obscenities. Yes we're giggling as we watch him dance around the yard. In total he was stung 8 times. A blessing given his attire.

The fun didn't stop there. To the house for Benadryl and stinger removal. He comes back and appears okay. We finish up in the hive. I put it back together, say goodnight to our friend, and prepare to go to bed. That's when we notice his reaction to the stings. There's red spreading over his body. After a brief consultation with Dr. Google I called 911. The nice lady on the phone says he needs to remain seated and not do anything to raise his heart rate. Lynn isn't listening. He's impersonating a whack a mole. Jump up, sit down, jump up, move somewhere else, sit down, repeat. Oh the number of times I said/yelled/growled "sit down, stop walking, stop getting up, sit down!" The rescue squad arrived and he sat still. They suggested we visit the ER in our own vehicle. The reaction began subsiding on the way so we turned around.

This experience lead to testing which showed allergy to most bees. Now there are shots, full suit worn anywhere near hives, me mowing near the hives, and an epi-pen for outdoor adventures in case a bee is encountered anywhere in life.

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