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Author Topic: Death of a Beekeeper  (Read 5047 times)

Offline newbee101

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Death of a Beekeeper
« on: December 11, 2005, 12:43:28 pm »
A beekeeper I have never actually met, passed away from cancer. I recieved the hive from the family to take care of, hopefully to give back to him if he recovered. He did not. I went out to the hive and placed his veil and smoker on top. I knocked gently on the hive and whispered to the bees, your owner has passed away. I told them that I was going to take care of them now.
R.I.P Mr. Kovacks
"To bee or not to bee"

Offline ApisM

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Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2006, 11:09:06 pm »
It is good that you did that for him.  His spirit is with all those bees that worked hard for him during his years on earth.  He is in a better place now.

Cheers.
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Offline latebee

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Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #2 on: January 07, 2006, 10:56:26 pm »
Your  kind act of celebrating death is profound.Years ago when I was studying the history of beekeeping many authors mentioned the fact that during the middle ages in Europe, people believed bees actually mourned the loss of thier keeper. Stories of the bees grieving are mentioned more than once. One in particular,recounts how the departed beekeepers hives swarmed and gathered at his gravesite. So knowingly or not you are following a centuries old tradition! Beekeeping is a very spiritual experience. Rev. Langstroth and recently Brother Adam-- two greats who come to mind were men of God.Thank you very much for sharing this moment with us.
The person who walks in another's tracks leaves NO footprints.

Offline newbee101

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2006, 09:37:20 pm »
1 year tommorow I posted this. The original hive I recieved from his family did not survive the year.
I have a new hive in his equipment.
"To bee or not to bee"

Offline Cindi

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2006, 12:11:25 am »
And his life carries on in the equipment your bees now take over. 
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline tom

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2006, 12:37:52 am »
Hello

   What you did was very honarable and i know he is smiling down on you and his hive. When two of my mentors passed i was given a hive from each of thier family and now i have bees in them both and i have on the inner cover when i first meet them both and the day they passed. This my way of showing them my love for them both and the respect i have for them both they are missed but not forgotten. And every time you work that hive he will be right there with you in spirit smiling knowing his hives are not going to waste and being used the way he would have wanted them to be used.

Tom

Offline Cindi

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2006, 12:59:57 am »
Tom, beautifully put, the inscription on the inner cover will be there forever, as long as the time will permit.  I wish that I could have a personal mentor that could physically always be there whenever I needed some extra experienced eyes to help me along with my learning curves.  Your mentors would be proud of you for sure.  It is an honour to be given something that someone else has held dear to their entire being.  Great day. Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline tom

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #7 on: December 11, 2006, 01:12:11 am »
Hello Cindi

  Thank you for your kind words it was hard on me when they passed but i found that if you look for what you seek you may find it or you may not. But you have plenty of mentors here on this site Finsky, Mr. Bush, Mr. Bray they all have given me alot of help and i am grateful for what they told me. I have and older guy that has over 1,000 hives all over the place and he is not in the best of health but i keep check on him and i have tried to take some of the hives off his hand but they are his babies he won't let go so when he needs me i go and help it takes all day but i enjoy it.

Tom

Offline Cindi

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #8 on: December 11, 2006, 09:28:40 am »
Tom
What an awesome thing to do to devote an entire to day to helping this aging beekeeper.  This is admirable and he must appreciate you more than you could ever imagine.  Yes, there are actually many seasoned beekeepers on the forum that give their two cents worth, and i would say that it is probably worth far more than 2 cents. I don't know how that expression ever came into being, maybe at some point in time in ages gone by, 2 cents actually was alot of money.  Curious, how many hives do you keep?  You may find if this aging beekeeper cannot work his hives any longer, he may give them to you and just come and help you when he can, you know the tables can sometimes turn in life.  Great day. Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline tom

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #9 on: December 11, 2006, 09:36:49 am »
Hello Cindi

  At this time i have three hives and will be getting two more this april. Two are NWC'S and one is carniolans and cordovan italians mixed. But i am going to expand this spring i am keeping close to the beek and helping as he wants who knows what may happen in the future.

Tom

Offline Cindi

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #10 on: December 11, 2006, 09:44:02 am »
Tom, you said the beekeeper has "hives all over the place", did you mean at different areas that you have to travel to, or simply on his property in different places.  Did he use them for pollination of any sort.  Great day. Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline tom

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #11 on: December 11, 2006, 08:31:48 pm »
Cindi

  He has about 50 at his house and then about a mile from his house he has about 100 at a blackberry farm and then he has a bunch in the mountains. And he has them in other places on farms he does some pollination but not much i know during swarming season this year he used up every spare hive he had and he had one so heavy it broke a new bottom board and we had to take it down to replace it. He has gotten thirty supers full of honey off his small yard and he has several drums full of honey that he sends away to sale. He has lots of bees i have asked him to maybe sale some of his out hives and his wife has begged him to do the same but he won't i know he has on order about 100 packages for this coming spring to install.

Tom

Offline Cindi

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #12 on: December 11, 2006, 11:54:12 pm »
Tom, holy cracker!!! This is good stuff.  I will take more time tomorrow to read what I imagine you will reply to.  Great day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline tom

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #13 on: December 13, 2006, 05:08:48 pm »
Cindi

  I am glad you enjoy our talk i also have a couple of packages coming this april from koehen & sons they have good bees and they ship them to you the next day by UPS so i am pleased with this company. I also have several more hives that i am working on now and i am working on my bee yard that is located in my mothers backyard. She don't mine the bees around her she loves them as much as i do and she helps me buy my equipment but yesterday i talked to a freind that use to raise bees and he has nucs supers,mating nucs, and i honey extractor that i can use this coming spring so i do not have to buy any thing else that i know of and if you ever want to chat i have a aol account it should be in my profile.

Tom

Offline Cindi

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2006, 08:49:56 pm »
Tom, it actually never ceases to amaze me that bees can be shipped through any means available, be it air, freight, mail, UPS, gotta wonder if the carriers ever get nervous about the nasty girls escaping and causing the terrible pain.  Great day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #15 on: December 13, 2006, 09:04:54 pm »
tom, i looked at the web page of the company from which you ordered your bees.  the listed price is good, but how much is the shipping?  i have found other places that had good prices, but after adding shipping, the price was as much if not more than i am paying.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline tom

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Re: Death of a Beekeeper
« Reply #16 on: December 14, 2006, 01:18:14 am »
Hello Kathy

   When i get my bees they send them next day by ups like when i got my first two they shook them on the 11th and i had them the next day. Which means that you do not lose alot of bees and a three lb. package is full clean to the bottom of the cage. But the shipping charges are the killer i paid all together about $231.00 thats $70.00 a piece and shipping was $91.01

Tom