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Author Topic: What do I love more than opossum and sweet taters cooked on a pine board!  (Read 11381 times)

Offline beyondthesidewalks

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Indians in our area used to eat possum and skunk!  I don't understand that second one.  Skunk makes possum sound appetizing.

Offline rbinhood

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Bluebee,

I take a section of metal queen excluder and slide it through the cone about three inches from the open end thus allowing field bees to pass through, the portion of the cone is still large enough that and remaining drones will not clog up the cone.  When the queen comes out she will be trapped and the remainder of the bees will cluster around her, remove your trap box and place another piece of queen excluder behind her thus trapping her inside the cone.  Remove the cone and shake her and the remaining bees into your box or catch her and place her in a cage.

This takes time, you should check the trap at least once per day until she comes out, I have found that most of the time she  to will not try to return into the tree once she comes out.
Only God can make these two things.....Blood and Honey!

Offline Poppi

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rbinhood,  gotta hand it to ya bro...  excellent slight of hand...  if'n we was playing poker I would have lost to you...   salute my friend!!  John

Offline rbinhood

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Just have returned from the trapout of one of the largest feral hives I have ever seen, this time with a third 5 frame nuke full of bees.  With the overnight temp being in the 50's there was still a lot of bees exiting the cone this morning, so another box was placed on the tree, that 40 foot climb after about a two mile hike is starting to get interesting, wonder how many more times I get to repeat this before I get this prolific queen.  I really look forward to seeing this girl and getting her in a hive.
Only God can make these two things.....Blood and Honey!

Offline hardwood

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I had a problem with something getting in my pineapple patch a few years back so I set out some traps. The first night I caught a coon. I took it to an old country woman who buys them for food. She asked me "can you get me a possum?". I said I'd try and she said "Good! 'Cause it ain't Easter dinner without a coon AND a possum!".

Scott
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Offline Intheswamp

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I had a problem with something getting in my pineapple patch a few years back so I set out some traps. The first night I caught a coon. I took it to an old country woman who buys them for food. She asked me "can you get me a possum?". I said I'd try and she said "Good! 'Cause it ain't Easter dinner without a coon AND a possum!".

Scott
Ya gotta love'em, eh, Scott?....them old country women, not coons and possums. ;)  I've got one I go to church with...she always has a big garden that she works herself, she keeps up a fence, chases cows, you name it, she does it (well, I don't think she'd eat a possum, but....  :-D )....she's 84. I'd hate to try and keep up with her!!!! ;)  We're actually the same age...we have the same birthday!!! ;)

Ed
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American blood spilled to protect the freedom and peace of people all over the world.  320,000 USA casualties in WWI, 1,076,000 USA casualties in WWII, 128,000 USA casualties in the Korean War, 211,000 casualties in the Vietnam "conflict", 57,000 USA casualties in "War on Terror".  Benghazi, Libya, 13 USA casualties. These figures don't include 70,000 MIA.  But, the leaders of one political party of the United States of America continue to make the statement..."What difference does it make?".

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Offline SEEYA

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Us Yankees* have a similar recipe: Planked Owl

* maybe not all Yankee's
Live long and prosper!

Offline sweet bee

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Alright here is the way to cook a opossum and sweet taters.....first catch your opossum put him in a cage and feed him nothing but water and swelled corn for about two weeks.  Slaughter and clean him, next soak the meat in a gallon of butter milk and a large bottle of Louisiana hot sauce overnight.  Next (this is key ingredient) get you a clean pine board that will cover the bottom of your roasting pan, generously apply salt, pepper, and a generous amount of Creole seasoning to the meat, place opossum on board and place sweet taters around the meat add about 2 inches of water to roasting pan and place in preheated 275 degree oven.

When the taters are done remove from oven remove opossum from pan and set aside, now you eat the pine board and sweet taters and feet the opossum to your dog.

NOW THAT IS GOOD EATS!

Thanks for the recipe Rbinhood but I'll let you keep that one! I ain't fell on hard times...Yet! :-D
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Offline BlueBee

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Rbinhood, thanks for the details for catching the queen!!  I must say that is a pretty ingenious idea.  X:X X:X X:X

Offline Intheswamp

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Just have returned from the trapout of one of the largest feral hives I have ever seen, this time with a third 5 frame nuke full of bees.  With the overnight temp being in the 50's there was still a lot of bees exiting the cone this morning, so another box was placed on the tree, that 40 foot climb after about a two mile hike is starting to get interesting, wonder how many more times I get to repeat this before I get this prolific queen.  I really look forward to seeing this girl and getting her in a hive.
I hope you get that queen...she sounds like a beauty!!! ;)  You be careful going up that high, you wearing a parachute?  :-D

Ed
www.beeweather.com 
American blood spilled to protect the freedom and peace of people all over the world.  320,000 USA casualties in WWI, 1,076,000 USA casualties in WWII, 128,000 USA casualties in the Korean War, 211,000 casualties in the Vietnam "conflict", 57,000 USA casualties in "War on Terror".  Benghazi, Libya, 13 USA casualties. These figures don't include 70,000 MIA.  But, the leaders of one political party of the United States of America continue to make the statement..."What difference does it make?".

"We can't expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism."..."The press is our chief ideological weapon." - Nikita Khrushchev

"Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they wont come to yours." - Yogi Berra

Offline rbinhood

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The question was raised in a PM why I waited until the number of bees exiting the cone had demised in number and why I place the piece of queen excluder back 2 or 3 inch from the end of the cone.

The answer to both has to do with drones, #1 I want to reduce the number of drones that have to exit the cone and #2 it gives more room in the cone for dead drones that may be left in the tree.  In case mortuary bees try to remove other dead drones there will be a bit more room for the workers to exit.  I have on a few occasions had to remove the cone and dump the dead drones out there would be so many they would clog the exit and this stress the bees and causes greater loss.

Some like the "THE KING OF THE TRAPOUTS" they may have other methods for catching the queen but, over a number of years this has work well for me.    :piano:
Only God can make these two things.....Blood and Honey!

Offline Poppi

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Rbin...  you go man...   sounds like fun...  just be careful... don't get yo'sef hurt...  keep us up to date...  an' if'n yu fine a possum up dat tree...  yu let him stay even if Easter is comin' soon...!!   John

Offline rbinhood

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Here is the lattest....I have removed one 5 frame nuke box and a 8 frame box for a friend both which were full of bees with bees hanging all over the boxes when I removed them.  There is still a lot of bees exiting the cone, I now have another 5 frame box in place and will be going back the middle of next week and will be trying for the queen.
Only God can make these two things.....Blood and Honey!

Offline beyondthesidewalks

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I am waiting to hear how you fared with catching the queen.  I have a place in mind to try your plan.  I am also trying out the Hogan Swarm Harvester concept.  Have you ever tried that?  You build a trap hive connected to the tree hive with a tunnel connecting the two.  Then you put a frame of brood in the outer box.  Within 24 hours the queen is supposed to come investigate the foreign larvae in her hive.  Then you put a funnel on the tunnel and she's yours.  I haven't tried it out yet but am planning to give it a try.

Offline jmblakeney

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I too would like to know how things went at your trapout.  Hope you got 'er. 

Would you happen to have a pic of the two excluders in place?  I would like to see it.

Thanks for this post.

James
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Offline enchplant

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You can get that queen to come out of the trap out if you bring a frame of open brood from one of your other hives (keep it warm and make sure it has no bees on it) and pop that in to your trap out nuc. The queen in the tree will smell the brood and come out to investigate. She will lay more eggs in surrounding frames. so even if she goes back in teh trees you have some of her eggs which you can use to raise queens from by popping them in a queenless colony back home. Great story, thanks for sharing!

Offline rbinhood

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THE FINAL CHAPTER!

Well friends the trapout of a lifetime came to a rewarding conclusion yesterday afternoon.


Now let me tell you about some of the things that happened during this adventure.  I have a friend who has two eight frame boxes full of bees with new queens that are filling the frames with eggs and brood who hates me, he no longer looks at me as a true friend. LOL  I'm sure each of you has one of these in your life to.....you know the ones I'm talking about, the one who wants you to do every thing for them so they can reap the rewards with no cost of time or labor from them.  They will take the fish if you clean them and put them in bags, or better yet even cook them and serve it with all the trimmings, I could go on and on about this type of friend...you get the idea!  Yes, I did pack the first 8 frame box in and out for him, you know, like a friend would do for a friend....not even a "thank you" or kiss my grits.

I told him if he would carry the second box to the trapout he could have the bees, OH!....NO PROBLEM! he said, before we got to the tree his first time in it was like a kid on a long road trip....are we there yet!....how much farther!  After the hour and fortyfive minute hike with having to stop every 300 yards or so for him to rest he says where are the bees, as I point to nuke 40 foot up the tree all I hear is....WHAT THE !#$# YOU THINK THAT I AM GOING TO CLIMB THAT !#$#ING TREE, YOU MUST BE OUT OF YOU !#$#ING MIND!!!!!  WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO FLY UP THAT !#$#ING TREE!!! YOU ARE CRAZY AS HELL!!!  All of this from a friend whom I was willing to share my once in a lifetime prize with.

 As I stood there laughing like a hyena at him I started moving a few limbs to revel my climbing gear, then he let loose with another tyrant of colorful ways to describe me, the bees, the tree, the long hike, how high up the tree, the color to the sky, my mother, his mother, the dog, the price of gas, as well as the bad supper his wife cooked last night was.  After tieing one end of a rope around the 8 frame box I proceed to run up the tree.... tie the other end of the rope to the nuke close the screen then remove it and lower it to the ground and pull up his 8 frame box up secure it to the tree that is when the fun began!  He decided to remove all the bees that were covering the front and sides of the nuke by dropping it on the ground.....all of this while I was about half way down the tree, oh the sounds that filled the mountains of east central Alabama it was like none that I have ever heard before in my lifetime...it was a combination of the sound of a heard of cows running, a skidder breaking down trees, and the scream of a long tale cat in a room full of rocking chairs with blue haired grannies all rocking on his tale at the same time!   :pinkelephant:

Now for all you newbees here is a few words of advice, OLD SPICES will catch the lady in your life with it's smell of the sea but, and this is a big but, it really pee'd those little yellow and black ladies of to no end!  My friend and at this point in time I am using the work "friend" loosely, he found out Old Spice after shave and  bees are not compatible for comfort but is real good for closeness.  These girls left lipstick all over his face and neck the likes of which I have never seen before....roglmao!  Friends let me tell you this his inner little girl really came out....not only was it the sound of a heard of cows running, a skidder breaking down trees, and the scream of a long tale cat in a room full of rocking chairs with blue haired grannies all rocking on his tale at the same time, I learned a lot of new words I had never heard before in 72 years!  And by the time we made the hike back to my pickup (this time with no rest stops along the way, for some reason he was in a real big hurry) he made it real clear to me he had no interest in this type of adventure everagain.

The next day I dropped by his home to check on him....his face looked like a big fat halloween jack O lantern this was after a trip to the doctor to get a benadryl shot and some advice from his doctor..."be stupid in you life, try it again and see if you get the same results"!  LOL  He said that he was having difficulty breathing through left side of his nose and while we were talking he kept blowing his nose each time looking in his handkerchief, then after a few more big blows the look on his face when he took a look was priceless.......there in his snotrag was a wet yellow and black gob, you guessed it a honeybee....upon closer inspection he found it had no stinger.....yep, the girl taught him a lesson he will never soon forget....his wife removed the stinger from inside his nose with a qutip.!  Bless his pea picking heart he will live!

Total.... 6 five frame nukes and 2 eight frame deep boxes of bees and most important the last cupfull of bees and large black Queen!  Which I brought home in my little red and black cricket box to live out the rest of here days in one of my 30 frame double deep long hives.

This is what makes live worthwhile......bees, friends, and laughter even if it is at someone else expense!
Only God can make these two things.....Blood and Honey!

Offline enchplant

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That's a scream - great story!

Offline jmblakeney

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Oh wow!  Great story...  When you get the trap cone down, I would love to see a pic of how you setup this section of excluder in the cone. 

James
"I believe the best social program is a job...." - Ronald Reagan

Offline calrow99

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Thats a big tree with a even bigger bee entrance....      downloaded pic and reworked the exposure to lighten-up and see correctly...