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Author Topic: Bee Clumsy Like Me  (Read 3834 times)

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Bee Clumsy Like Me
« on: March 02, 2008, 01:26:51 am »
Bee Clumsy, that's what my family calls me these days.  I have a condition that, when I get tired, makes me stumble about like a drunken sailor.  I reach a point where I start to feel a little fatigued and then wham, I'm flat on my backside, nose down, or upside down, or some other position.  It hits suddenly, usually right when I'm at the most critical stage of a task.  When it happens I look like I have MS.

Today I was busy placing the new hive stands I'd built where I wanted them in my bee yard and setting up the screened slatted racks and 8 frame boxes to move the nucs into when it happened.  I had to rotate one hive 90 degrees so it was facing the proper direction and also so I could place the hive stand it was to sit on when I stumbled.  Fell on the hive (2 story nuc) and it broke at the seams.  I got nailed 6 times before I could stand up.  3 on the face and 3 on the left wrist--they always go for my left wrist, why is that?  It must be because I have a weapon (the hive tool) in the other.

Well, being late in the day I had decided to finish the change over on that hive right then and there.  Job complete, The Russians are enlarging their brood nest from 1 frame to 3 and hawling in nectar and pollen like crazy (Yeah for Alder and Maple).  They have a few drawn frames yet to fill and now they have 6 more foundationless frames to work with as I just plunked 5 frames from each nuc box into the center of 2 8 frame boxes.   

I now have everything in place for the major change over, which I hope to do tomorrow.  I even put the hive for the package my Daughter is getting in April...who knows, maybe a swarm will make it home before then.  When I'm done I'll have 6 hives where I have 4 now, counting the package on order.   Hive #6 is a double nuc for holding extra queens and providing booster frames for the other hives.

I have these clumsy klutzy moments almost daily.

What are some of your more memorable spills?
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Offline reinbeau

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2008, 08:05:24 am »
Nothing that dramatic, all I've done so far (in our so-far short bee journey) is put five frames of honey into a super and then pick it up like it was full of frames - they racked and fell out onto my foot!  No, it didn't hurt physically, but I felt horrible because they were the only frames we'd felt were safe to remove from three hives up in Maine - it wasn't a good honey year last year!  Three of the frames actually remained intact, two broke free, hubby ran and got a plastic bag and we were able to salvage most of it, except for what oozed out all over my foot  :(

Offline JP

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2008, 08:28:37 am »
One of my removals I had transfered into a medium, secured the brood comb in place etc... Took my time, etc... knocked the whole thing off a small stand on site, had people watching me. Tried to look cool while correcting my mistake. Things worked out but I could have slapped myself for being such a clutz, bees everywhere, things worked out though and the bees are ok, but boy, last thing you wanna do after you so meticulously transfered, very patiently, a feral hive into an awaiting hive box, with onlookers.

Also had a removal once where I removed a sheetrock wall. The first thing I did to begin the process was to pry the sheetrock away from the top plate. Would you know that the queen was right there and when I pryed the sheetrock back and removed my first piece, the queen was right there smooshed, in between my prybar and the sheetrock. I had been at it for perhaps 30 seconds when this occurs. Usually takes hours to spot the queen if you even do that. Go figure.

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Offline watercarving

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2008, 09:43:38 am »
Since I don't have my bees yet I don't have a story for myself but a guy in town was telling me about moving a super about 10 feet when he was in a hurry. He didn't put on any protective gear. Picked up the full super, turned around, and dropped it. He had 100+ stings.

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Offline BeeHopper

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2008, 10:53:19 am »
Wow, Brian, I admire your Love of Beekeeping.  :-D

 Though I'm not Bee Clumsy yet ( It's coming ) I cannot use those leather gloves anymore when working the hives because of the stiff joints of my thumbs from years of repetitous work. Once I was inspecting a hive where I have removed 3 or 4 frames from the top brood chamber when I dropped the hive tool into the hive, it landed on the top frames of the bottom chamber crushing some workers, they all looked up at me with disdain, they kinda looked like this:  :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: ( UH-OH, I'm dead now ). With the leather gloves on, I tried to retrieve the tool to no avail, I had to remove the glove risking stings ( many stings ). In the process of returning the frames, I became hasty, making more bees angry by dropping the last frame  :roll:. Now I work real slow and without those leather gloves, at times I have to REMIND myself to slow down.

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #5 on: March 02, 2008, 11:27:53 am »
Of course I've dropped a frame a few times.  A box of bees once or twice when I tripped.  Never a pretty sight.
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Offline Hayesbo

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #6 on: March 02, 2008, 10:48:59 pm »
First time I was harvesting honey, I got in a hurry and threw a super in the back of my truck. On the way home to the extractor I figured I had better hit the gas to blow out any clingers on. I had forgotten to shut the tail gate and the super slid out the back of the truck sweetening a section of asphalt. I salvaged most of the honey, and had to melt down the comb on about 7 of the 9 frames. I close the tail gate every time now. ;)

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #7 on: March 03, 2008, 12:21:26 am »
Quote
I have these clumsy klutzy moments almost daily.

Today I was building the frame work for the raspberry trellis as it was to windy and cloudy to finish the project in the beeyard.  Next thing I'm nose down in the raspberry canes--close observation shows they are starting to leaf out.

I decided it was time to put the hammer away--took my 2 oldest granddaughters with me and did a training flight with the pigeons.  Took them up to the top of the Mountain (1394 ft is not really a mountain here in Washington) and let them go.  The girls were enthralled with the view.  I figure that using the mountain 1 mile south is the best possible landmark to train my pigeons to, from there they can walk home blindfolded.
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Offline JP

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #8 on: March 03, 2008, 12:35:15 am »
Quote from Brian: Today I was building the frame work for the raspberry trellis as it was to windy and cloudy to finish the project in the beeyard.  Next thing I'm nose down in the raspberry canes--close observation shows they are starting to leaf out. > close observation, right Brian, so close you can taste it right! Bahahahaahahahaahaha

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« Last Edit: March 04, 2008, 06:50:41 am by JP »
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Offline Angi_H

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #9 on: March 03, 2008, 01:40:06 am »
Well today I was trying to break up a fight between to tom turkeys and I had a hand full of eggs that I forgot about and the tom smashed into my hand crushing raw eggs all over my hands and pants and boots. And the chickens and hen turkeys went wild eating the eggs. Needless to say one of the toms is in a small cage. Waiting to be sold. It is breeding season and they were once buds but not any more.

Angi

Offline Hayesbo

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #10 on: March 04, 2008, 05:29:05 am »
And the chickens and hen turkeys went wild eating the eggs.

Canibals. :evil: :evil:

Seriously though, Hearing you write about your chicks and turkeys makes me wish I could raise them as well.

Hope your day goes great!

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Offline poka-bee

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #11 on: March 04, 2008, 01:30:23 pm »
This was a few years ago but a lesson learned!  I was processing my crop of basil into pesto using the old style vitamix..ALWAYS make sure the top is securely in place!  The daycare kids, dog, cats, me $ kitchen from ceiling to floor were covered in pesto.  Took 4 hours to get it off most everything..your kitchen has more nooks & crannies than you would imagine, although we all smelled yummy!
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Offline annette

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #12 on: March 04, 2008, 01:33:47 pm »
What did the mothers say about the kids smelling like basil when they came to pick them up??

Offline wtiger

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #13 on: March 04, 2008, 02:32:35 pm »
We were having a family Christmas about 5 or 6 years and my dad decided to cook the potatoes for the mashed potatoes in the pressure cooker to speed up the process.  He took off the weight to let the pressure out, but apparently some potatoes stopped up the pressure relief valve.  He removed the lid and created a potato explosion.  He got a little on his forehead and got slightly burnt, but otherwise he was fine, but there were potatoes splattered over almost every square inch of the kitchen.  Floor to ceiling.  Now that was a mess.  It's amazing all the nooks and crannies high velocity potatoes will find.

Offline Hayesbo

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #14 on: March 07, 2008, 05:54:50 pm »
I love pressure cookers.  I fear the explosion though.

Offline poka-bee

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #15 on: March 07, 2008, 07:36:46 pm »
Luckily it was a warm afternoon & we got to play in the pool w/hose & bubbles!!  The kids also took home a small dish of pesto that they helped grow & make! ;)
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Offline prisoner#1

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #16 on: March 07, 2008, 07:45:49 pm »
He removed the lid and created a potato explosion. 

I had the pressure relief valve blow on a pressure cooker several years back, we were cooking collard greens,
anyway the plug blew right when I was turning the stove off, luckily I only caught a little on my cheek, I dropped
and waited and ended up showered in what didnt stick to the ceiling. evrything in the kitchen was green and
smelled like feet, we had to strip off all the sheet rock on the ceiling and the walls in that spot and replace it

Offline DayValleyDahlias

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #17 on: March 07, 2008, 09:25:55 pm »
Oh my, these are quite the stories, I personally didn't fall or anything, but I did accidently catch the rabbit hutches on fire.  Once a month I would clean the hutches out and every so often torch the wire to kill any bacteria.  It was a hot day ( dumb on my part ),there was burlap hanging as shade cloth ( dumb again ), then there was me with a propane torch, and my firefighter husband watching...LOL, thank goodness he was there, and no we didn't have roasted rabbit!

Offline Cindi

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Re: Bee Clumsy Like Me
« Reply #18 on: March 08, 2008, 11:05:53 am »
Steve, if you love pressure cookers, learn to work with them, hee, hee.  With the newer techonology, the likelihood of one really blowing up is remote.  Both of mine have two pressure release valves, if one gets bunged up, the other one will blow out, it is a hole basically in the side of the lid that the rubber seal can blow out of if the other one is plugged.  I use mine all the time for tenderizing meat.

Wow, I made the best ribs, pressure cooked for about 1-1/2 hours, broiled on the second rack (with bbq sauce on it to crisp up) for 1/2 hour and then presto, yum, yum.

I use my big pressure cooker for processing vegies and jarred meat dishes, sure does save on the space in the freezer, hee, hee.
Oh carumba, I seem to always take off on someone else's thread, going off topic and ramblin', my apologies to Brian who initially started this thread (well, no,  :-D :-D :evil: I don't really mean to apologize, oops!!!  did I just say that?  hee, hee).  Have a wonderfullly beautiful day, lovin' this life we live.  Cindi
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