Laurie's Everyday Notions

Many styles of bee suits abound. I decided against the full body coverall type suit when a bee keeping friend mentioned how warm one gets while working with the bees in the heat of summer. I opted for this style solely on the fact that it was cheap....or cheaper than all the others. It works as I've yet to get a bee in my bonnet or have a bee crawl up my sleeve. Knowing that I'm safe from bee stings because, really, there are only a few people crazy enough to enjoy bee stings, helps me to keep calm when there are hundreds of bees buzzing around my head. Being amidst a swarm of bees is really an amazing event….as long as you can keep your cool, which is what my bee jacket does for me. Only once was it necessary for me to walk away for the deafening buzz so that I could regain my composure (and sanity). I also opted for the bee gloves thinking that they too would protect and provide me with a sense of security. Although they accomplished these tasks, they are also big and...

The bees have arrived!!!

The years have started to blur together. I think our beloved rooster, Gizmo, was about six years old. Or may he was older. Regardless, he was one of our first birds. We were especially attached to Gizmo over all the others because he was the egg that I turned methodically everyday while it rested in the incubator. He was the one egg out of a dozen that hatched. In fact he was overdue. The 27 days were well gone but something told me to give him just a little more time. He was the one I helped break free from his shell (although I read later that I shouldn't have helped). Gizmo was the one who stood apart from the others with his shiny black-blue-green feathers. He was majestic in his beauty. As he aged he became feisty. He'd follow me around the pen, feathers rustled up as if I was not welcome on his turf. I think he just didn't want to be overlooked. He wanted me to pay attention to him rather than the eggs which I was collecting. Funny guy, our Gizmo. Yesterday he fell as...