Bears
Posted: October 24th, 2017, 9:12 pm
Not a question, just a little story.
So, after 2 years, I finally had a bear encounter last night. Hadn't seen any around for 4 years so I was fairly complacent about them.
I was in my shop and the hives are out back, just 20' from the south wall of the shop. I heard a thump and a bit of a ruckus so out I went with the flashlight.
My nuc was tipped over at a 45 degree angle, bees boiling out everywhere. Quick scan and I spotted a black bear cub about 10' from the hive stand.Gave it a shout and up the nearest poplar tree it went.
Headed for the house to grab the fear-maker shotgun.
I got inside and my wife informed me that we had a big bear on the patio. Crap, this was going down-hill fast.
Ran up to the gun safe and grabbed the .410 and the 12 Gauge, didn't know where this was going.
Back to the patio and Momma had ambled back across the driveway. I fired the .410 in the air and she headed out in a motivated way.
Headed back to the apiary and the cub had disappeared as well. Whew.
I think the honeys had stung the hell out of the little one, since it hadn't gone past the tip-over stage.
Hoping the stings and the scare have sent them packing.
I started the electric fence today, will finish tomorrow. Not sure why I waited so long but like I said above, complacency.
I suited up, full gear, to put the nuc back together. Never saw such angry bees in 2 years.
I guess they didn't realize I was the ER team.
It all went fairly smooth, other than the veil ramming and glove stinging.
When I was done I went back in the shop and still had about 10 bees buzzing around my veil. My wrists had started tingling as well... WTH?
They had stung right through the heavy canvas of my gauntlets and just enough stinger poked through to get to my exposed wrists. Never suit-up in a hurry; cautionary tale.
I pulled 12 stingers out of the cotton on my gloves today. They were in full DefCon 3 last night.
So, I learned a valuable lesson with little cost, despite the itching and bad dreams last night.
Best regards,
Brian
53N, 115W, El. 850M
So, after 2 years, I finally had a bear encounter last night. Hadn't seen any around for 4 years so I was fairly complacent about them.
I was in my shop and the hives are out back, just 20' from the south wall of the shop. I heard a thump and a bit of a ruckus so out I went with the flashlight.
My nuc was tipped over at a 45 degree angle, bees boiling out everywhere. Quick scan and I spotted a black bear cub about 10' from the hive stand.Gave it a shout and up the nearest poplar tree it went.
Headed for the house to grab the fear-maker shotgun.
I got inside and my wife informed me that we had a big bear on the patio. Crap, this was going down-hill fast.
Ran up to the gun safe and grabbed the .410 and the 12 Gauge, didn't know where this was going.
Back to the patio and Momma had ambled back across the driveway. I fired the .410 in the air and she headed out in a motivated way.
Headed back to the apiary and the cub had disappeared as well. Whew.
I think the honeys had stung the hell out of the little one, since it hadn't gone past the tip-over stage.
Hoping the stings and the scare have sent them packing.
I started the electric fence today, will finish tomorrow. Not sure why I waited so long but like I said above, complacency.
I suited up, full gear, to put the nuc back together. Never saw such angry bees in 2 years.
I guess they didn't realize I was the ER team.
It all went fairly smooth, other than the veil ramming and glove stinging.
When I was done I went back in the shop and still had about 10 bees buzzing around my veil. My wrists had started tingling as well... WTH?
They had stung right through the heavy canvas of my gauntlets and just enough stinger poked through to get to my exposed wrists. Never suit-up in a hurry; cautionary tale.
I pulled 12 stingers out of the cotton on my gloves today. They were in full DefCon 3 last night.
So, I learned a valuable lesson with little cost, despite the itching and bad dreams last night.
Best regards,
Brian
53N, 115W, El. 850M