alleyyooper
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Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2017 12:21 pm

My best remembered Fathers day.

We Had a big storm Friday and Saturday with really strong winds, Early Sunday morning I get a call about a big oak limb coming down in the storm in a street near down town Flint Mich. the call to see about saving the bees.
Since My family was supposed to go to the inlaws for dinner and celebrate Kare's dad & since we live a bit away I told the caller to call several numbers I gave him of people much closer but if he still could not find any one to call me back.
About a hour and a half he calls me back and said no one would come of the people he had called that answered the phone.
I told him I had to load my tools in the truck and drive there but would come.
this is what I found.

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I started out vacuuming up the bees with my box in a box bee vacuum, I have made several boxes for it. Some I just used a flat shovel to scoop up and put in the hive I had brought.

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What made it the best Fathers day was the people that lived on the block. A city with Flints rep and all those people lined up near me asking questions and some even offering help despite no knowledge of honey bee behavior. I was offered all sorts of drinks from cool aid to whiskey, I was given small plates of BBQ and other goodies as it came off the back yard grills by those people. As I was cutting the comb from the tree a small girl bare feet and all walked up to me with honeybees crawling on the ground and asked if she could have a chunk of honey comb to chew she had read a story about a boy who liked to chew honey comb. I really had no reason to say no and that opened up the flood gates. Every little kid got a chunk of comb to chew, Many adult got some to and some even brought bowls to put chunks in.

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One fellow brought his wheel borrow and as I cut the wood up and away he would take it, said he heated his house some in the winter with fire wood.

Today I have did away with the box in a box bee vac. I vacuum them right into a hive.

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That bee clean up turned into a block party every body getting along and treating me so special I didn't miss being with my family at all.
The original caller now calls me every fathers day to wish me a good one that was 10 years ago this June.

:D Al

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applestar
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Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

What a GREAT story! Thanks for sharing, Al.

Your generosity and willingness to share the experience and knowledge, as well as the honeycombs to kids and adults, must have made it a memorable Father's Day for those people who shared their food and the day with you as well. Block Party -- haha I could just picture it. :D

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webmaster
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Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2004 12:59 pm
Location: Amherst, MA USDA Zone 5a

Just confirms my belief that most people are nice everywhere you go. The amount of times that strangers have been kind to me greatly outnumber the times they have not. There's simply no comparison.

Thanks for the story!
:)



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