2003-03-24 - 12:28 a.m.

Bzzzzzzzz

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."

-Maya Angelou

We are going down an old farm road in my husbands beat up old truck. We are going really slow not wanting to disturb our package in the back. My husband has a big grin on his face. The kids are excited just going for a night ride and I am terrified any minute are package is going to fly out or something come into our truck.

We finally make it home and I leap far away from the truck with the kids in tow. Our excited dog jumps in the back and gets a hello from our new members of our family. She yelps and falls to the ground rubbing her rear on the ground. �Tasha I tell our dog meet your new neighbors the honey bees� Of course she doesn�t care she too busy rubbing her rear still on the ground.

I take the kids inside and watch as my husband trys to cover his body with jackets and gloves and drives them out to the field. Its still pitch dark outside he turns on the smoker to calm them down. By doing this they engorge themselves by drinking all the honey they can in order to protect it and thus are calm cause they cant move they are all fat.

About an hour later he comes back in still with a happy grin and says they are pretty much settled down. A few lost bee�s are still swarming the truck but husband didn�t get stung. The man that sold us the bee�s gave my husband headgear to wear and a smoker something we were thankful for, it would be months later that we were able to afford a bee suit that he can wear. We wanted to get one for my daughter too but they cost too much maybe next year?

A homeschool friend of ours was leaving for another state. They were selling most of there bee hives to one man that raises them. We talked them into 5 boxes. However husband said only 3 boxes survived. He said they had every single problem that you can imagine in each box. We were lucky to save them and we are lucky my husband has read every book he can on bee keeping and was a part of bee keeping association one time. He�s a quick learner. Our three remaining boxes are doing good now that spring has hit.

By summer husband says that the bee�s should be giving us tons of honey. They have a lot of bluebonnets and other wild flowers growing now. During the winter months we actually fed them. My husband kidded with my daughter saying she had to put the bee feeding into her chore list in the morning. He said she had to stay there and pass out plates to them as they waited in line. Dad! She moaned.

Tamale chain gang - typical night