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Dick Lash rounds up a swarm of honey bees from columnist Lou Ann Homan’s yard in Angola.

Dick Lash rounds up a swarm of honey bees from columnist Lou Ann Homan’s yard in Angola.

I had a few visitors this week. Oh sure, lots of Airbnb and bicyclists, and friends popping over. However, these visitors were different! They came all at once and decided to stay overnight in one of my trees. Yes, 30,000 honey bees came calling. Of course, it didn’t look like 30,000 bees as they were clustered together in a beautiful oval shape swarm up in my crabapple tree! Aaron said, “Don’t worry, mom, they will send out scouts to find their real new home. They are just hanging around for a few days.”

I am definitely not averse to honey bees! My shelves are full of local honey, and I know how important they are to all of us! According to the FDA, bees give us all of these products: honey, pollen, royal jelly, beeswax, propolis, and venom. The term “busy as a bee” takes on new meaning when we do a little research. Bees pollinate crops which in turn boosts the agricultural market up about $15 million dollars! Think of that … all from that little honey bee.

I know all of this. I know they do not want to sting me … or anyone. Yet, there is something about 30,000 of them hanging over my garden spot. I tried tiptoeing, but still that did not convince me to go out to the garden!

A quick phone call to Carolyn (who, along with her son, Mark, is a great beekeeper), and she knew just what to do. It was only a few minutes later she called to say Dick Lash, a beekeeper, was coming out to take a look. By the time I hung up the phone, Dick was already anxious to take a look at my bees. We strolled (tiptoed?) out to the garden to take a look. The look on his face is the same look I get at Monument Pizza when Jonny brings out a coconut pie. Seriously. He thought the swarm was beautiful, and really, it was. He asked if I had a ladder. I should have one, but I don’t so off he went back home to get his ladder.

Dick was back in a flash, and I followed him out to the garden. He set up the ladder and proceeded to climb up. I stopped him, “Don’t you need your veil or beekeeping clothing?” I asked him. He just shook his head so I kept my phone in my hand ready to dial 911 at any moment. He climbed back down, got a bee box from his truck and carried that up to the top of the ladder. Still, without his beekeeping clothing, he shook the swarm with the hopes they would fall into the box taking their queen with them. Still my phone was lodged into my hand ready to call for help. However, none was needed. He climbed back down and the two of us stood watching the miracle of 30,000 bees as they slowly descended into their new home. Bees were flying everywhere. After a time, Dick climbed back up and, with a soft brush, brushed some of the bees off the box into the hive.

With the passing of an hour, the bees had settled into their new home. They must have coaxed their queen that this would be a lovely place to live. Dick climbed back up and carried down the hive and set it in my garden to wait until dark to take them home. He was thrilled to have a new hive. I was thrilled they had a new home! We stood there under the crabapple tree just chatting about bees and honey. I so admired Dick’s stories, his knowledge and his bravery with the bees. I, of course, curiously wondered why they chose my yard, but then again, it is pretty sweet. I loved listening to his stories about beekeeping and how kind he was to answer all my questions.

Finally, it was time to say “goodbye” to my own personal bee rescuer. After Dick left I kept a close eye on the hive hoping they would live happy, long productive lives. At late dusk, Dick returned to carry them home. He will feed them sugar water and move them into their permanent home in a few weeks.

Thank you, Dick, for getting my bees! We are all grateful!

“To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,

One clover, and a bee.

The revery alone will do,

Lou Ann Homan-Saylor lives in Angola at the White Picket Gardens where you can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, teacher, writer, actress and a collector of front porch stories. She can be contacted at locketoftime@aol.com.

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