The entire family sat out on the porch watching a swarm of bees moving past the house and over our fields. Where would they settle? We so hoped to see them cluster. We could all picture that cloud of bees collected and safely making honey for us in our now empty hives.
Last summer a bear sampled our honey. Fortunitely, he only tasted from one of our three hives. I'll never forget the romantic evening of holding the spotting scope while handsome attempted to salvage the toppled boxes and strap down the other two stacks. After catching the theif in the act, my brave man shoo-ed him off into the wood. He kept his distance as long as we kept the scope shining his way, but the too-bright light only made the stirred up bees angrier.
-- One of us was understandably afraid of being stung (He had gone to church one Sunday with a too-funny, swollen face. I couldn't even look at him while he led worship without laughing. Tall and handsome body with puffy-clown head.), and one of us (the more sensible of us, from my perspective) was afraid of being eaten. So the debate was "light on" or "light off" as he worked.
-- I'll just add that there is something oh so attractive about a confident man, toting a gun, protecting his woman.
In the end, admiration and submission won out with only the occasional flash of the light when the sounds of bear were a bit too close for my nerves. (I can still see eyes glowing in the beam just before he'd turn to put a little distance between us.)
...then a harsh winter cost us our last two hives...
It has been a week since our family watched the swarm passing by. With that evening in mind, I thought a prayer this morning, "Lord, you could fill those hives for us..."
Now there are bees flying in and out...
Will they stay?
