#Bee's Beekeeping

[mintofhtagn]

the fucked up unbothered energy of a beekeeper handling bees with no equipment

[systlin]

If anyone was wondering how the bees I found as a swarm thanks to a couple crows last year are doing, the answer is 'great'.

They wintered through with no problem and are out doing cleansing flights in the nice weather. I put out a feeder for them, which I need to refill today.

[starthecozy]

I'm thinking of something silly like Steve telling Eddie in passing that he really liked finding bees when he was a kid and *whisper* how he would have loved to have had a bee themed room back then but his parents refused to give him such soft stuff.

So Eddie makes it his personal mission to give him ALL the bee themed objects he can find. He goes to hidden thrift stores in the city and at first he finds him random things (bee doorknob, bee light switch, a small bee wall clock) and Steve LOVES them but then Eddie finds The Gift: a bee mug.

He buys it and brings it to the trailer as Steve's mug, marking his place in his home. At this point Steve has lots of gifts (half of them homemade by Eddie, he couldn't afford much) but this one marks a change in their relationship.

It's not much later that Steve brings the rest of his stuff (bee themed or not) to the trailer and make it officially his home there. 🐝

[pngcabinet]

˚˖𓍢ִ 🍯˚ honeycore png's

[formosusiniquis]

for @thefreakandthehair and inspired by this. Everyone enjoy some bee keeper!Eddie saving the day so Steve can play some baseball

Eddie picked up beekeeping the way he picked up most things in his life: accidentally and by virtue of following a crumb of serotonin straight down the rabbit hole of obsession. It isn't what he expected to do for a living, and at this point he does have to admit that when it accounted for 91% of his taxable income last year it is what he does for a living, but he likes that he gets to work outside and set his own hours. He likes that the regular customers he has who buy his honey are nice, and likes getting to advise people about things like flavor profiles and what they taste best with, it was the thing he liked best about his position at the dispensary that was now more of a side gig. And then there's his contract with city animal control that gets him called out to parts of the city he didn't even know existed to relocate hives a lot more often than he thought would happen.

It's a good life, and he likes that he's made it himself.

But it's the kind of life that gets him calls from people late at night when trying to finish binging Fallout before the internet can spoil it for him. He has a rule to always answer when Chrissy calls though, he isn't going to miss helping her if it's an emergency.

“I need a favor,” she says before he's even finished answering.

“Anything for you,” he agrees.

“You might regret saying that.”

Chrissy Cunningham turned a full ride scholarship for cheerleading into a business and marketing degree and she turned that into a fancy job with the White Sox that he didn’t fully understand but totally supported. He wore the free cap she gave him, and was endlessly glad that as a white guy he didn’t get gatekept the way girls like Chrissy did, since he couldn’t name a single player on the team.

And it was that endless support that had him in his full gear at the White Sox stadium with his smoker and bee vac.

Chrissy meets him at the front with a harried expression and a warm hug, “I’d say I owe you one but if everything goes right we’ll be totally square before the first inning.”

“What does that mean?” he asks, repeating it louder when all she gives him is an enigmatic smile. 

The only answer he truly gets is being shoved into a little green cart that she drives with a frightening speed. She drives them through the stadium through a route he has no hope of remembering on his own until they reach an opening that leads straight out to the field. Eddie always had a dream, as a kid, of being a rockstar, driving out onto the diamond to a sudden and uproarious cheer is the closest he thinks he’s ever come to truly experiencing what it would be like to be famous on stage.

He hams it up of course. Waves his arms to try to get them to cheer louder as Chrissy stears them toward the lifter that he’s going to have to go up to get to the swarm. And they do, the cheers becoming an enthusiastic roar, a sound so loud he thinks he could climb them up to the bees without the lifter. 

“Focus will you, you’re on national television right now.” Chrissy says, with a subtle elbow to his side.

“Yeah but how many people are watching a delayed baseball game?”

Never one to just take his smartass comments, he’s sure that Chrissy says something super witty and sarcastic back. Only Eddie made the mistake of turning his head and catching sight of the most glorious ass in the snuggest pair of pinstriped white baseball pants and lost the ability to hear. A second elbow in his side reminds his brain full of metaphorical bees that he’s on television and he doesn’t have his veil on, he isn’t about to get caught drooling on television.

The fattest ass in the stadium turns around and Eddie thinks he’s been stung. He has to be going into anaphylaxis with the way he suddenly can’t catch his breath. The guy in front of him, with a hand on his hip and his eyes trained unwaveringly on Eddie is tongue-swellingly hot. And he just keeps getting closer as Chrissy doesn’t stop driving forward.

“Steve, you’re not supposed to get this close, you're our starting pitcher you can’t get stung.” Chrissy chides.

“I just wanted to make sure that he wasn’t going to kill the bees.” The guy, Steve, says.

“He’s not.”

“I’m not,” Eddie says, shaking his head as fast as he can, like that will make things more convincing for the hot baseball guy. But he’s got an eyebrow raised giving Eddie an up and down like he still doesn’t believe him.

“Look,” he pulls out his equipment so Steve can see. “I’ll smoke them with this, that’ll make them calm so they don’t freak out when I vacuum them up with this.”

“And running them through a vacuum isn’t going to kill them?”

“It’s a gentle suck,” he says, immediately filled with a burning mortification. “It’s just enough to move them into the tank where I can relocate them.”

Hot baseball Steve has his big brown eyes open even wider, there’s a twitch at his mouth like he’s about to say something else and Eddie actually can’t have that. “Chris can we get me strapped into this thing, we want to get this big ballgame going right?”

Steve takes a couple steps back, hands raised up in a placating gesture. Whether it’s for him or for Chrissy because he didn’t listen, Eddie’s too busy putting a neon yellow safety buckle on to think about it.

He takes his time, this is basically free marketing so he’s not about to rush through or do a half-assed job. But in just a few minutes he has a vac full of bees and the game is ready to be played. The lifter gently lowers Eddie back to the ground with another round of cheers. He unclips from the safety harness and takes a shallow bow for the crowd.

Then Steve is jogging over, Eddie stands up straighter than he ever has in his life. Nervous for what is about to happen.

“You saved the game, man!” Steve has the nicest smile that Eddie has ever seen, wide and toothy. He is but a man and thus falls a little bit in love immediately.

“It was nothing, really, just part of the job, y’know.”

“Well, here’s something you probably haven’t done on the job. You have to throw the first pitch.”

“No, no, I absolutely will not be doing that.”

It’s the wrong thing to say, a mischief lights up in Steve’s eyes. He jerks his chin up at Chrissy who says something Eddie is too far away to hear into a walkie talkie. He thinks he has a guess though when the loudspeaker begins to drawl, “Laaadies and Gentlemen, our game is about to begin. Tonight’s first pitch will be thrown by our bee rescuer, Eddie Munson!”

The crowd begins to scream again, but the sound is almost like the hive's steady drone when Steve leans close enough to whisper, “It’s just ceremonial, all you’ve got to do is throw it. I’ll even play catcher for you.” And Eddie’s helpless to do anything but nod.

There’s actually a lot that has to happen before they’re ready for him to throw his sad attempt at a pitch. But that gives him the time to settle his equipment out of the way and scream at Chrissy. Still it’s sooner than he’d like before she’s shuffling him over to a big mound of dirt in the center of everything. She pushes his hat and veil back and it feels a little proud father of the bride right until she pats him on the top of his head and whispers, “Don’t fuck it up, nerd.”

His palms are sweaty, they feel too slick to get a good grip on the small, white ball. He thinks he might throw up, only across from him Steve is there. A glove on one hand he sends Eddie an encouraging little finger wave with the other. 

He can do this. 

He takes a deep breath and throws.

It’s awful. Too high and a little off center, but Steve snags it in that large, ungloved palm and the crowd cheers again like he’s done something fantastic. He’s starting to think they’re just happy to be here.

He starts to walk off the field, toward Chrissy where he knows he’s safe. But he can’t help noticing that Steve is jogging his way too; the ball that Eddie just threw in one hand, a sharpie in the other, his glove tucked tight under his arm. “Eddie, hey, you gotta take this with you, dude.”

Steve lobs it at him in a soft underhand, and Eddie still fumbles the catch, “Thanks, man, but really, I don’t-” the rest of his response dies in his mouth when he realizes just what Steve has scribbled across the ball.

“Give me a call if you’re interested,” Steve says, walking backward toward the mound Eddie just left, “I can show you my gentle suck.” He laughs at his own shitty pickup line, which is somehow more attractive than his whole hot jock thing.

Eddie thinks he must be blushing up to his hairline by the time he makes it back to Chrissy and his things. She looks too smug for it to be any other way. “Told you we’d be even before the end of the night.”

“Chris, if this goes well I might owe you a favor. Now we gotta go, I’ve got bees to relocate.”

[deerestofdarlings]

Me when f/o:

[samarajethwa]

Just some silly little bee doodles 🐝✨

[brandyschillace]

Authors doing other stuff

Another day of not exactly writing things down… but worth it. Remember those videos of me building the hive?

Bees arrived!

Now we wait and hope they settle and accept the Queen.

UPDATE: they seem to have accepted the Queen; still monitoring but things seem positive!

[ineffably-queer-book-lover]

Garden

“It starts, as it will end, with a garden.”

Good Omens (by Terry Pratchett and that other guy) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Still trying to catch up on some long overdue prompts that have been living rent-free in my brain for ages, especially this one!

When I first saw the prompt "Garden" I immediately wanted to do something "South Downs Cottage Happily Ever After"-ly, as one does.

Then @noxnightingales shared this little gemstone of an idea:

I could see aziraphale as a bee keeper and crowley out in his garden. both bees and plants need each other, just like a and c. I can envision it, but I can't illustrate.

Yes, I could totally envision it, too:

Aziraphale would enjoy some proper beekeeping with all the human bells and whistles, e.g. the suit, a funny hat, a smoker and whatever else some apiculturist books would tell him. "Oh, may I obtain another license, please?" *excited wiggling*

Meanwhile, Crowley surely would complain about all of it, right? "Angel, you don't need any of this; just get some bloody bees and tell them to make honey or something!" And just to be contrary, he'd totally refuse to wear any protective gear, but mess around with the bees, probably having some very confused bees doing funny tricks. *secretly loving Aziraphale's excitement and making sure no bee would ever dare to sting either of them*

Bonus: You can totally see Aziraphale's color inspiration for his beehives, right? And Crowley will indulge his angel with all the flowers in his favorite color, like the smitten demon he is.

So yeah... that's my interpretation of this prompt for you! I'll spare you the frustrating details about creating the most elaborate garden diorama, apple tree and all, just to ultimately scrap it all, because just focusing on our ineffable husbands and their animal friends worked so much better!

@ineffablyruined Thank you for this lovely prompt. Good Omens and gardens go well together! I'll never catch up on all the prompts, but I'm happy to work on them, whenever time permits. 😊 @ineffablepretzel: Here are your promised bees! 🐝 @phoen1xr0se: You're probably really busy atm, but you asked to be tagged, so I hope this can make you smile in these hard times! 🤗

Wishing everyone an ineffable happy weekend! 😘

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - February 8-14

(I’m finally starting to get better from having had pneumonia for 2+ weeks, hopefully next week’s news should be on time)

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles!

1. Solar-powered device captures carbon dioxide from air to make sustainable fuel

“[The] solar-powered reactor could be used to make fuel to power cars and planes[.… It] does not require fossil-fuel-based power, or the transport and storage of carbon dioxide, but instead converts atmospheric CO2 into something useful using sunlight.”

2. How artificial light can boost coral reef recovery

“UZELA is [an autonomous submersible] designed to attract zooplankton […] by emitting specific wavelengths of light. [… In a ”six-month testing period,” it] significantly increased local zooplankton density and boosted the feeding rates of both healthy and bleached coral.”

3. Next-gen solar cells now fully recyclable with water-based method

“The recycled solar cell has the same efficiency as the original one. The solar cell is made of perovskite and the main solvent is water. […] They are not only relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture but also lightweight, flexible and transparent.”

4. Green walls cool cities and create urban habitats

“The researchers measured a cooling effect of up to 0.6–0.7 degrees Celsius [… which] could help combat the urban heat island phenomenon. […] The researchers [also] found that plant-covered facades hosted over 100 animal species, including insects, spiders, and birds.”

5. Major cause of honeybee mortality can be easily reduced

“If treatment occurs too soon, it may not fully eliminate the mites, allowing them to rebound before the season ends. […] Similar to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, mites that survive mistimed or improperly applied treatments become more resistant to future applications.”

6. Uganda community group restores shea groves and livelihoods

“As part of a larger effort to restore Uganda’s shea parklands, the cooperative has successfully rehabilitated more than 500 hectares (1,240 acres) of degraded land, integrating shea trees (Vitellaria paradoxa) and other native species with maize and sunflower crops.”

7. Senate Renews Commitment to the Great Lakes

“The [Act] represents the most significant federal investment in the health of the Great Lakes, addressing critical challenges such as pollution, invasive species, and habitat restoration. The Great Lakes […] hold 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater[….]”

8. Earth Gets Its Largest Protected Tropical Forest Reserve

“The Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor will […] protect 108,000 square kilometres of primary forest and support 60 million people who depend on the forest for food, energy and jobs. […] Through this approach, the DRC is empowering local communities to protect the forest while fostering economic growth.”

9. Australia’s Rarest Bird of Prey Spotted in Central Australia After 30 Years

“Dr. Henderson’s finding is an encouraging sign of the health of the sanctuary’s ecosystems as well as the bird’s continued migration into new areas. This bird’s presence in the sanctuary is particularly significant as it is the first confirmed sighting in the region since the mid-1990s.”

10. Australian company wins contract to design “hydrogen ready” high speed ferry

“The ferry, the Horizon X, will have capacity for 1,650 passengers and 450 cars, and will be able to travel at a speed of up to 35 knots. […] The ship will also have a specially-designed propulsion system arrangement that repurposes exhaust from the engine to help propel the vessel, in theory reducing its emissions.”

February 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[thinkingimages]

Beekeeper from the vincinity of Aranđelovac, Šumadija district, Serbia. Historic Museum of Serbia

[mankillercalledbunny]

BEEKEEPERS OF TUMBLR, LEND ME YOUR GRIPES!

I, like the character I'm writing, have only the vaguest understanding of beekeeping, and my intention is for him to run into all manner of problems. I'd like them to be both realistic and ridiculous, the kinds of things someone with 0 experience would ever expect to BE a problem he'd have to deal with, to be constructed into a humoursly troubled but eventually successful narrative. Please lay your wildest stories, best/weirdest tips, nerdiest complaints and most ridiculous or stupid issues (human-, bee-, or equipment-driven, take your pick) in my notes, and I will most happily incorporate whatever I can.

[diazsdimples]

I think Buck becoming a beekeeper after this would be hilarious actually. Like sure, the bees he faces are killer bees, stinging their was through half the population of Los Angeles and causing untold amounts of chaos, but I think he'd be like "🥺 but they were just following their instincts! People kept swatting at them and I'd sting someone that swatted me!" Anyways, after all that's done and the bees are safely collected and carted off to where they belong, Buck hops online and starts searching beehives and how to keep bees. He's still in his loft so he nominates Tommy and Eddie's backyards to be the Bee Lands (he argues bees will help cancel out Eddie's uncanny ability to kill every plant ever and Tommy's his boyfriend so he's gotta) and gets a couple of hives and a whole heap of honeybees delivered to both of their houses. It's a little difficult having split custody, especially considering the bee suits still give Eddie a nervous twitch, but Buck has the best time going over to each house and just chilling with the little guys, he initially doesn't want to take their honey but then does a bit more research and figures out a way to do it that's respectful and kind to the bees, and it becomes his favourite little hobby. He offers for the other members of the 118 to come over and look at the bees and see that they're really not so bad but for some reason no one really jumps at the offer.

[timmurleyart]

Honey power. 🌼🐻🍯(60”x60” mixed media)🐝

[pngcabinet]

˚˖𓍢ִ 🍯 ˚ honeycore pngs — free to use !! no credits needed ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

[hasfeelings]

Mainstream media is not very good at actually holding responsible parties to account. Even this short article, while mentioning the importance of the almond crop, does not point out that the way that almond farmers use bees to pollinate their crops has been for years if not decades itself a major source of the spread of diseases and parasites.

"The data is showing us this is the worst bee loss in recorded history," Shook told "CBS Saturday Morning." [...] "If this is a multi-year thing, it'll change the way we consume food in the United States," Shook said. "If we lose 80% of our bees every year, the industry cannot survive, which means we cannot pollinate at the scale that we need to produce food in the United States."  One example is almonds. With honeybees pollinating them, almond trees produce two to three thousand pounds of almonds per acre, Shook said. Without that pollination, almond trees produce only 200 pounds of nuts per acre.  "There is no almond crop without honeybees," Shook said.