First of all, thank you for everyone who prayed protection over us as we dived into this really hot hive. It worked! The hive was remarkably well behaved. Remember that story from vacation bible school when Jesus calmed the storm? Well, pay attention because the wind and waves still know His name!

Our objective was to calm down this aggressive group of girls by removing the queen & replacing her with a new one. This new queen should have calm genetics. It will take a bit, but the new bees produced should be sweet & gentle! First we had to go through the whole angry hive & find the old mean queen bee!

A huge thank you to James and Ryan who helped me find the queen! When you have a overwhelming problem in life, there are those that will bow out; way too complicated! Then there are those that will take a ring side seat on Facebook. Not judging here, that has been me on some occasions. However, there are those that say, “Bring it! I am diving in headfirst to whatever lies ahead.” That pretty much describes these two men.

Of course, Ryan is the “extra calm Bee Whisperer” If I am in an emergency situation I will be calling for Ryan. My family will be mystified. They will say, “Who is she calling for?” That would be “Mr. Calm”; Ryan or Sue(my neighbor), she loves us and should have been an ambulance medic for sure! I am NOT built for emergencies! That is o.k. God gave me Sue. Every time I see blood, I call Sue. Hey, I am going to suit her up next time. She could be a bee whisperer and not even know it! Seriously, if you are in the Dallas, Fort Worth area Ryan is your man to capture swarms, remove bees in your garage or attic. He is amazing! Did I mention he is very calm? If you need a bee removal here is his info:

Ryan Giesecke, Owner, Honey Bee Relocation Services, Bee-Friendly Hive Removals, 214-577-9562717 Ridgeway Street, Dallas, TX 75214. You may also email Ryan at ryangiesecke@gmail.com or visit their website at honeybeerelocationservices.com.

My friend James is, at his heart, a teacher. There are those that will tell you what to do. There are also those that will show you what to do. Then there are those that will step aside and patiently ask you what you think you should do. I have a friend in her 80’s  that does this for me, but James is a young thang with wisdom beyond his years.

Thank you guys! I never would have found Blondie without you! Thankfully Blondie didn’t have to be snuffed out. I think Ryan, “The Bee Whisperer” can handle her. He will install her into one of his nucs and I have no doubt she will give him a run for his money! If anyone can handle her; he can.

I picked up my new queen from Texas Bee Supply: https://www.texasbeesupply.com/ The next day, and after waiting 24 hours, pressed the cage containing her into the wax in the uppermost box in the hive. The girls took notice right away, gathering around the area where the queen was placed. They all bowed low sticking their bums in the air and fanning with their wings. This is a great sign as they do this when the queen is in the hive. It looked very much like they were paying homage to the queen! I could just hear them shouting in their tiny bee voices, “Long live the queen!”

All this looks promising. I will check back on Tuesday(3 days from when I put her in) to see if they have eaten through the candy plug on the queen cage and let her out. I couldn’t take any pictures of the install because I was by myself, but my favorite camera man will be with me Tuesday. Yikes that’s tomorrow! I will let you know if the queen is out of her cage hopefully laying eggs which will turn into beautiful CALM baby bees.

So glad I am on this crazy bee keeping adventure. It has its ups & downs, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world!

Happy Bee keeping! Dash & family