You're Not Gonna Believe This, But It's True :yikes:

Post by **tex** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:35 pm

On my way back to the corn cleaning plant late this afternoon, I drove past my mailbox to get my mail, (it's about a half-mile from the house), and I was rather surprised to find a large swarm of bees hanging on it. Since I didn't want to see the mail bad enough to fight them for it, I just took a few pictures and went on my way.

Believe it or not, after nightfall, I drove up beside it, and opened the door and got the mail out, without disturbing them. I had to drive close enough to allow the door of the mailbox to rest on the door of my vehicle, because if I had allowed it to open all the way, it would have crushed a bunch of bees.

You'll no doubt notice in the pictures that the mailbox looks pretty beat up, and rusty in spots, so I might as well explain that right up front. LOL. For years, the high school kids in this part of the world have delighted in driving around at night and smashing rural mailboxes. They especially love to do it after football games, but it can happen on almost any night. For all I know, they may do this all over the nation, but anyway, they have been pretty bad about it in this area.

Most folks just give in and buy a new box when that happens, but I'm not gonna give the vandals another shot at a new box, (they love to smash new mailboxes). I just take a sledge hammer and beat mine back out to where the door will sorta close, and keep right on using the same old box. There's no telling how many times I've straightened it and put it back up on it's stand, (they usually knock it completely off the pedestal--one night they knocked it plumb across the road, and I found it in the ditch on the other side. That night they even stole the pedestal--I never recovered it).

Another reason why I keep using the same old box is because it's one of the largest mailboxes in the world, and I can't find a new replacement anywhere near as large. I don't know if they stopped selling them, but I haven't run across another one in years. It's big enough, for example, to hold two or three shirtbox size packages, so it comes in pretty handy at times.

Anyway, the kids seem to be gettin' tired of beatin' up that same old box, cause it's been a long time now, since they worked it over, though they have mangled a few of the nighbors' mailboxes since then. (They'll probably hit it tonight, since I brought it up. LOL).

Here are a few pix of the swarm of bees. Bear in mind that the box is about two feet long, to give you an idea of the size of the swarm. Sorry about the quality of the pictures--it was late in the afternoon, and the lighting left a lot to be desired.

I'm glad they weren't killer bees. They seemed pretty gentle. They'll probably leave before noon tomorrow, after they rest a while. If they don't leave, the mailcarrier is in for a surprise, when he comes by. LOL.

Love,
Wayne

barbaranoela · Post by **barbaranoela** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:49 pm

OMG!!!!! yikes!!!!

Thats the answer to the missing CARD---they Buzzed it to pieces!!!
Same here--kids luve bashing mail-boxes!!!!!!and riding across your lawn with their cars!!!

luv Barb

PS---Kait keeps getting on that merry go round but cant seem to complete the ride!!!

JJ · Post by JJ » Wed May 17, 2006 9:58 pm

Eeeeeew! Yikes.....that is scary! JJ

Liz · Post by **Liz** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:37 pm

That is just amazing Wayne. Just as well you aren't allergic to bee stings. I don't think I would have touched the box though. A bit chicken I guess.

Mail boxes get a bit of a hiding around here at times as well, especially after a party in the area. Recently every mailbox on the main road near us was demolished.

Love

Liz

harvest_table · Post by **harvest_table** » Wed May 17, 2006 11:31 pm

Holy Moly!

Do you think they will be gone by tommorrow? Do they come and go that soon? You should tip your mail carrier big time....your cornfield looks great by the way.

Love,
Joanna

kate_ce1995 · Post by **kate_ce1995** » Thu May 18, 2006 6:17 am

Wow! And I thought the earwigs that lived in my parent's mailbox were tough to deal with!

They love mailbox hockey up here too. Ours got it last winter. We got a new box because they managed to break the nuts and bolts holding it to the post too badly. Many folks on the street have new posts this year...

Katy

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Thu May 18, 2006 7:09 am

WOW, Tex!

That's so cool. Bees need all the help we can give 'em, so I really appreciate your efforts not to disturb them. Do these bees pollinate your corn?

Love,

Polly

grannyh · Post by **grannyh** » Thu May 18, 2006 7:35 am

WOW, Idon't think I would have gotten the mail at all!

celia · Post by **celia** » Thu May 18, 2006 7:54 am

Amazing! How sweet your gentleness with the bees! Celia

Post by **tex** » Thu May 18, 2006 8:07 am

Well I'll be darned. I never would have guessed that kids have taken up the sport of mailbox hockey, as Katy, put it, all over the world. That's incredible. I wonder what it really means. When I was a kid, we wouldn't have dreamed of destroying someone's mailbox. We might have put a skunk in there, if we were upset about something they had done that was really upsetting, but we wouldn't have beat up their mailbox.

When the bees are swarming like that, ( looking for a new home), they stop and rest now and then, for about a day, more or less. The queen is in the center of the cluster of bees, protected by all the other bees that surround her, and if you gently reach in and remove the queen, and place her in a container, all the other bees will follow and join her. That's how beekeepers add to their apiary, without having to spend any money.

Polly, this was just a swarm passing through, from who-knows-where. We do have a few wild colonies that live in barns on our place. Beekeepers seem to be an endangered species around here. Most of them were wiped out a few years ago, when disease and mites were such a huge problem, and no one new appears to be interested in taking up the art of beekeeping. A few years ago, when the African killer bees were passing through here, and the native bees were already having trouble with mites, we we all afraid that all the native bees would be wiped out, and we would be stuck with nothing but killer bees. Fortunately, though, the natives won out, and are recovering, and things seem to be getting back to normal again.

To be honest, I'm not sure how much corn polinating bees do, but they are are pretty much essential for crops like cotton and clover, and virtually all vegetables, and I suppose, most fruit, also.

If the bees are still on the mailbox after lunchtime, I suppose I'll call the mailman and tell to just leave the mail in my brothers box.

Love,
Wayne

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Thu May 18, 2006 8:31 am

Hi Tex!

I just googled corn and found out that it has both male and female organs so that it can fertilize itself. HAH! No bees needed I guess. Of course, you are the corn expert around here - ears as well as popped.

I know we had this discussion before, but are you in a position to benefit from this new emphasis on ethanol as a fuel? I think I recall your saying that the problem is the distribution system and that you would not be able to benefit.

Amazing what we learn here.

Love,

Polly

Canadian Karen · Post by **Canadian Karen** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:03 am

Wow!

Sorry, but there is ABSOLUTELY no way I would be within a mile of that mailbox! YIKES!

One thing I am thankful for: Last year, we moved out of the city of Toronto to about 45 minutes outside the city to a smaller town. Earwigs in Toronto were a MAJOR problem. They were in every nook and cranny,underneath all your lawn furniture cushtions,EVERYWHERE! Where we are now, I have yet to see one single earwig! I like this place!

Karen

Post by **tex** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:04 am

Polly,

Apparently I didn't quite have my brain engaged yet this morning when I wrote that comment about not knowing if bees played a part in corn polination. LOL. Of course it self pollinates, by gravity and wind. The tassel, (with the pollen) is at the top of the stalk, and the ears, (with a hair-like strand of "silk" for each and every kernel which will be formed), is about mid-way down the stalk. The pollen travels down the center of the hollow silk, to reach the embryonic kernel. This amounts to a journey of roughly a foot or more, for the kernels at the base of the ear. Truly an amazing trip. The outside rows, on the south side of fields, are notorious for not pollinating correctly, due to prevailing south winds, during the time of year when polllination usually takes place, (usually during the next two weeks, in this area).

We used to grow white corn, and indian blue corn, (for the chip and tortillla industry), and sometimes we would find a blue kernel or two, on white ears, in fields over a mile away from the nearest blue corn, probably due to whirlwinds passing through.

Yes, I doubt that we will be able to set up an ethanol plant in this area, due to the logistics problems involved with utilizing all the stillage produced, (the wet fermented grain that's left after the alcohol is extracted by distillation).

Corn prices are responding all over the country, though, due to the increased demand, so there will definitely be some benefit to farmers. Of course, most of the benefit in higher prices for corn, will go back into fuel and fertilizer, (which are all derived from oil/fuel), and are used in huge amounts in the production of corn.

Yep, we talk about a diverse range of topics here. LOL.

Love,
Wayne

P S Earwigs are pretty scarce in this part of the world. In fact, we rarely see them.

Peggy · Post by **Peggy** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:12 am

Canadian Karen · Post by **Canadian Karen** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:20 am

Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if the whole world woke up and realized the dangers of eating wheat, yet the wheat farmers did not suffer in any way because we have discovered a very cost effective way to use wheat as a fuel?

Ahhhhh, I like dreaming..........

Karen