CoTT 2 House of Cards

[Valkyrie]

Good morning   I have an appointment to get bloodwork done before heading off to work this morning.  Then this afternoon, they're supposed to fix the rip in my new couch.  I hope everyone has a great day  

[BabyXander1990]

20 hours ago, Headstall said:

Morning, all. Watching the hearings.  

 

20 hours ago, Albert1434 said:

Me to Gary 

Was watching some of it, but what a waste of time.🤬 And money...

[BabyXander1990]

Morning all..another day of rain...and today, with the rain, I will be busy, like I was yesterday...

[Albert1434]

Aloha All 

[Albert1434]

1 hour ago, BabyXander1990 said:

 

Was watching some of it, but what a waste of time.🤬 And money...

Your master seemed happy 

[Albert1434]

Aloha Val

[Albert1434]

I think this is cool

New York City Council Votes To Name a Street After Stan Lee in The Bronx

[Albert1434]

OMG

Singapore seizes record $48.6 million shipment of elephant ivory and pangolin scales

[Bucket1]

Running off to sleep, have a good day everyone

[Valkyrie]

58 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

Aloha Val

How are things in Albertville?  Any leg cramps last night? 

[Valkyrie]

2 minutes ago, Bucket1 said:

Running off to sleep, have a good day everyone

[dughlas]

G'day y'all. Another pleasant day.

[Marty]

14 hours ago, Headstall said:

My son came back from his vacay to find a bunch of baby honeybees on his windowsill. He's been rescuing them... he's carried out about 60 so far from his room and the room beside his... he feeds them sugar water and they get lively and fly away. We don't know where they came from, but we think it must be from the wall/ ceiling over his window, and that would be a major undertaking to open up... there was only four when he got home today, so it looks like maybe they're ending. I know a hive of wasps or hornets will leave if their scouts don't come back. He called a beekeeper who's coming over on Sunday, so maybe he can figure it out. It's sweet to see my son care so much about these honeybees... I raised him well.  

Good for your son!

I'm not 100% sure they are actually honeybees. And, if they are, they certainly aren't babies. Worker honeybees spend the earlier part of their lives inside the hive as nurse bees. These bees nurture and feed bee larvae. They also take on the job of keeping the inside of the hive clean, feeding the queen, processing incoming nectar into honey for storage, and capping the honeycomb where the honey is stored with beeswax.

It is only when they get older that the worker bees will leave the hive to collect the necessary resources from which the colony survives, such as nectar, pollen, and propolis (a a resin gathered from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. Propolis is used to seal small holes in the hive). They have a dangerous and tiring job, but work from the time the sun is up until sunset.

Maybe the bees your son is finding are these older worker bees that have suffered from heat exhaustion due to the very high temperatures this year. My bigger worry would be that they may be suffering from insecticide poisoning that farmers may have been spraying on their crops (or even gardeners have been spraying). If this were the case, I would be concerned about trying to rescue them and getting them flying again. The danger then is they could actually bring back the poison to the hive.

At the height of the summer a typical honeybee colony (hive) can have as many as 80,000 or more worker bees. The queen bee in the hive lays as many as 2,000 eggs each day (that is literally her only function). The loss of a few dozen, or even several hundred, worker bees would be insignificant to the colony. Indeed, there are probably many, many, more than this dying from natural causes every day. Worker bees literally do work themselves to death.

Edited July 25, 2019 by Marty
Clarification

[Marty]

5 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

Good morning   I have an appointment to get bloodwork done before heading off to work this morning.  Then this afternoon, they're supposed to fix the rip in my new couch.  I hope everyone has a great day  

Good afternoon, Val. Hope all goes well.

 

4 hours ago, BabyXander1990 said:

Morning all..another day of rain...and today, with the rain, I will be busy, like I was yesterday...

Hey, Xan!

Not too bad of a day here. Clouds and sun. Bit windy.  Currently around 24°C/75°F. No sign of rain.

3 hours ago, Albert1434 said:

Aloha All 

Hey, young Albert!

Hoping there were no leg cramps last night.

1 hour ago, Bucket1 said:

Running off to sleep, have a good day everyone

Sleep well, Bucket.  

23 minutes ago, dughlas said:

G'day y'all. Another pleasant day.

Hey, duggie.

Here's hoping it stays pleasant

[Valkyrie]

12 minutes ago, Marty said:

Good afternoon, Val. Hope all goes well.

It went fine, thanks   Everything worked out well, timing-wise.  I stopped at DD for brekkie first, arrived about 5 mins early for my appointment, and I was in and out in about 5 minutes.  The tech was very personable and I barely felt the needle.  So I arrived to work a little early, which is fine.  Now to hope the repair this afternoon goes as smoothly  

[Headstall]

5 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

Good morning   I have an appointment to get bloodwork done before heading off to work this morning.  Then this afternoon, they're supposed to fix the rip in my new couch.  I hope everyone has a great day  

Have a great day, Val.  

[Headstall]

4 hours ago, BabyXander1990 said:

Morning all..another day of rain...and today, with the rain, I will be busy, like I was yesterday...

Morning, Xander.  

3 hours ago, Albert1434 said:

Aloha All 

Morning, Albert.  Any cramps last night?

[Headstall]

1 hour ago, Bucket1 said:

Running off to sleep, have a good day everyone

Night, B... have a great sleep.  

[Headstall]

48 minutes ago, dughlas said:

G'day y'all. Another pleasant day.

Hey, dugh.  Here too, but the heat is coming back.   

[Headstall]

29 minutes ago, Marty said:

Good for your son!

I'm not 100% sure they are actually honeybees. And, if they are, they certainly aren't babies. Worker honeybees spend the earlier part of their lives inside the hive as nurse bees. These bees nurture and feed bee larvae. They also take on the job of keeping the inside of the hive clean, feeding the queen, processing incoming nectar into honey for storage, and capping the honeycomb where the honey is stored with beeswax.

It is only when they get older that the worker bees will leave the hive to collect the necessary resources from which the colony survives, such as nectar, pollen, and propolis (a a resin gathered from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. Propolis is used to seal small holes in the hive). They have a dangerous and tiring job, but work from the time the sun is up until sunset.

Maybe the bees your son is finding are these older worker bees that have suffered from heat exhaustion due to the very high temperatures this year. My bigger worry would be that they may be suffering from insecticide poisoning that farmers may have been spraying on their crops (or even gardeners have been spraying). If this were the case, I would be concerned about trying to rescue them and getting them flying again. The danger then is they could actually bring back the poison to the hive.

At the height of the summer a typical honeybee colony (hive) can have as many as 80,000 or more worker bees. The queen bee in the hive lays as many as 2,000 eggs each day (that is literally her only function). The loss of a few dozen, or even several hundred, worker bees would be insignificant to the colony. Indeed, there are probably many, many, more than this dying from natural causes every day. Worker bees literally do work themselves to death.

Hey, Marty.   Well, they're definitely honeybees because my son sent photos to two different beekeepers... one of them runs a rescue... they will come and move hives that are accessible. Apparently, hives in walls are almost impossible... and bees often end up losing track of the hive when they find a way inside. They will go to a window and get disoriented. That's what she told my son... that just because they were on the window ledge doesn't mean the hive is near the window. 

They looked small, the first ones he found, but there were also larger ones. Anyway, I'm no expert, but both beekeepers said they were honeybees, and the guy coming Sunday doubts he can help much if they are in the wall.  

[Marty]

2 minutes ago, Headstall said:

Hey, Marty.   Well, they're definitely honeybees because my son sent photos to two different beekeepers... one of them runs a rescue... they will come and move hives that are accessible. Apparently, hives in walls are almost impossible... and bees often end up losing track of the hive when they find a way inside. They will go to a window and get disoriented. That's what she told my son... that just because they were on the window ledge doesn't mean the hive is near the window. 

They looked small, the first ones he found, but there were also larger ones. Anyway, I'm no expert, but both beekeepers said they were honeybees, and the guy coming Sunday doubts he can help much if they are in the wall.  

Okay, if other beekeepers have identified them as honeybees, I'll accept they must be then.

This time of the year it's possible they are wild bees from a hive that has swarmed. If the hive is in the wall space it may indeed be difficult to access. If they are in the roof space (above the ceiling) then removal should be easier. If the beekeeper coming on Sunday is used to 'rescuing' wild colonies, he (or she) will probably be able to rescue these especially if they are in the roof space, and there is an access door or hatch (as there almost always is here in Ireland).

Fingers crossed they can remove them without having to resort to actually killing them.

[Marty]

And hey to you, as well, Gary!

Hope the shoulder is continuing to heal.  

[clochette]

Hey people 👋🏻

I feel drained, this heat is killing me. Can I come live with you Marty? 🥵

I went with my brother to his follow up appointment with the surgeon this morning. He said it all looks well. Little bro should be able to go back to work in 2 weeks but might need to adjust his work like no heavy lifting (he still has a 2nd asshole wide open!). He has an appointment early September, surgery to remove said cyst 3 weeks later and he'll be off work for 2 months! He isn't happy cause he was planning on going back to Japan this Autumn. 

This morning mom went to sign the final papers to sell and give the keys to her parents' house. Hard to think we'll never go there anymore, all the souvenirs we have there. This book is now close. I hope my nasty aunt was at least polite with my mom this time... She has no idea what's coming her way. No one in the family will talk to her now. She went way too far in her nastiness and hurtful comments and attitudes since grandma died. 

In other news the heat is doing amazingly for the watermelons, especially the one outside in a rise bed as it's running on the wall between the 2 terrace. The fruit is clearly visibly getting bigger every day! 2 weeks ago is was the size of a peanut, yesterday it had a circumference of 9cm!

I hope you're not suffering from the heat, especially you, you our old gentlemen 

[Marty]

15 minutes ago, clochette said:

Hey people 👋🏻

I feel drained, this heat is killing me. Can I come live with you Marty?

Erm....  

To quote a couple of lines from Meatloaf's Paradise By The Dashboard Light:

🎶 Let me sleep on it
And I'll give you an answer in the morning 🎶 

Actually, I'm heading for continental Europe myself in a few weeks. I'm just praying that the weather will have cooled down a bit before then...

Spoiler

 

 

[Headstall]

36 minutes ago, clochette said:

Hey people 👋🏻

I feel drained, this heat is killing me. Can I come live with you Marty? 🥵

I went with my brother to his follow up appointment with the surgeon this morning. He said it all looks well. Little bro should be able to go back to work in 2 weeks but might need to adjust his work like no heavy lifting (he still has a 2nd asshole wide open!). He has an appointment early September, surgery to remove said cyst 3 weeks later and he'll be off work for 2 months! He isn't happy cause he was planning on going back to Japan this Autumn. 

This morning mom went to sign the final papers to sell and give the keys to her parents' house. Hard to think we'll never go there anymore, all the souvenirs we have there. This book is now close. I hope my nasty aunt was at least polite with my mom this time... She has no idea what's coming her way. No one in the family will talk to her now. She went way too far in her nastiness and hurtful comments and attitudes since grandma died. 

In other news the heat is doing amazingly for the watermelons, especially the one outside in a rise bed as it's running on the wall between the 2 terrace. The fruit is clearly visibly getting bigger every day! 2 weeks ago is was the size of a peanut, yesterday it had a circumference of 9cm!

I hope you're not suffering from the heat, especially you, you our old gentlemen 

This older gent just turned the central air back on.   Sorry you're melting...