Beekeeping and firefighting

[exlrrp]

Anybody have any experience keeping bees?
i got a hive parked right in the middle of the 2 acres of lawn I must mow and its a kamikaze to mow around it. I'd like to move it over to the side, also learn how to take care of them, get the honey, etc
Also, I joined the Volunteer Fire Dept here--been to 4 meetings now I got all my own equipment including turnout gear, pager and license plate sign--does the last get me out of tickets?
I kind of always wanted to be a fireman and I thought it would be a good way to meet nice folks in town. If I want people to come up and help me in a fire, I thought it would be appropriate to join. I live about as far out of town as you can and still say youre part of it--takes me just under 10 minutes to get to town, if I don't have to unlock the gate. I could knock a couple of minutes off the time if I didn't have to pass through the Town Radar trap.
Don't expect me to run into any burning skyscrapers though, I'll stay down here and polish the firetruck while the Brownsville version of Ron goes in to be the hero.
they also serve who get there late and help clean up
next weekend: search and rescue training

Stay good
James

[QM3steve]

You need to find out what kind of bes you have before you can plan on any honey.

Yellow jackets tend to build a hive in a hole somewhere. Could be in the side of a house, an unused chipmunk hole, etc. They can find home most anywhere. They have a nasty habit of stinging more than once and WILL NOT see the humor in mowing anywhere near them.

Whitefaced hornets will bulid a paper nest in trees, low bushes, eves, etc. Similar to a wasp nest but they make it faster. They have a short fuse also and the sting is like being hit with a hammer.

Bumblebees will build in holes also. They don't have the bad sense of humor but don't think that stops them from stinging. They don't fly well so it's easier to swat them.

Honeybees tend to build where they can build comb, like a hollow tree. They will allow you to get closer than most bees. They can only sting once and the stinger will pull out of the bee, eventually killing it. (no sense in wasting a life, so they don't tend to sting as much.)

The firefighter plate might get you out of a ticket but using "Sir, Ma'am" does even a better job. Welcome to an elite group of people. One of the most dangerous professions that don't get paid much for something most of us enjoy doing.

[Packo]

James,

Don't know about Oregon.....but I do know about Jasper, Ga.....it won't work there, nor will yessir, nosir.

Congrats on not only the new home but your new career as a smoke eater. Hey, maybe you could be their Smoke Jumper!

Bee careful with the Bees. If they are Hornets, they have a tendency to attack on mass. Got 17 stings one day from ground Hornets. It was painful. They inject a pheramone (sp?) that leads the others to you.

Pighmpr and Sal will be here next weekend. I'll make sure he sees your new digs.

Abu!

Pack

[39mto39g]

about a QT. of gas and a match will work just fine.

Lets see what your Fire department looks like. What kind of equipment do they use, etc.

search and rescue training-do you have thermol imaging cameras?


Ron

[exlrrp]

Originally posted by QM3steve You need to find out what kind of bes you have before you can plan on any honey.

Yellow jackets tend to build a hive in a hole somewhere. Could be in the side of a house, an unused chipmunk hole, etc. They can find home most anywhere. They have a nasty habit of stinging more than once and WILL NOT see the humor in mowing anywhere near them.

Whitefaced hornets will bulid a paper nest in trees, low bushes, eves, etc. Similar to a wasp nest but they make it faster. They have a short fuse also and the sting is like being hit with a hammer.

Bumblebees will build in holes also. They don't have the bad sense of humor but don't think that stops them from stinging. They don't fly well so it's easier to swat them.

Honeybees tend to build where they can build comb, like a hollow tree. They will allow you to get closer than most bees. They can only sting once and the stinger will pull out of the bee, eventually killing it. (no sense in wasting a life, so they don't tend to sting as much.)

The firefighter plate might get you out of a ticket but using "Sir, Ma'am" does even a better job. Welcome to an elite group of people. One of the most dangerous professions that don't get paid much for something most of us enjoy doing.

thanks~~
theyre definitely honeybees and, according to the previous owner, worth keeping because they seem to be immune to a parasite thats sweeping the country and messing with America's bees (terorist parasites?) You can walk right up to the hive and mow around it, but its nervewracking.
Theyre already in a made up manufactured hive box thats smack dab in the middle of the field (clover, mostly).
I been cruising the beekeeper sites ( like http://www.beeculture.com/index.cfm ) and reading some intersting stuff. Like: One guy who has a site for beginners says "Hey'don't worry, I been stung at least 2,000 times but ity OK!"
STUNG 2000 times?? Thats sounds like one real fckup of a beekeeper!!best learn to mind yr own beeswax is what I got to say about it. I been stung by a variety of intersting fauna and flora over time but I sure don't say its nothing to worry abouit
I'll probably do the right thing and pay an expert to set me on the right path. Here is one American Male who believes in asking directions. (I need allthe help I can get)

Ron old bud--I'll go down and take pictures of the stuff, havent even inventoried the equipment yet--I mean, it LOOKS nice and shiny. There's 2 hook and ladders and 2 tenders and a couple of 4x4 brush trucks. They must have extra, they donated a truck to another district.There's one paid fireman here and everybody else is volunteered. I toild em I knew how to handle explosives--they weren' impressed all that much, I didn't think
Hate to say it but I think I already caught a wannabe Vietnam Vet here, one of the fire captains He was all: I was in the 101st and 173d so I says well I was a paratrooper too, 101st 1st/327 and MACV lrrps--what unit were you in and when did you go to jumpschool? His face changed notably and he said that he had been ATTACHED to the 101st and 173d--I axed him if he was jump qualified and he said yes, he went through an American jumpschool in Vietnam and qualified there. He said they paid him $100/ mo jump pay and I'm like: Hey WAIDDAMINNIT!! They only paid me $55/mo jump pay!! ($5.00 more than they paid WWII paratroopers--guess the other $5 was to cover inflation)
The talk ended right there, he kind of drifted away--I intend to pursue this further if he doesn't send me on a suicide mission.
Next weekend its seardh and rescue--I figure I can help here the most because I'm always looking for something, like my glasses.

Stay good, guys
James

[exlrrp]

Originally posted by Paco James,

Don't know about Oregon.....but I do know about Jasper, Ga.....it won't work there, nor will yessir, nosir.

Congrats on not only the new home but your new career as a smoke eater. Hey, maybe you could be their Smoke Jumper!

Bee careful with the Bees. If they are Hornets, they have a tendency to attack on mass. Got 17 stings one day from ground Hornets. It was painful. They inject a pheramone (sp?) that leads the others to you.

Pighmpr and Sal will be here next weekend. I'll make sure he sees your new digs.

Abu!

Pack

Abu Pack!

I'll post some picturez of it here then. Tell Dan Hi for me for sure and that I hope to catch up to him soon. Will definitely make the next psycovets thing there next year--Tell him if he doesn't come to thaty I'm driving to NC and staying with him a long time ( I know his address!)--THAT ought to get him there
Stay good
James

[exlrrp]

thought this mihght be a good place for another improbable exlrrp story.
When I lived in Hawaii (1975-76) I had 3 full grown mango trees on the property. I mean yr boy finally satisfied all his mango lust--had mangoes augratin, stuffed, jubilee, mangoes with eggs, fried green mangoes, pickled mangoes, roast mangoes, you name it.
I mean SOME mangoes! Till I got tired of em and there's 3 fruiuting seasons a year in HI.
One day, Before I got Mango-burnout and just let em fall and rot and let the roaches eat em, I was climbing in one of the trees picking em. I was high up just looking over the tops of 3 story buildings (this was my town house) when WHACK WHACK WHACK!! Thoiught someone was hitting me with a baseball bat for a second when I see all these YJs kamikazing on yr boy.
had about crawled right into a hive of yellowjackets!! Well, I thought, THIS really sucks-- I looked down--2 story drop to a corrugated iron roof--it was just too far to jump, fuck being a paratrooper. I debated it momentarily for about half a second then started to move. Well I come out of thet mango tree bout as fast as a person can leave a mango tree, you betcha. Forget how many times I was stung but it was more than several
After that I just let the dam things drop and be damned
I still like manngoes tho.
Stay good James

[QM3steve]

Sounds like you're in for a good time with the bees. Educate yourself on the web about bees and "Get 'er done." It might cost a bit at first but you won't have to pay anyone to do your work, and you'll know how to do it. Bzzzzzt.

The "vietnam vet" sounds more like parabulls--t than paratrooper. Watch out for the wannabe firefighters too. There's a lot to learn and some think they know it all. Those are the ones you don't go into a burning building with. There are very few rewards from being a firefighter, but the day someone comes up to you and says "thank you for saving my life", will be the greatest day you will ever have. I was a volunteer for 19 years and paid for 1-1/2. Politics and political B.S. turned my stomach and I got out. I miss it. Now family takes most of my time.

With bees and firefighting, personal protective equipment is a must.

Anyway, good luck and enjoy it. As you say, "Stay good" and safe.

P.S. Make every step count when you fight a fire. I had the misfortune (or fortune), to fall into a cellar through a stairway that was not there, during a structure fire. I walked away with a small black and blue where I had tightened my airpack strap too tight.

[frisco-kid]

I was wondering if you were going to pursue the wannabe Capt. any further. I'd ask questions everytime I saw him, just to watch him squirm. What was his MOS to be ATTACHED to the 101st AND the 173rd? I never heard of an American jump school in Nam. I wouldn't doubt it if the Vietnamese jump school had some American cadre, but I never met one American paratrooper who went through it as a student. Make him squirm......in front of people. Yeah, I can be a mean bastard sometimes .

As far as the bees, like I told ya before, find a pro bee keeper, have him harvest the the honey, give you some [clover honey is excellent], and move the hive for ya. Have him come back and harvest it when needed. It's their business; that's what they do. Now, if you're looking for a new hobby and are considering bee keeping then, by all means, read up on it and give it a shot. Just don't take any of the advice from this clown that has gotten stung 2,000 times. Sounds like he's still learning himself, by trial and error......mostly error .

Looking forward to your next trip down here, my friend. Thanks again for the help getting the sectional home. Now you'll have a place to sit the next time you visit .

[MarineAO]

Well one thing for sure is that you can use your turn out gear as a beekeeping suit. I went to shipboard Fire Fighting school twice and it can be fun and scary all at the same time. If you get a chance go to a Fire Fighting course they are very informative and fun. Remember drink a lot of water some of those simulations get real hot even in turn out gear. Have fun and don't get stung.