An Absent-Minded Beekeeper Strikes (A Match) Again

摘要

I felt sorry for a beekeeper once and offered to help him work his hives. Boy, 111 never do that again. He actually accepted my help, which shows you how desperate he was. The beekeeper had the annoying habit of always describing the personality of each hive before we pried open the top. Having named his hives, he'd say stuff like, "Gertrude here is as gentle as can be. Don't even have to smoke ole Gertrude." Thereafter, the bees would boil out of Gertrude and nearly carry off the pickup truck beforewe could dive back in. The beekeeper would then apologize for mixing up Gertrude with Ernestine, who can "get a little feisty." It just goes to show you if you can't identify your hives, you'd best use name tags.Some beekeepers use apps to remember the specifics of their hives. These apps are likely good, but I don't recommend them for beekeepers like me who spend half their time looking for their hive tool. Add a cell phone to keep tabs of while inspecting, and we might as well set up a grid pattern and call in search and rescue.