The Surly Curmudgeon

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A glimmer of hope for the colony we had assumed was queenless, despite the ignorance and arrogance of their keeper.

Today was a heartbreaking day here at Jehovah Jireh Apiary.

Summary of hive inspections at Jehovah Jireh apiary, October 26, 2017. Hive 1 – found several bees with DWV, and several dead, white, nearly emerged pupae on bottom screen. Otherwise okay. Hive 2 – found queen, but she isn’t marked. This hive may have swarmed or superseded. Hive 3 – On its way out. No eggs, no uncapped brood. Very sparse capped brood. Low worker population.

Rudyard Kipling is accused – with good reason – of being a racist and an imperialist, but this poem attests that he was also a prophet. I share it here in its entirety because the online resources I’ve found are full of transcription errors which destroy not only the meter and rhyme, but the meaning of the words. How does one forge a sward, pray tell?

Pondering how America has wandered so far off the path upon which she was founded, I find an answer, and a hope in Psalm 106.

Summary of hive inspections at Jehovah Jireh apiary, October 2, 2017. The bees in all three hives were calm. No sign of any significant infestations. Population in all three hives was sparse. Attribute to early fall foraging, in the middle of a sunny, warm, but not hot day, or possibly due to Autumn draw-down. About 50 dead bees on the bottom screen of Hive 3, but none in death throes like last inspection. All hives seem to be okay in terms of stores. All three hives’ brood clustered at entrance end, with one frame of honey between entrance end wall and brood – textbook behavior per Dr. Leo. No queens seen, but eggs and brood of all ages found in all three hives.

Did hive inspections today on the twelfth day after end of the enforced brood break on Hive 2. All hives are thriving, but Hive 3 had about 50 dead bees in the empty zone to the left of the follower board, and about 10 bees in violent death throes. Looked for all the world like poisoning.

Since Jesus ascended to Heaven, Christians have been awaiting His return. As the world descends into anarchy, our desire for Jesus’ return becomes more and more fervent. Despite Jesus’ own admonition against it, Christians have tried since ancient times to determine from scripture exactly when the “rapture” will occur. The latest of these predictions is the so-called “Great Sign” – an alignment in the heavens which will happen on September 23rd, 2017. I submit that such predictions are a danger to those who are not yet believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The astonishing speed at which honeybees construct new comb, when they want to.