Blog : 1026 Bees (October 26, 2021)

 

I heard paws pouncing on the plastic carpet guard in the office. Synneva was snorting at an insect buzzing on the floor near the desk. It was yellow and black. A bee? "Good girl," I encouraged her. "Get that thing!"

She looked at me with ice blue eyes as if to reply, "Seriously? You want me to eat it?" I did imagine it. But I was also stung in my mouth this summer when I was working at the outside table and didn't notice a bee in my tea. Not fun.

"I get it girl." I patted her and thanked her for downing the insect at least and sat down at the desk to work.

Synneva barked and leapt at the window. Another flying foe! I took a fly swatter to it. When it fell, I noticed five others on the ground. What? Five? Something's not right. I made a mental note to ask my son about it later.

While I was writing, I heard a buzz at the far bank of windows. I went there with my swatter and found a large bee (at least I think they are bees). Where are all these coming from? I hit it more than once before it was dead. When it fell, I noticed the carpet was dotted with winged black and yellow bodies. Good Lord! What is this?

I thought of the old, unused air conditioner that had had a buzzing swarm outside the wooden casing during my previous visit. The neighbor said the bees weren’t as bad this year. I wondered, Is there any honey inside there? I didn't check, but I did imagine myself Googling beekeeping and wondered how much a bee suit cost.

There were no bees in the house before. I didn't even know it might be a problem! I examined the old unit inside and outside. No bees there.

Curiosity called, and I decided a body count was necessary. I pored over the floors by windows and the side door. There were 92 bees at least, some still wiggling on the carpet. I stopped counting when I noticed another bee in the window and swatted him--just one swat this time. Are they coming in to die? I thought of my father. That's what he did. He came home to die. The bees mostly gathered at the place where the foot of his bed rested. My heart melted and stung with the memory, but this time I did not weep.