[WDT] HARVEST FEST [NSFW]

I know it's gonna be a bad month when I'm wondering if remembering how to spell "Calcasieu Parrish" is triggering mild PTSD.

 

I wouldn't have thought that the latter word would be the one that tripped you up.

 

Well yeah, some asshole hit it with their car.

 

Anyway, in other news, I pulled up to my shop this afternoon to find that the local irrigation district had cut all the brush along the road leading to my gate (the road runs right next to an irrigation canal).

That's nice, it was starting to get a little overgrown; what WASN'T nice was that they disturbed a TIRE FULL OF BEES, AND LEFT THEM RIGHT NEXT TO MY GATE.

Spoiler

I've known about that tire for a couple of years (there's an old window unit air-conditioner with a bee-hive in it nearby, which has been there for over 20 years. Never bothered anyone, so I let it be.) and never messed with it because the bees never messed with me.

But the irrigation district guys completely moved its location by about ten feet (two meters), and now the bees are pissed.

I tried going up to the gate, but a couple of "scout bees" started buzzing around my head really close, and if you smash one of those guys, they send out a pheromone that calls in the cavalry.
This is an otherwise peaceful beehive, and I don't want to kill them.

I'll let y'all know how things develop...

 

Are those honeybees?

 

It turns out humans aren't the only animals that use fire as a tool.
https://www.australiangeographic.co...sie-firehawk-raptors-are-spreading-bushfires/

 

Pretty sure they are.

 

Wow, I wouldn't have believed a honeybee hive in a tire.

 

Bees will make nests in all kinds of surprising places; just talk to your local exterminator.

I really don't think these are Killer Bees, because they probably would have attacked me years ago.

 

Killer bees are easily identified by their bullet belts and sombreros.

 

I pointed out to my neighbor that she had bees nesting under the shake siding on the back of her house last year.

I wouldn't have thought there would be enough protection from the elements in a tire. That's why it surprised me.

 

This is new info?

back when Australia was burning out of control I remember hearing about this as one of the reasons it was so much worse. Nature is fascinating.

 

Well it was new to me. I'm not sure how long we've known about it.

And yes, nature is fascinating. And scary as hell at times.

 

Whoa! Look at this woodwork! Also check out the transom lights on the interior doors. So cool. Even better, this is a $50K house.

 

This tire was overgrown with grass prior to today, which provided some extra shelter.

 

Given that you're in Texas, they're probably at least hybrids. Africanized bees have outcompeted the other types in most of the southwest. Contrary to the media scaremongering in the 90s, they're only a little more aggressive and unlikely to be a threat unless you fuck with them while they're swarming.

I second the recommendation to reach out to a local beekeeper. Direct sunlight hitting that tire is probably going to overheat the hive and kill it.

 

Jesus Christ, we actually had an assembly in the third(?) grade about the dangers of killer bees. We were told they were everywhere, and reports of killer bee hives were reported on the local news.
Killer bees, along with devil-worshipers, poisoned Halloween candy, and people handing out free drugs were just some of the dangers lurking around any corner for kids in the '80s/ early '90s.

I tried to contact a guy I know who keeps some bee hives; he hasn't gotten back to me.

Here's a closer shot; no scout bees trying to fuck with me today.

Spoiler

EDIT: Speaking of things that I was warned about when I was a kid, my dad always warned me that snakes would often hide inside of old tires.

NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I FOUND A SNAKE IN AN OLD TIRE.
You people know me, and so y'all know I like snakes, and I like catching them. So I've been looking.

You know what I HAVE found plenty of in old tires? Black Widows.