Have I mentioned that we have a little bit of a bee problem? Not really a problem, but, let’s say, a challenge. As we’ve been restoring and fostering the native habitat here on our 40 acre spread, we’ve seen so many Northern California flora and fauna move in and declare the place their own. From Monarch and Checkerspot butterflies to Pacific Pond Turtles to Red Tailed Hawks and Mountain Lions, animals are finding Two Terrier Vineyards to their liking. So it seemed logical to invite a local beekeeper to park some of his hives here to add to the Peaceable Kingdom ambiance. We didn’t feel the place was particularly devoid of bees. Our policy is just “More Bees is Better.”
So the quite famous Hector Alvarez of Hector’s Honey brought about forty hives to our place for the duration of the lavender bloom. Bees were EVERYWHERE. Then came the day when Hector arrived to take his bees back to their winter quarters. We were sad to see the bees go. But they didn’t go. Bees were everywhere. Seems several wild swarms had taken up residence around the property. We counted at least three huge hives — one in a hollow oak down by Indian Leap, one in a Manzanita tree in the lower pasture and one out in the woods at the side of the vineyard. But we really noticed these bees liked to hang out at our barn. Then we noticed they were everywhere in our barn. By the time it dawned on us that the bees had found a way between the inner and outer wall of our barn and were actually in residence, you could put your ear to the wall and hear a humming like a buzz saw. We had one specialist come out who listened in and estimated the hive went from ten feet up the wall down to seven feet above the floor. In other words, we had the bustling Manhattan of Bees right in our walls. That “specialist” decided he wasn’t equipped to deal with a bee situation of that magnitude.
So we called the guy we should have called in the first place, Hector Alvarez. Like a true Super Hero, he needed nothing but his special powers and a really cool costume. And a side-kick, who turned out to be our ranch manager and Shaman of Seeds, John the Baptist. John was deemed qualified when he dropped this little tidbit: “When I lived on a commune in the Sixties, I was the beekeeper.” (And don’t you just know there is an incredible story that includes the words: “John the Baptist”, “Sixties”, “Commune”. I’ll see what I can uncover.)
The operation went like this: Hector pumped smoke into the entry hole in the walls to put the bees to sleep. Then some of the crew rushed in to rip boards off the walls and expose the hive. They all got stung while Hector and John sat unmolested as bees gently landed on their heads as if they were all in a Disney movie. At this point the hive was exposed as a massive bee construction project that may be about two feet high by about four feet long. (We won’t know until the bees are removed and we can take the boards off the wall.) Hector and John searched through the hive and located the Queen. She was then put into one of Hector’s hives which was placed up on a make-shift shelf. Hector says, in the space of a couple of days, the bees of the hive will relocate into the box to be with the Queen. Then, under cover of darkness, Hector will remove the box and take the swarm back to join his other bees for a productive life making some of Sonoma’s best honey and beeswax products.

Here's the temporary hive that's been set up next to the exposed area of the wall where the bee swarm had taken residence. The Queen is inside and the bees are already swarming around the box.

The reward: one "share" of the first honey haul. Once the bees are gone, there are pounds and pounds more to be extracted.
And just another note: this would have been the time to have my Nikon and my long-range lens. I forgot it. So if you don’t like the quality of these pictures, just imagine me running into a cloud of bees and trying to snap pictures with my iPhone before being stung.
So now, we have the swarm inside my tackroom in the barn. For the next several days, we have to run in in the morning before they get too active, open the window and let them out. Then after dark when we think they’ve settled down, we run in and close the window to keep them in. Hector tells me that, probably by Friday, all the bees who were out on expedition during the big bee removal project will have returned and assessed the situation. They’ll either rejoin their Queen in Hector’s hive box or they will fly off and join one of the wild swarms on our property. Or maybe they’ll form their own new colony somewhere else.
In the meantime, there is honey everywhere — on all the doorknobs, on the floor, dripping out of the walls. But at least everyone on the property that day walked away with a pound of honeycomb for their efforts.
I’ve heard all about this Colony Collapse Disorder and we want to do our part. But so far, Two Terrier Vineyards is proving to be a clean well-lighted place for bees.
So how many bees do we have buzzing around here? Well, so many that a distant neighbor — obviously someone fairly new to the country — came storming up to me about a year ago to complain: “YOUR bees are all over my flowers!” Needless to say, she didn’t accept my explanation that I haven’t yet learned how to “curb my bees”.
That story would be an interesting post, but probably won’t be one that will ever be written. Sometimes, no matter how much you want to do otherwise, you just have Bee Cool.
I would have laughed in her face & told her the bees are good for her flowers & she is lucky to have them!
Well, I did question, “You say ‘bees on your flowers’ as if that were a bad thing?” But she just kept yelling at me to get rid of these bothersome bees and remove the unsightly hives — which she could probably see through binoculars if she went out on the balcony at the BACK of her house and looked half a mile up toward our hill.
She may be reading your blog 🙂
JTB keeps as much of his history to himself as he can. Good man to have around.
Lovely post to read in the midst of March Madness.
Maybe your distant neighbor was part of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup advertisements in the ’70’s: “You got peanut butter on my chocolate!” “You got chocolate in my peanut butter!”
Funny that someone would worry about honeybees on their flowers. I worry when I *don’t* see them.
Yes, I’d like to hear JTB’s story…
Your neighbor is an idiot. Republiscum I’m guessing. Neat story and I’m looking for to reading more about the honey.
Best not say any more on the remote chance that they read this blog. But suffice it to say, that on the very same day she threatened to report us to the town council for “harboring unsightly beehives (or as her husband called them “honey collection devices”), the City of Sonoma declared itself “Bee Friendly”, relaxing all rules about beekeeping in an effort to promote more small-holder beekeeping. But we ended up having Hector move the hives to a different area anyway just to keep the peace. However, they could always now hike a mile and half into our land behind the main mountain and come upon the hives and be offended anew by their “unsightliness”.
Honestly? Honey collection devices? Clearly city folk. And that coming from a girl who was born in the Bronx!
PS Like my avatar this time!
Can you ask beekeeper Hector Alvarez if there is wisteria honey or lemon honey? My blossoms are loaded with bees. This does not seem to be bothering my neighbors.
PS…Dufus, your name fits regarding your comment; but I still enjoy your quips.
Republiscum? You are aptly named, Sire. Sorry you missed your opportunity to reside the level of political discourse. In an article aboutt bees???? Really? It’s all about name-calling to you, even when it’s about BEES????
Lisa, you always have the best adventures! Such an exciting life! And yes, please tell JtB that your adoring public is waiting to hear more of his tale (speaking of an exciting life)! Spring has sprung here in the south, and many branch is abloom. The wood bees (I don’t know their real name, but they are darn big bees) are swarming over our redbud tree. The smaller honeybees are already out looking for the dandelions and clover. We don’t spray our yard with anything but vinegar and Monsanto is a four-letter word, so we’re trying to keep the bees alive.
I honestly don’t know my neighbors’ political affiliation, but, if I had to guess, I’d say those of us leaning Democratic would be most uncomfortable to find out. But Pam is right, selfishness crosses party lines and party lines have nothing to do with their attitudes here.
Everything is very open with a clear explanation of the issues.
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