Making The Buy
Posted: August 8, 2012 Filed under: Foolishness | Tags: #DPchallenge, Bee, Beekeeper, Beekeeping, Honey, humor, life, postaweek 38 Comments »I’d worked with Danny for several years before I found out that he was a beekeeper. It surprised me to hear it. I didn’t think that was the sort of thing you hid from folks. Maybe it isn’t. Perhaps it is a challenge to work that into a conversation.
So Danny is a beekeeper.
Beekeeping Is Cool, Despite The Hat
Not Danny. Nice hat though. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Beekeeping fascinates me. Perhaps the possibility that a person could be stung into anaphylactic shock by their hobby makes me look upon it with wonder. On the other hand, it could be that silly net hat.
Bees are sort of free agents. Sure, they’ve got the queen/hive/collective effort situation. That seems to keep them close to home. All the same, if an individual bee took a notion, he could choose to move on. If that bug made a go of it, and sent word back, a beekeeper could face an exodus.
Anyone can be a bee captor. Preventing that exodus by boxing the insects in is not a challenge.
Beekeepers are more than simple captors. Bees are free to leave, but beekeepers make them want to stay. Not only do the bees choose to stay, they agree to work in exchange for room and board. Working that out with a hive is no small feat. You’ve got to respect someone who can do that.
I’ve always liked Danny. If I didn’t like the guy, I would change my mind when I found out that bees like him.
The Bees Put Out
Liquid gold (image via me)
The bees must have it pretty good at Danny’s place. There are a lot of them, all working hard to make honey. Not just a bit. They make gobs of it. They are producing much more than what he needs for personal use. Danny is moving the stuff, in large quantities. His customers get a taste and come back for more, every time.
There are even restaurants buying this honey. I’m not talking about some greasy spoon diners. Think downtown gourmet type places. Fancy joints, with table cloths instead of place mats, are buying from Danny. The man and his bees are getting a big reputation.
Danny offered some of his sought after product to his co-workers – ten dollars for a quart of the stuff. The office went wild for it. Nearly everyone bought some. After endless testimonials, I became part of everyone. I made a buy from Danny.
“Do you have any left?” I asked him. He nodded and told me to follow him. It was in his locker. The door swung open to reveal a picture of his wife, and six mason jars of liquid gold just behind it. It was a cash transaction. I walked off with a quart of the stuff, he stashed the bill in his shirt.
The jar rode home in my lunch box. I held it up to the sunlight in my quiet kitchen. I never knew pure light could be improved upon until that moment.
More tomorrow! There will even be a link here.
This is the first part of my swing at a writing challenge on The Daily Post
Here’s a question: how many bees does it take to make a jar of honey that awesome-looking?
By my calculations, thirty six. But I’ve been wrong before. Frequently.
I was thinking thirty-six, too. Plus an alternate.
Beekeepers are cool. If you mention a bee-related problem on your blog, beekeepers will magically find you and give you helpful suggestions.
I didn’t know that, but I know that Danny has gone out several times in the area we work and removed big bunches of bees from people’s yards.
Totally cool! We are going to be putting beehives out at the farm. We met with the beekeeper and he basically pays us (in honey) to put his hives on our property. We are going to get a tour of his operation later in the year.
So you can get one of those net hats and people will admire you for your beekeeping ways. Women will swoon and men will say “hey man, cut it out, I am tired of carrying her away every time we come over”.
Actually I’ll just be the landlord and keep my distance when he comes with his smoker and bee hat!
Can I get an amen for the Harry Chapin reference? He has nothing to do with this, I just wanted to steal the line.
Amen
Thank you.
Well another man might have been angry
And another man might have been hurt
Hypothetically, do you think this other man would have let a hypothetical woman go? If not, is he entitled to such controlling behavior?
Great post, and very interesting.
Thank you very much, and welcome to Blurt!
If I’m going to get a reputation, I want it to be for the bees that love me. Currently none do.
Be careful, Oma. You’ll get hooked on that stuff. It’s a gateway condiment from what I hear. Next thing you know, you’ll spend your retirement hawking homemade salsa to support your habit.
The bees just haven’t met you
I love the gateway condiment concept. I’m wary of getting hooked on condiments because I don’t want to get all goofed up on pesto.
Oh, honey! It is pure nirvana bottled. It ranks right up there with chocolate. I need to meet and make friends with a beekeeper right away.
I’ve got a whole quart of nirvana. You should meet my bee guy. A good sort!
When I was a kid, my great-uncle was a beekeeper. He put a slab of the honeycomb in the Mason jar, which was great, because I’d chew the honeycomb like chewing gum.
I’ve heard people talk about doing that, I’ve never done it. Must be great!
Mmm…honey. You know I’ve never been stung by a bee before. Ever.
So you like the water polo hats but not the beekeeper hats?
Ever? How is that possible? You aren’t a bubble girl.
Are you a bubble girl?
I am not a bubble girl. And I ran around barefoot as a kid all the time. I guess I’m extremely lucky.
When I get stung later today, I’m blaming you.
“I never knew pure light could be improved upon until that moment.” I love that line.
Thank you so much!
Our copy machine guy is a beekeeper. So is my former high school French teacher’s husband. Oh, and my sister.
I think I may be a beekeeper because you read this blog!
Cole school keeps bees and the kids all participate at different levels. There is even a beekeeper club. It’s awesome…sweetness and light in our house runith over.
That sounds like a great school!
[...] Making The Buy [...]
My dad was the keeper of bees at one time. Love the post and the honey and comb from many seasons past!
I bet you had the stuff with everything, didn’t you?
Yes we did!
This was not mundane at all.But awesome
And that was a darn fine comment too! Thank you and welcome to Blurt
Is it wrong that I prefer the creamy, pasteurized honey? I don’t like to eat things I can see through.
Hmmm. I may have to adopt a lot of that policy.