And Kudos

 

A few moments before Chris arrives, and always lingering after he leaves there seem to be a few more bees in the air. I’ve noticed he always has one or two pretty little Italian-Carnolian blondes on his shoulder.

 

A couple of honks as he pulls up in his truck send our three boys running to be the first to say hello and see what he has brought us. Sometimes it’s heavy or smelly or even a little bit dangerous, but never as exciting as the time in early May when he came to bring us our very own bees. 

 

We all crowded round in our rustling still-white bee suits to see our first frame lifted respectfully out of the nuc box for our admiration. The bees shimmered on the frame. We were not yet sure exactly what we were looking at, butwe knew we were glad to be alive and aboard     

for this bee adventure together as the frame was lowered into our waiting hive.

 

Over the next few months Chris became both mentor and friend to us all, sharing his considerable knowledgegenerously and patiently in ‘just right’ measures. He is a gifted teacher, as the young at heart can often be, balancing a wealth of knowledge and experience with humility and wonder. 

 

After a strenuous morning atop a wobbly step ladder, trying to re- capture an errant swarm from a tree branch at arm’s length, 16 feet up, we asked why the bees were leaving? He thought about it, offered a few possible ideas to contemplate and then scratched his head and with a grin said, “You know, I don’t really know. It’s been a funny year.”

 

He’s right about that. In this pandemic year and more, we have sought to make the best of everything. Starting to learn to keep bees is already about so much more than the delicious honey we recently harvested. Even theyoungest of us is able to enthuse at length about bees and bee keeping now. 

 

Chris recently steered his on-line school class through an informative ‘show and tell’ on the subject. It will be one of the treasures we have collected along our way  in this life, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if one day, years from now, our boys have bees on  their shoulders too.

​

As Chris can often be heard to say, “It’s a bee-utiful thing!” 

 

Thank you, Chris.

​

Alison Nawrocki

Miller Place, NY