I have a similar phobia to Kevin, but bees I like. . from a distance. Wasps and hornets should die screaming.
I've always flinched away from flying stinging insects, since I was stung in the throat by a wasp as a child. This turned into a major test during my graduation formation from basic training when a yellowjacket landed on the right lens of my glasses and proceeded to crawl all over my face.
I stayed still and calm until back at the barracks, where I proceeded to throw up.
As a gardener, I've learned to like bees. I began considering keeping them when I learned that they were under attack by a mite, and entire hives were getting wiped out.
Kevin, they're just bees. You would have freaked out when you saw my kitchen about 2 weeks ago. It was crawling with sugar ants: target - honey in the cupboard. I sang Adam &the Ants songs as I squished the little buggers.
I'm a pretty hardcore apiaphobe myself. On the other hand, I do understand the crucial role played by bees in the ecosystem (wasps and hornets, I'm less clear on). So I'm happy to have an understanding with the bees whereby they leave me alone, and I'll do the same for them.
Coincidentily, I spent some time in western NY and PA myself, on a motorcycle trip recently. There were lots of bees who chose to end their short and brutish lives on my helmet, windshield, headlight, jacket, pants - you get the idea. Okay, maybe they didn't CHOOSE that end, but you'd think they'd learn to stay away from the interstates.
Bees only attack when you threaten them. Of course, you don't mean to 'attack' a bee when it flies under your armpit or up your pants..
For the most part I like bees, especially bumblebees, but I hate, hate, hate waspy yellow jackets. They don't make any honey, they don't pollinate flowers - their only purpose is to sting barefoot kids in the summertime. I finally learned how to kill them by squishing them with a wadded up paper towel or by letting our lizard eat them. That has made my world a better place.
However the older I become, the more likely I imagine myself living there. There's a lot to be said for clean air, rolling hills without McMansions covering them, and people who work hard without complaint.
I tend to believe that is the dream of more people than not. A small vineyard nestled in the countryside with far-spaced neighbors sounds great.
However, because those things are wanted by so many and can be attained to some degree or the other, the "clean air, rolling hills" inevitably give way to the McMansions.
Depends on just how close you want to be to "civilization".
Wyoming probably doesn't have that problem. But, then you have to live in Wyoming :-)
I grew up living not less that 45 minutes from the nearest town with a movie theater. As I get older, I'm not sure I want to retire to somewhere that close.
I live on a gravel road, five or six miles from the nearest town of a few hundred souls. Fifteen miles from the nearest supermarket. Thirty-five miles from the nearest small city. Far enough from the big cities that during the daytime, you can pick up only one station on the AM dial below 900.
And you couldn't pay me to move back to the city again.
I grew up in a town of just over a thousand. I've lived in cities, in small towns, and in rural areas. And I intend for the foreseeable future to stay put out here in the country, where I am now.
We all belong somewhere, and where that "somewhere" is may change - or not - at times in our lives. I am not attacking those that love a big city. I am rather fond of New York and Chicago myself and lived in the latter during my late teens. I even believe that the suburbs have things to offer if one is open to them, as it has to me over the past 10 years.
But where I am today I simply want to be with my family, Nature and my own thoughts. I believe that rural America best fulfills those desires.
Did Mr. Draper talk about the mite issue at all? There are two--varroa mites and tracheal mites. Some hives seem to be better at "cleaning" than others, and exhibit better resistance &survival rates. There's also been talk of importing Chinese bees, which are naturally resistant (and are not aggressive in the way that African/Africanized bees are).
I give 'em a wide berth, but I love having them around. How the heck else is my apple tree supposed to get pollinated?
They are not creatures of a kind and loving God. They only proof I might accept of the non-existance of God or His evilness.
So, yeah, I really, really hate bees. F**k bees!
I've always flinched away from flying stinging insects, since I was stung in the throat by a wasp as a child. This turned into a major test during my graduation formation from basic training when a yellowjacket landed on the right lens of my glasses and proceeded to crawl all over my face.
I stayed still and calm until back at the barracks, where I proceeded to throw up.
And this is after having had a wasp fly up my pantsleg and get a couple dozen stings in around my knee.
Coincidentily, I spent some time in western NY and PA myself, on a motorcycle trip recently. There were lots of bees who chose to end their short and brutish lives on my helmet, windshield, headlight, jacket, pants - you get the idea. Okay, maybe they didn't CHOOSE that end, but you'd think they'd learn to stay away from the interstates.
For the most part I like bees, especially bumblebees, but I hate, hate, hate waspy yellow jackets. They don't make any honey, they don't pollinate flowers - their only purpose is to sting barefoot kids in the summertime. I finally learned how to kill them by squishing them with a wadded up paper towel or by letting our lizard eat them. That has made my world a better place.
However, because those things are wanted by so many and can be attained to some degree or the other, the "clean air, rolling hills" inevitably give way to the McMansions.
Sad, but true...
Wyoming probably doesn't have that problem. But, then you have to live in Wyoming :-)
I grew up living not less that 45 minutes from the nearest town with a movie theater. As I get older, I'm not sure I want to retire to somewhere that close.
And you couldn't pay me to move back to the city again.
I grew up in a town of just over a thousand. I've lived in cities, in small towns, and in rural areas. And I intend for the foreseeable future to stay put out here in the country, where I am now.
Good points.
We all belong somewhere, and where that "somewhere" is may change - or not - at times in our lives. I am not attacking those that love a big city. I am rather fond of New York and Chicago myself and lived in the latter during my late teens. I even believe that the suburbs have things to offer if one is open to them, as it has to me over the past 10 years.
But where I am today I simply want to be with my family, Nature and my own thoughts. I believe that rural America best fulfills those desires.
Did Mr. Draper talk about the mite issue at all? There are two--varroa mites and tracheal mites. Some hives seem to be better at "cleaning" than others, and exhibit better resistance &survival rates. There's also been talk of importing Chinese bees, which are naturally resistant (and are not aggressive in the way that African/Africanized bees are).
I give 'em a wide berth, but I love having them around. How the heck else is my apple tree supposed to get pollinated?