Bee Sting Initiation

The buildup to the event had been terrific causing anxiety and trepidation.  It caused delay in the making of the momentous decision to become an apiarist and so when the event occurred it was anticlimactic .

I was out with my beekeeping mentor and a grand tour of his numerous sites.  Typically he sets up stations of approximately 16 hives per site, placing 4 hives on a pallet.  In the early spring there will usually be 2 boxes stacked and as the honey flows more boxes are stacked on the hive.  We were doing the inspection to see if the hives had enough flow to warrant an additional box.  The season has been erratic with early warm weather and then a couple of cold snaps so we were not sure what we would find but were pleased to see most of the hives very active and ready for another box.  I believe we were at the fifth site when I felt a thorn jabbing at my ankle and even as I realized that it was a bee my mentor commented “bee at the ankle”.  Yes, I got stung but managed to swat the bee away before I analyzed whether the sting hurt me or not.  We went on to the next site and sure enough, another beggar got me again, “second verse, same as the first”.

So here is what I would like to say about bee stings.  Everyone reacts differently, of course, but for me it was a quick jab like a thorn and then intermittently for about 5 minutes, at about 10 to 15 second intervals there would be a throb which was more like heat with a slight sting.  In fact, it was much less painful than a mosquito bite which makes you go crazy with itching.  However, 8 hours later when I was going to bed my ankle and shin, in about a 6 inch upward stretch, felt as though I had been kicked by a horse.  It felt bruised but it didn’t stop me from falling into a sound sleep.

What I can say for sure is that experienced bee keepers’ warning to novices that you should “get used to the stings because it is inevitable that you will get stung” is true yet daunting until you have the experience.

Finally, I turned to my mentor and asked “how did I do”? His reply “you handled it like a pro, not even a swear word.” 

 

Purpose of Government

I was hoping when I got inspired to write again on my blog it would be something lighthearted and fun but sadly that is not going to be the case.  Last night I heard a journalist on the TV news say, as though it was a well known fact, “that government is not in the business of telling people how much to save for retirement”.  Really? 

Now you may be gearing yourself up to disagree with my obvious stance but give yourself a few minutes to reflect on what government “does for you”.  Here’s what I see.

·         Pass laws (without consultation) that affect your lives, examples would be the current assisted death legislation and legalization of marijuana.  Other laws would be capital punishment and abortion.  These are all significant laws which happened without a referendum.  [I’m not necessarily saying this should have happened but they ARE significant life altering rules]

·         Pass laws that inhibit or restrict your choices, examples would be wearing seat belts, distracted driving laws, car seats for children

·         Using tax dollars for bailing out business (this is a big one – think Bombadier, Air Canada, General Motors), for matching on Red Cross donations (let’s remember how much of the Red Cross dollars go to exorbitant salaries for executives), donating to Third World Countries (Trudeau’s recent grandiose gestures in Europe) and other non-essential spending which does not enhance the running of the country (and PLEASE don’t get me started on the bailing out of businesses because I will go berserk)

·         Here’s the clincher for me – they apparently aren’t responsible for telling us how to save for our own retirement but they can randomly increase their own pensions (which are paid for by the tax payer, let’s remember) to such an extent that they will live high on the hog as soon as they have been in government for 6 years

·         All civil servants at all 3 levels of government can opt into a pension plan (and who wouldn’t) which again is partially funded by tax dollars

·         Manage (?) the CPP fund currently in place to such a poor level that the rate of return after 40+ years of paying into it we are living at well below poverty level rate if we had to exist on it – if we reviewed any other funds over a 40 year period what do you imagine the rate of return would look like?

These are just points that came quickly to mind last night as I paused the news to ponder and rant (in about 10 seconds). 

We are in the 21^st century and the reality is that we live in a world that is completely controlled about 1% of 1% of the wealthiest so what do you suppose their agenda is?  As all evidence points one way let’s look clearly at the fact that we are perilously close to returning to a form of serfdom covered in an illusion of democracy.  Don’t you (journalist) tell me that government is not responsible for our well-being because They control so many factions of our daily living that it is outrageous to think otherwise.  We do not have the freedom to move west, away from government, and just live off the fat of the land.  We must earn a living, we must pay taxes, we must pay exorbitant rates for utilities which were once owned by the taxpayers and miraculously have been given over to some favored political crony who is now a multi-billionaire. 

Oh please, for some balanced journalism from an intelligent, free thinking person.  Does one exist?