05/24/2023
God sure does have a funny way of relaying a message… 🥹
Ya see, last Thursday marked 2 years since I received the news at my 9wk OB appt that we’d lost our first child. And it was the eve of that day when I found myself “in a mood.” So instead of continuing to sulk about what day was upon us, I chose to sit down and read another chapter in my new book “Waiting in Hope.” 📚
After I finished, I had received a sudden urge to check “The Tree Hive” which lines our property line-conveniently located next to the flower garden. NOT expecting anything because I’d seen ZERO signs of life in the past month, I chose to take a walk over and check it anyways. But before I could even SEE what I was about to see, I could HEAR them. And there we had it; a large mass of bees covering the entrance into the tree. My first thought, OMG THEY DIDN’T DIE OVER WINTER?! My second thought… holy s**t is this happening?! They were exhibiting signs of overcrowding and in my mind I felt they would swarm, just as they did 2 years ago almost to the day. My mind went from a state of sadness to HOPE in an instant. I quickly switched gears and began gathering any & all materials I’d need in an attempt to “bait the bees,” and that night brushed up on what I felt I needed to know in the event this could very well be our first year having bees. I mean, there’s a reason for the business name (which I’ll get to later).
Thursday morning I awoke & anxiously checked on the tree & noticed they’d survived the cold night, but of course knew as the day began to warm that they may swarm (when the hive decides to split off due to growth and/or a new Queen was emerging).
In an attempt to keep to my schedule for the day but also stay prepared, I decided it would probably be smart to head to TurtleBee farm in Howell after my 9am massage to purchase a full suit juuuuust in case. Tim, Maria and I would go about our evening attending Zach & Zoeys Cross country meet at 5pm then grab a bite to eat at an Italian restaurant nearby. Once home, Tim and I decided to take a walk to the hive & that’s when my heart sank… it was quiet. No bees in sight. UGH! Seriously?! We’d only been gone a few hours! Not giving up hope, I decided to scour the tree and sure enough, there they were…a solid 15-20ft up, wrapped around the thickest limb and no easy way of getting to them. I immediately told Tim this needed to happen NOW or we may not get another chance (when bees do this, they send scouts to look for a new home and won’t usually stay more than a day). The sun was setting & our schedule was tight Friday morning. We had no choice.
It wasn’t long after, we found ourselves climbing atop our neighbors shed cutting limbs off this damn tree in an attempt to snag these bees lol. Like thinking back to when they clumped so beautifully just 2yrs prior upset me. Like WHY didn’t we catch that swarm then?! Lol. Instead, I found myself scooping clumps of bees from a branch my husband had to cut with a chainsaw and pull toward me all while trying to cause the least amount of stress to this cluster & praying to God the Queen would stay amongst them. There was no “shaking the limb and they fall gracefully into their hive box” like last time. Because just how nice/easy would that have been? After many many stings later & successfully snagging the majority, Tim and I decided to call it quits for the night. I assured him I’d wake up early to check on them and assist any stragglers before carefully carrying the box down off the shed to its final resting spot 😅. I did so the following morning, leaving them alone for a half hour and would come back to find like 99% of the bees had made their way INTO the hivebox. A GREAT sign. That evening, I’d spot a bee 🐝 with saddles full of pollen. Another GREAT SIGN. And now almost a week later… a hive that appears to be thriving. 🤯 Mind. Blown.
At the end of the day, this experience comes with many lessons. One being- HOPE. And if it’s Gods will & desire of your heart, it’ll happen…even when you least expect it.
And nothing screams “for better or for worse,” than when your husband is hanging onto a branch full of honeybees & taking multiple stings to the hand while they climb up inside is veil. Not once did I think it crossed his mind that maybe he should abort mission, let go of the branch and climb down. He held on, just as he’s held on and supported me these past couple years of our marriage. I fell in love with him a little more in that moment. 🫶🏽
WHAT A DAY IT WAS. 5/18/23 🙏🏽
We OFFICIALLY have bees 🐝
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12
