What I do at work...

I've been struggling with writing a blog about what I do at work because it is such an unusual field. In order to explain I'd have to give a long vocabulary lesson, start at the beginning of the process, etc. But I managed to find a few pictures online that are very similar to what I do when catching queens so you can get an idea:

That frame is about the size of the smaller hives that we call "pee wees". You open the hive, pull out the middle frame, check for eggs to make sure there is a queen and she is laying properly, then look for the queen. If there are eggs but no queen she is either on another frame (in which case you pull out the other two frames and look for her) or the eggs were laid by a "laying worker". Like I said...lots of vocab. But you can see for yourself how it is handled. Once you find the queen you grab her by her wings and put her in a cage. In the pic above the man has caught the queen and is putting her in a small wooden cage that she will later be shipped in.
The most challenging part is finding the queen. The bees are actually quite calm, you rarely get stung, but all of the bees are moving around in the hive and you have to find the queen amongst them. Can you find the queen in the picture below?
And... yes, you do it all bare-handed. Some people don't even wear veils but I'm not quite that brave. Actually I've thought about it but I had a very negative reaction to a sting on my upper arm and I'm not eager to repeat it on my face! So there you go...that's a small part of what I do at work. Any questions?

Catching Queens

So, here's the big news! I caught........drumroll please..............44 queen bees today with my bare hands without getting stung once! (I got stung twice later but let's not talk about that...) It feels totally crazy but bees are not as scary as everyone thinks. They don't sting you unless you trap them, or provoke them...usually. So if one comes near you just leave it alone and you will probably be fine!

Bees and Beaches

I had a fairly interesting day today. First of all, I picked up a bee with my bare fingers. Granted, it was a drone (male bee with no stinger) but I did it nonetheless. Tomorrow I have to do the real thing. Pick up queens out of a frame filled with bees WITH stingers. Still not excited. We'll see how I survive.

The second interesting thing was that our boss let us off at lunch time AND let us take his car for the day. So we hit up the beach! It was warm and beautiful even though the sand was hard on my ankle I LOVED it! I'm still in awe that I'm actually here in this beautiful place. How lucky am I?

If you want to see pics check here

Aloha, Aloha

First: I'm too tired to post much about Hawaii. At least now you know that I made it in one piece and I am surviving the job (barely!) I will definitely update you later but for now I'll leave you with a few pictures. First, this is the view I have every day while I eat lunch (if it wasn't so foggy a.k.a. "vloggy" [they call it that because it's caused by the volcano] you'd be able to see the ocean better. It is GORGEOUS as the sun goes down all orange and beautiful)


Second, here is the photo you've all been waiting for. Drumroll please......


Yes, I actually do wear the suit. Most of the people here don't but I am trying my very hardest NOT to get stung. So far so good. But tomorrow we are supposed to catch queens and you have to do that bare-handed, so my luck just might run out!

Aloha Crutches

So last night was my last night home with all of my family. We played a round of Apples to Apples and then the boys started roughhousing. Usually I try to stay out of the way, but this time they were playing a game that I might actually be able to win. You stand arms-length across from someone and try to knock them off balance by only pushing on their hands, w/out moving your feet. We played for a while and then decided to have a championship tournament. It was me vs Evan and I won, then Cody vs Dallin and Cody won. So the last round was me vs Cody. Technically I won, but as he lost his balance he fell forward toward me and I was backed up against the bookshelf so I had nowhere to go. I felt myself falling incorrectly but there was nothing I could do. I heard my ankle pop as I went down. My very first thought was "I think I broke my ankle and I'm supposed to go to Hawaii in just over a day". We iced it and elevated it and wrapped it after the swelling went down a little. I still couldn't put ANY pressure on it though. After a terrible nights sleep we went to the doctor this morning. Luckily it turned out to be a torn ligament, not broken as I suspected. That means it will take longer to heal, but I can still go to Hawaii in the morning. I have to wear this brace for at least a month, take an anti-inflammatory every day and hope everything works out. Though moving around is going to be a big pain for the next few weeks I am so glad that it wasn't broken and I don't have to postpone my trip. Thank God for little miracles!

Goodbye Floral Art

After 14 months of working at Floral Art (the longest I've worked anywhere) I am saying goodbye tomorrow. It is hard to imagine. Just a few short months ago I was looking for any excuse to leave, I didn't think I could stand to work there another day. But now I feel like things are looking up for the shop. My coworkers are my friends, and I feel like I am actually contributing to the welfare of the shop. Plus I LOVE knowing what I'm supposed to be doing, feeling competent at my job. So I am leaving the safe place, the place where I know what to expect and can handle almost anything that comes my way...and I'm going to a place I've never been, doing a job I've never done and quite frankly, I'm not sure I can handle. On the one hand it's exciting, but on the other it's terrifying. Change can be great if you are ready for it, and I thought I was. But now that it's upon me I am sad. I'm sad to leave my family, my best friend, and my job to take a step into the unknown. I hope it's worth it!

Lights...Camera...Murder

Since Christmas is a busy time in the Floral industry (centerpieces....centerpieces...centerpieces) my shop decided to have a post-Christmas employee party. We wanted to do something other than the usual eat/talk party and we were on a tight budget. After discussing a lot of great ideas we decided to do a murder mystery party. Each guest got a character to play and we each dressed the part and acted like that character the entire night. The theme of the party was Oscar night and we all played actors/actresses/directors/casting directors etc. going to an after-Oscar party. This meant we all got to dress in our fanciest clothes and mingle among "the elite" of Hollywood. I spent the whole day decorating the shop, putting up can lights so we could turn off the fluorescents, hanging curtains, etc. It was a lot of work for me and my manager, but it was all worth it when everyone showed up, dressed to the nines, acting in character. Throughout the night we each had certain objectives to complete (i.e. talk to a certain character and tell them this) and in the middle of it all, there was a murder. Then the object became to figure out who did it! We all had motive...but who was really guilty? It was definitely one of the most entertaining parties I have ever been to. I absolutely recommend it to anyone!

Prepare for take-off

Well today I finally bought my ticket to Hawaii. (I was waiting until Jan 1 because my Discover card was having a 5% cash back bonus on all travel beginning Jan 1. Now I'll have nearly $20 back in my pocket! Woo Hoo!) So I officially leave at 6 am on Tuesday, January 20th. I'm so excited! The more I think about it, the more excited I get! I know you are all probably tired of hearing about it already, but it's just such an unexpected opportunity and I just can't wait to experience Hawaii for the first time!

I also went with Amanda out to her family's bee operation and her dad explained all about bees and beekeeping and what he thinks I'll probably be doing at my job. There is a TON to know! Bees are such complex and interesting creatures, and beekeeping is actually a very involved process. There are worker bees and drones and queen bees and each one has a different job and incubation time. Everything is on a schedule, i.e. queens hatch after 15 days so if you need to transport them on day 4 you can't just take a day off. She won't wait to develop. I have a huge amount of vocabulary to learn and a lot of bee biology to study. It will all be overwhelming at first but definitely worth it in the end!