Riverbee's Journey

[Les]

RB,
I am so glad you had no serious reaction, although the itchy palms is cause for concern, make sure to tell your doc about that.  You are a study in perseverance and it is a wonderful to see that you have gotten so far.
I so appreciate your advice and knowledge and keep doing what you're doing!

[vvand111]

I have only been her for a short period of time. I have appreciated your post and your responses to mine.  Glad all is ok. Thanks.

Vandy

[riverbee]

les, thanks!

the itchy palms, yes, i don't remember experiencing this in the past? and the bottoms of my feet with my boots on? had to get these off, it was driving me!............

i know it's not funny but.......should have seen me trying to get my boots off........can't hardly bend past a certain point with the new hardware. mr rb trying to help me get them off, and my socks! i realized we were both waiting for the signs of the big A...........i haven't been stung for a very long time, so maybe my patience wasn't exactly at it's premium?! ........  
i did talk with my allergy doc, i have an appt with her when i get back from montana, early part of august.

thanks for your comments les!

vandy, thank you very much!   

[Les]

RB, I had to chuckle as you were explaining your fast hustle across the yard.  It reminded me of the first year we got our bees, the were delivered the end of March and, of course, had to be fed sugar syrup.  Being a newbee and thinking it was too cold for them to come out of the hive I did not put on my veil or jacket.  Pulled the cover to place the sugar syrup inside the deep and quickly closed it up.  Thinking I had pulled it off.....wrong!  This girl had me in her sights.  My first newbee mistake was swatting at her, which probably really angered her.  I took off running into the garage, slammed the door and she was still on me.  I ran into the house and into the bathroom, still on me!  I then ran down the cellar stairs and into Ken's office, still on me!  Ken finally knocked her off and she met her demise, unfortunately.  Sweating and panting, I collapsed into a chair.  Did I mention I had a fear of getting stung?  Too many childhood encounters with yellow jackets.  I am so over the fear now but that is a memory for the books.
Safe travels to Montana and have a wonderful time!

[brooksbeefarm]

Good news Squirt, not on the stings though. I know first hand of the pain the sting to the ear is , for some reason that's the first thing they aim for when i stir them up. Now don't laugh, but i've taken up putting ear muffs on under the veil  , i got tired of walking around with swollen ears and the wife laughing and saying i look like i could fly with those big ears. . The girls have out done there selves this year on honey stores and they intend to keep it too. I'm guessing it's the heat, rain and humidity, plus the beginning of a dearth, that's making them hard to get along with. . Sometimes women can be a big pain. Jack 

[Lburou]

There must be a gene in the honey bee DNA programming a sting on the beekeeper's retreat.  Many a time, I have been stung while walking away from the bees and removing the veil.  Riverbee, I'd be interested to hear what the immunologist says about the symptoms in your hands and feet during this last sting episode.  Glad you have made great strides in your treatment.

I confess that I most certainly would have driven to the ER parking lot and waited there for the possible anaphylaxis.  I'm a chicken at heart. 

[LazyBkpr]

Mrs River... I would not do this for anyone else, but for you, I would get out my drill and tap... we can install a grease fitting in that joint.. before you go out to the bees, have Mr River put three or four good shots of a moly EP waterproof grease in there!!   Then you can easily make the mile in six minutes if there are bees behind you!!!

   Seriously....   Seriously!!!! I am glad that you did not have a severe reaction..
   I have often wondered in the past, if you could do your own therapy with live bees once you reach a certain point in recovery?  I realize the "dosage" would not be as controlled, but if your body has become capable of handling it.. is that something that is possible?

   I remember the first time I got stung in excess of 50 times.. I was 13 years old, and my mentor was flat out in hysterics (laughter) while I left a rooster tail of dust as I headed down that gravel road at about mach1...   I got sick, I threw up, my face and hands were swollen terribly... but I never had an "actual" reaction, meaning I never had problems breathing, never felt dizzy etc...
   Over the years, the reactions have lessened...  The last time I got stung that badly.. I felt fine.. I woke up about 3AM and threw up... 5 min later I was sound asleep again, didnt swell, but was mildly itchy...     I got stung four times transferring nucs into hives yesterday, and had forgotten about it until I saw one of the stingers in my ear when I looked into the mirror that evening...  (It was HOT so no way I was wearing the suit)  I personally FEEL that time, and being stung often has allowed me the ability to more or less ignore being stung with little to no side effects.. yeah, it DOES BURN when I get stung, but.. I am married so PAIN is more or less meaningless these days..     
   just wondering, with continued therapy, and the possibility of SELF therapy, if the doc thinks this point may be reached, or if you will always have a strong reaction?

   Thanks for being here, Thanks for keeping bees, and thanks for sharing with all of us Mrs River!
   Scott

[riverbee]

"Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days.
Unless you're sure you want to reply, please consider starting a new topic."

..............
warning we receive when we reply to an old topic......had to laugh a little, and the warning is in pink.....
oh well, i figured i could fire up my own topic again just to give everyone a little update.   

so i thought i would post a little update to my thread.  i re-read the last few pages. pretty cool. had forgotten all the great stuff in this thread.
first, i just want to say thank you all for supporting me, thank you for your encouragement and thank you for your posts on this thread.
i have truly appreciated every post.

thanks scott for your last post.  i have a personal trainer now that applies plenty of 'greasing' to both artificial hip joints.........
and then some.....    i can hustle a lot quicker thanks to my trainer....... .
I have new hips, but I still have old muscles………recently pointed out to me by my trainer. I became frustrated with the constant knots and muscular fatigue. I forgot that I had to retrain the muscles that have incorrectly compensated before surgeries.

lee, i did follow up with my immunologist, (after taking stings to the head and suffering itchy palms and feet) although an improvement, she wanted me to continue with my immunotherapy and of course i did.  in all honesty i can't tell you how many times i suffered a sting, grabbed my eppy's and car keys and started driving towards the nearest e/r.

with my total hip surgeries/recovery and a ruptured appendix/complications/recovery and travel/vacations ...... i kept getting further behind in my injections. with setbacks i had to go back in the injections, and would have to catch up to where i ought to be.  missed injections meant going back again on an injection schedule (dosage), sort of complicated to explain, (it was a pain) but needless to say i kept up with them until last december when the appendix blew out. i had to forego injections and chose to do so.

i made it through almost 5 years of injections? 5 years because of all the setbacks, by 4 or 5 years (or less) it would be determined if i would just need 'maintenance injections'.  i maybe alright now?!

i wear full gear, and really have only taken stings to the gloves, and not often.

i am highly allergic to yellow jackets and wasps (or was) just as i am to honey bees.

on friday before labor day weekend, i walked out on my deck and a yellow jacket (annoying this year) nailed me 2 or 3 times in the fleshy part of my upper arm on the underneath side. i didn't realize i had been stung multiple times until later, i just felt the initial zing. guess i just blanked it out cuz i was running in the house for: (haven't been stung by yj's in awhile)

1. eppy pens
2. liquid benadryl
3. steroid
eppys, benadryl and steriod all together in my emergency kit

4. jeep key
5. drivers license/medical card
6. and the land line.......don't have a smart phone.......... guess that should have been first but sometimes my brain is not wired correctly for certain tasks or emergencies.......

i took the benadryl, the steroid, had the eppys at the ready,  sat down. had a 'panic' conversation with myself, should i drive to the e/r or should i just dial 911? i decided to just wait it out, er is less than 10 minutes from the house and our paramedics would be quicker than me trying to drive myself.

after my appendix ruptured ya think i would learn better than 'waiting it out'..........

in the end, the reaction to the multiple yellow jacket stings (about 3) was ‘normal’.  just the normal stuff we all get; localized swelling and pain from the stings. I have not been stung this year from the bees, (just through the gloves) but again I wear full gear.

I visited with my immunologist, she was encouraging. any yellow jacket sting in the past could have potentially sent me to the er or i would have suffered from reactions that required a massive dose of a steroid for hives. i didn't suffer from hives or any other anamoly from the stings away from the site of the stings.
 
she wants to run another ‘sting test’ to see where I am at, not sure I want to continue injections because I am so far behind at this point, it may be I am okay.  I hope so. with that said, I will always carry an eppy pen.

and now to the rest of the story……….

in short, we will be selling 40 acres of our 80 acres, and maybe all 80 acres.  40 acres of the land of what we want to sell is where my bees are kept, also, the house, all the structures and pole shed; the structure that houses all of my bee equipment. once sold and long before, I will have to figure out where to move them to the other 40 (if that is not sold). that 40 is on the rush river, no house and no structures to house equipment.  I can’t exactly move this great old corn crib, great setup for me and the bees…………. and to keep out the bears and other critters:

the crib:




the crib had a chute, i took this out, widened it and replaced with a door:


a view inside of the crib:


solar electric fencing, cuz bears can climb, dig and chew.

if all 80 is sold, for sure I will have to figure out where to move my bees and where to house all my equipment. not sure where I will be next season for keeping bees. I can maybe farm them out, but this is really not practical. i am unsure of what i will do.

sorry for the long post and thanks!

[efmesch]

You only worry about the bees?   WHAT ABOUT YOU?  If you sell all 80 acres, where do you and the mister plan to live/relocate? 

A few years ago, when I was faced with the option to move fro my home in the country to an apartment in the city, I decided that I wouldn't be able to handle living full time in the city and chose to stick it out  nestled between the fields and the orchards.

[Bakersdozen]

Thanks for the update, river.  It looks as though you have a little piece of heaven on the 80 acres.  The pictures are wonderful.  I think using the old corn crib is a wonderful idea. 

[Wandering Man]

Wow!  Great set-up.  I'm sorry to hear you will be downsizing.  I have wanted / wished for a hunk of property nearby to keep my bees.  Only recently have I really thought about the upkeep on the land.  While it might be "fun" to buy all of the farm equipment I'd need, and it might be "fun" to work the land a bit, I also realize I am no longer in my 40's or 50's, and the work required is now beyond me.  Not to mention that income is no longer flowing as easily as it did before I retired.  I understand the desire to downsize, and also the sadness that is likely to come along with everything that means.

Good luck on this new phase in your life.

And stay healthy!

[riverbee]

ef.....
to answer your question, this is our secondary residence. we have a primary residence about an hour and 10 minutes away on a 1/2 acre wooded lot, but does not allow keeping bees. i have kept nucs and divides there for short periods of time. my suburban city neighbors are pretty cool about it, but wouldn't want to keep the bees there, not enough forage and too many pesticide happy neighbors.

and wm, thanks, not downsizing just being practical i guess?

the river property has been paradise for us, not so much for a few years. the decision to sell has been in the thinking for several years. two contributing factors;

first factor:
a neighbor up the road decided to build an outdoor restaurant for the wealthy. township and county passed this with many questionable practices ; he always gets what he wants.  doesn't matter, don't get me started......... . 
all the speeding traffic goes past the house. just a little country road. we have limos, party buses, a hundred harleys going by with tunes cranked up, sports cars; folks pulling in my driveway, folks driving up on my lawn or wherever they desire, taking selfies and pics of the house, the barn, the garage, and the bee crib. arrogance, lack of manners/respect, traffic, noise, fireworks, hot air balloons, parties of all sorts. many other problems and has really taken away from what we purchased this place for.

our dream to own property on a trout stream and to get away from the city. my neighbor brought the city and the city bad manners to our quiet country home. it will never be the same.

second factor:
we want to travel more in the future.

it was a difficult decision for us. I don’t know what I will do with my bees. my bees have had good forage over the years and I have always had good harvests even in not so good years with drought and floods/rains. the good years carry the ‘bad years’. 40 acres is woodlands, mature trees and bushes bearing pollen and fruit. 40 acres on the river; many native and non-native growing plants, bushes, wildflowers, and berry bushes. also, we have worked hard to restore some of the river frontage to native species to our area to benefit all pollinators. this hard work has also provided my bees with the resources they need to maintain/survive and produce a honey crop  year after year.

some very  unique history in this place. it’s been in the family for about 75 years and 300 acres more, all sold at auction one cold rainy day. land like this on the rush river does not come up for auction and land for sale on the rush river is pretty scarce. usually passed on to the next generation.   we were very fortunate.

it brings great sadness wm. working through that will be a long process i think, especially for me.

[brooksbeefarm]

Well Squirt, i don't know if i should be Happy or Sad for you two I know what you are feeling, we are two miles south of Fair Grove, Mo. and the old farms and hay fields between our farm and town have new houses being built all over them.20 years ago our road to Fair Grove was gravel and only neighbors used it and we knew their cars/trucks, they are all paved now with people moving in they now keep the road hot? Most all the old timers have passed away  and only one couple are older than my wife  and we are next . Speaking for my self, if i had River property  i would never sell it and would pass it down,but that's just me.
   Did i read correctly? that you are moving south to John McCain country??? That's AHB country "Ouch"  My last move will be the Oven! i hate moving and our children are not going to be happy going through and getting rid of my junk.   I got tired of the wife and family telling me i need a cab Tractor and broke down and bought a 60 hp Kubota with all kinds of buttons and levers, and is so pretty i've only used it twice since it's been raining, don't want to get mud on it so i use the old 3020 JD and they are fussing at me again :yes:I think i'll like it when the ice, wind and that white crap starts this winter. Jack

[riverbee]

jack, it's a mix of both, sometimes the farmhouse is just like my J E E P.....Just Empty Every Pocket.......

it  was built in 1902. it's a great house, we have done many ugrades and improvements. we would like to hang onto the river 40.  there is an area that we could build if we wanted to. we have tossed that around. or we could purchase a trailer and park it there. not sure i am into the camping thing anymore.  i sorta like indoor plumbing 

this property was not in our family, we are only the third owner. the widow that passed on, did not want to pass it on to family, wanted it sold (she owned 400 acres), most of the money went to charity/her church. we never had the opportunity to meet her although we are very good friends with her brother, and he lives in the valley, about 2 miles down the road from us.

not moving to arizona jack, i just said that cuz arizona does not observe daylight savings time! btw it's too hot there for me!

speaking of jeeps, i just emptied my bank account of $750 to repair that thing 

[Chip Euliss]

Gotta keep the river River; without it, we'd just have to call you "Bee"!  Life decisions are tough wish you the best in the process!

[Wandering Man]

Gotta keep the river River; without it, we'd just have to call you "Bee"!  Life decisions are tough wish you the best in the process!

Or maybe “The Beekeeper Formerly Known as Riverbee.”

BFKAS, for short.

[brooksbeefarm]

Jeepers, Creepers,  a friend of mine had a Jeep and loved it until it got a little age on it, then it was in the shop more than he was in it ,He finally let it go . I have some old Farmall  tractors that i restored and some i haven't that i should sell that are taking up Barn space but, they seem like part of the family and i still like to do farm chores with them to bring back old memories and if something goes wrong with them i can fix it myself. Been a bad year for Bees in Mo. i have several hives that are short on stores and i have been feeding them but, they seem to be eating it instead of storing it? The temp is in the 50'sF daytime and the won't take syrup in the low 50'sF so my wife will have to make Fondant for them. I'm banned from her kitchen after my last Fondant making??? Gotta Go Vote now! Jack

[riverbee]

"Gotta keep the river River; without it, we'd just have to call you "Bee"!  Life decisions are tough wish you the best in the process!"

"Or maybe “The Beekeeper Formerly Known as Riverbee.”
BFKAS, for short."


"Jeepers, Creepers"

...............
you fellas crack me up!  well, maybe you all can call me squirt bee, cuz jack calls me a 'squirt'.
jeepers creepers jack, my jeep only has 76,000 miles on it. when it dies, i will be sad, but i will just buy another one  and your wife makes good decisions when it comes to you making fondant in her kitchen!

[Bakersdozen]

well, maybe you all can call me squirt bee, cuz jack calls me a 'squirt'.

 

[Wandering Man]

Gotta keep the river River; without it, we'd just have to call you "Bee"!  Life decisions are tough wish you the best in the process!

Or maybe “The Beekeeper Formerly Known as Riverbee.”

BFKAS, for short.

BKFAS needs to be represented by a symbol: