WLF1961
New Bee
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Location: Port Neches,TX
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« on: July 20, 2008, 12:34:05 PM » |
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Well I know a lot of you have to deal with heat and humidity but here's my story from this morning. Went out about 7:00 am to do some work with my 8 hives. Man did it get hot quick. I was wearing my veil and jacket combo and was doing fairly well till about hive 5. Thought I could just slow down to keep from getting so hot and finish with all 8. But, I was wrong, finished hive 7 and literally just about fell out. So left and was going to jump in my kids 4" above ground pool, but didn't make it, so just sat down under the closest tree to cool off. Now I know a lot of ya'll have way more than my little 8 hives. I've grew up knowing how to work from being taught by my dad doing a lot of hard work to get by so I don't think of myself as a sissy, at least not till this morning,lol. So what am I missing here? How do ya'll work a bunch of hives during summer? Has anyone ever tried those cool vest? Just trying to beat the heat here in southeast Texas. Thanks, Wayne
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johnnybigfish
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« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2008, 12:54:16 PM » |
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I hear ya Wayne! I was out there the same time as you doing bee stuf..Actually, before the sun came up. I'm going to tell you what i do to keep cool messing with the bees. Its something that most people think is stupid, and definitely unsafe.....At any rate,....I dont suit up...... I've been getting by using just smoke..No jacket, no veil..usually no shirt...When I do suit up, or put on my veil, its because the bees TELL ME TOO! When the bees tell me to, theres no if, ands, or buts!. Paul came over to help me for awhile this AM.....He was complaining about how hot it was, and how he dont wanna get stung..It was kind funny though.....I'm up to my elbows scooping up bees from 2 swarms...One sting on my finger...Pauls going around trying to feed my bees, all suited up...Got stung a few times before he made it all the way to the kitchen to hide..Pauls a swatter/runner...heh heh,...I told him to lite the smoker and puff the feeders a few times. They always get me when I feed them if I dont puff..A little puff goes a long way! Well,...Thats all I have to offer  your friend, john |
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bmacior
House Bee
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Posts: 169
Location: Payson Utah
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« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2008, 01:26:08 PM » |
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rain? what's that?
Have you ever tried those kerchief tie arounds that have the beads that soak up water. You wet them and tie around your neck. Helps keep you a little cool.
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JP
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« Reply #4 on: July 20, 2008, 04:21:45 PM » |
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WLF, you need to be very careful you don't get heat stroke, my advice would be to keep a cooler with plenty of cold fluids and refresh youself often. Also use Florida water in a cooler with ice and a wash cloth and this will refresh you almost instantly. Also, if your bees are friendly, wear a veil, perhaps a jacket and try wearing shorts instead of long pants, and never ever wear rubber boots when working in heat, they retain heat and don't ventilate. I almost passed out yrs ago bowfishing in extreme heat wearing hipboots, and barely made it back to my truck and I was in top shape in my late twenties its not an age thing you see by any means. Good luck and here's a link to the Florida water if you're not familiar with this product. http://www.bargainside.com/flwaconetwt7.htmlAlot of drugstores carry Florida water for a bottle its usually less than $3.00, this stuff really works to refresh you, its quite a magical product and will revitalize you like you wouldn't believe, I've been using it for probably 35 yrs. Good luck coping!!! ...JP |
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johnnybigfish
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« Reply #5 on: July 20, 2008, 05:18:51 PM » |
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WLF and Beehopper,
You guys both have something in common. Doesnt it stay humid in yalls area for the whole summer?
I mean, NY and Boston can be 85 to 95 degrees which isnt bad down here where i live, but you figure in the humidity you guys have at those temps, its a Bugger!
I havent seen Florida water around here, but I sure have heard you mention it several times before JP!
I remember the last thread with Florida water, but I cant remember....Do you drink it, or wear it, or both?
your friend,
john
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greenismycolor
House Bee
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Location: Double Springs, AL
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« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2008, 05:47:38 PM » |
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hotter than a bee likes it here....96F 100% humidity. The air conditioner has not stopped all day. Need rain too, the leaves on my tomatoes, cucumbers...well just about everything except the okra are curling upward. Sure am glad I checked my hives yesterday, it wasn't so bad then.
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Believe!
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kathyp
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« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2008, 06:10:42 PM » |
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get some of those re-freezable jell ice packs from the drug store. stick them in your jacket down your sleeves. you can even wrap one in a towel and put it around your neck. drink plenty of fluids before you get out in the heat. drink more when you are done. don't skip the face protection. the bees will be fine if you don't inspect them. better to skip than land face down in a hive . |
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"Nay, it [this constitution of government] must perish, if there be not that vital spirit in the people, which alone can nourish, sustain, and direct all its movements. It is in vain, that statesmen shall form plans of government, in which the beauty and harmony of a republic shall be embodied in visible order, shall be built up on solid substructions, and adorned by every useful ornament, if the inhabitants suffer the silent power of time to dilapidate its walls, or crumble its massy supporters into dust; if the assaults from without are never resisted, and the rottenness and mining from within are never guarded against. Who can preserve the rights and liberties of the people, when they shall be abandoned by themselves? Who shall keep watch in the temple, when the watchmen sleep at their posts? Who shall call upon the people to redeem their possessions, and revive the republic, when their own hands have deliberately and corruptly surrendered them to the oppressor, and have built the prisons, or dug the graves of their own friends?
– Justice Joseph Story, "Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States," Volume II, Chapter XIII: Mode of Passing Laws, Sections 900-901, pp. 364 (1833)
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Bee-Bop
Field Bee
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Location: Southern Missouri
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« Reply #9 on: July 20, 2008, 06:33:56 PM » |
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Ok, I'll be the one to say it !
Be truthful now !!
How's your weight, be honest now ?
How many cigarettes you have this morning ?
I know when its 100 degrees now, it's a hotter 100 degrees than it was 60 years ago, lining thermometers I guess !!!
Bee-Bop
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" If Your not part of the genetic solution of breeding mite-free bees, then You're part of the problem "
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Michael Bush
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« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2008, 06:50:27 PM » |
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Drink more water. Take more breaks. Buy a Golden Bee Products suit and just wear shorts under it.
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dpence
Field Bee
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Location: Holliday MO
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« Reply #11 on: July 20, 2008, 06:58:33 PM » |
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I'd drink lots of fluids. A beesuit can be a sauna for sure.
David
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JP
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« Reply #12 on: July 20, 2008, 11:04:41 PM » |
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WLF and Beehopper,
You guys both have something in common. Doesnt it stay humid in yalls area for the whole summer?
I mean, NY and Boston can be 85 to 95 degrees which isnt bad down here where i live, but you figure in the humidity you guys have at those temps, its a Bugger!
I havent seen Florida water around here, but I sure have heard you mention it several times before JP!
I remember the last thread with Florida water, but I cant remember....Do you drink it, or wear it, or both?
your friend,
john
John, you don't drink the stuff, you put about half in a small ice chest loaded with ice and a little water, and add a few wash cloths. When you need a refresher you wet the rag nice and good and put the cold wet rag on your neck and face, you just wouldn't believe how it revitalizes, in mere seconds, its like you died and went to Florida water heaven, no joke, and I'm not exaggerating one bit!! ...JP |
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Jerrymac
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« Reply #13 on: July 20, 2008, 11:12:19 PM » |
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Don't know how it would work with high humidity but, down in the desert at 110+ dry air, I would wet down my clothes and in a slight breeze be freezing. A walking evaporative AC.  |
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Brian D. Bray
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« Reply #14 on: July 21, 2008, 01:52:10 AM » |
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Drink more water. Take more breaks. Buy a Golden Bee Products suit and just wear shorts under it.
No going commando like Johnnybigfish. LOL |
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Life is a school. What have you learned?  The greatest danger to our society is apathy, vote in every election! |
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