Digital Rails
File: ROUTES/GM&OSS/Permissions/BeeHives.txt
Be sure the "Word Wrap" is set! Another boring Readme Although we are all familiar with the pure white beehives, occasionally they are a little off white. Mine are a tad to the gray shade and always have been. So, I modeled the beehive after mine. I have been a non-commercial (licensed) beekeeper for thirty-one years in the state of Colorado. From this experience I thought a few beehives along any route might add a romantic appearance? Nothing like a quiet bee yard to add to the tranquility. I maintain four hives. The largest number I ever had was seven. This occurred in the early part of my beekeeping experience. I obtained the additional three hives from an estate belonging to a fellow who was killed in a car crash. The executor was a friend of a friend and I was asked if I would attend the hives until this matter passed probate? I agreed, moved the hives to my property and attended the hives. That is to say, I scored all the honey, but did leave reasonable winter stores. When the estate left probate, the hives had not been bequeathed to anyone in particular, so I, by default, inherited the hives. I kept the three additional hives for about five years. However, the boxes were old at the outset and they began to decay. I let the hives fall to ruins. The bees didn't exactly abscond, they just diminished by attrition to a point where I destroyed the three hives. So, I was left with my original four. This adds credence to the old saying, "Easy Come, Easy Go!" The hive model consists of a hive box, brood chamber and three supers. I left out the queen excluder and lighting board. Those familiar with this gentle craft will be up in arms at my desecration of the hive. But, it would not be seen clearly from any distance. From a reality perspective, four hives to a yard is generous. That is, four hives, unless you have them located in an area where there is an abundance of flowering plants, the supers will not be filled with honey. The average hobbyist usually keeps one, or two hives in a bee yard. This avocation usually sustains for about three years until the would be beekeeper discovers you don't make money at this on a small scale. How about a short story on greed mixed with stupidity? I know a fellow who happened by one time and saw I was extracting loads of honey. (It was a very good year with a strong Spring honey flow.) He saw this and thought he could make a small fortune in this bee business. So he bought two complete hives from the Sears catalogue. They arrived "KD", Knocked Down, and he assembled them, ordered bees from somewhere in the Carolinas and when the bees arrived via the U.S. Postal Service, he installed the bees in the hives. Well, he attempted to install the bees. Bees have a propensity toward stinging if you show any signs of fear, or it you are clumsy about your treatment of them. Nonetheless, this fellow was stung and he passed out within five minutes, He was rushed to the hospital and came very close to dying. He is allergic to bee venom. He attempted to sell me the hives (from a respectable distance), however, his selling price would have taken the average person twenty years to amortize the cost if every year was a bonus honey production year. I still see the guy from time to time. Being the gentlemen that I am, I only call his error to mind about three time during each visit. Okay, copy and paste the .ref file to the end of the route reference file, place the .ace in the Textures folder on the route and the .s and .sd in the Shapes folder. Open the route editor, select "JM", then "beehive" and place it on your route. Jonas Mannion 11 September 2004 P.S. I do use cobblestones to keep the hive cover down. Those of you who just grab any old thing to place on the top of the hive are true beekeepers.
