The Agrinautica

   I feel like the tables have been turned on me.

   As you may have gathered, I'm a beekeeper. And when I'm not a beekeeper, I'm usually doing PR stuff for a bee control company. That in itself is kind of ironic. I either keep bees alive or advocate killing bees.
   Not that I don't agree with the company stance. If bees are in a harmless location where they don't pose a danger to people or structure the company lays it out there that removing them isn't necessary. Unfortunately most wild bees around here ARE to some degree Africanized though so there's always the concern something could set them off. We very frequently encourage people not to have their wasps removed though (wasps are actually very undefensive and are beneficial -- they eat a lot of garden pests). So I don't really have a problem conveying the company message.

   The other day, however, we discovered a colony of wild bees in an archway by my front door. "Aww, my friends!" I exclaimed. I found them to be a cheery greeting upon entering or leaving the house.
   However, they do pose a threat to passersby and the integrity of the structure. Or so I'm told, I still don't want to believe it. /= But I guess we're going to have to do what I'd probably advocate at work -- these bees need to go. It's not as easy when it's up close and personal. )=


   And THEN, the following day (yesterday) three of the four technicians had to be in court. To ease the load on the one techinician we'd therefore have out in the field the decision was made that I would go out in a Bee Busters truck and bust swarms. So within 24 hours I'm suddenly faced with the feeling responsible for the decision to destroy a bee colony AND for actually doing it (not both at once, however, fortunately))


Picture of the Day

My cousin Tim tries some of the freshest honey you can get

   So today I found myself in the middle of a rainforest, looking a tree sloth right in the eye from about a foot away, while a Brazilian Agouti scampered around and a toucan lurked about.

   Today you see, I started work as a bee removal technician. There were bees in the rain forest exhibit at the Santa Ana Zoo, and monkeys are very allergic to bees apparently, so we had to get in there and take care of it. So I ended up actually climbing over vines inside the exhibit.
   The evacuated most of the animals they could from the exhibit first. Seeing the tree sloth up in the tree, head bee herder David Marder asked if they should try to remove it, to which the zookeeper responded "do bees sting inanimate objects? because thats all it does right there"
   It actually climbed down while we were working though. I thought it was funny that the zookeeper was fixated on David working on the bees, and I was fixated on the sloth. We're standing there facing opposite directions, to each of us what the other is watching is totally mundane and what we're watching is unusual and interesting.

   Otherwise, it was an interesting day. Full of new adventures for me and full of angst for David (who owns the company). One person had called in to quit this morning. Apparently our shady competition had been spreading saucy rumours about us so David bounced some calls back and forth with his lawyer... turns out the shady competition doesn't have a real address and is operating under two names or something crazy. Of our four bee removal trucks that were supposed to be out and about, one's driver had a dental appointment (because someone had thrown a brick at him awhile ago?!) which delayed him for an hour or so, and another truck was run off the road by a big rig.

   We roamed all around North Eastern Orange County today. Like the city of Orange and Yorba Linda and crap.
   We start at $10, but then go "up" to a salary of $2000 / mo, but considering the long hours we work (David works 14 hour days!) I suspect that is well below $10/hr. \=


Previously on Emosnail
   Two Years Ago Today: A Day in the Life of Kris - by this point that summer I'd been to at least three beach bonfires and one awesome party, and many other miscellaneous adventures. At this point this summer I've seen a sloth.
      But yea, so a year ago today (featuring Matt Morgan (of yesterday's interesting hair), Shalane Christie, Croat, Jessie Lawson, Alberto Hernandez, and many more!), risky endeavors, fear and loathing at the beach, unlikely coincidences, predictable behaviors, being emo, being interrogated by the police, and depositing things for others to pick up later, just a typical day.
   Year Ago Today: Mission: San Juan Capistrano - And source of the best Mexican food ever, Pedros.