More Bees in a Box....
Well, the Wacky Bengal Family will not post for Photobooth shots, but the Dog and our new Queen Kitty seem happy to. You can't much SEE the bees, but there she is in her travel carrier, with a few workers for company.
She came this morning, in an envelope with holes punched around the sides, and my Post Office Friends seemed interested to I opened it to show her off, and one lady screamed and said "Don't open that she will fly around and get loose!!!!"
I had to explain they did not ship them loose in an envelope, but in a Box and she would not be flying around. And anyway, I had a Bee Leash in my pocket. (some people have no sense of humour when it comes to bees.)
She has arrived rather early, we hadn't planned to see her for a week, so the Birdchick is figuring out what to do. I need to Water her once a day. (with what, one wonders?)
Jungle Love 1 came out when I came up the stairs sat there LOOKING at me. (I have to say it LOOKING, if you could see their eyes, you would know why..) I showed her the food plate, and talked to her, and did my finger snapping, and she stayed for a bit, then ran off, so I left the food. I'll take more when I go to bed.
Cabal did very well at his Dog School tonight. We have to state something positive each week, that they did so I said " Well, he didn't Kill the Cat when he lunged at her, and when he stole half a cooked chicken off the stove, he didn't perforate his stomach with the bones and die horribly"
SO, in the last day I have acquired three new pets. Two cats who are terrified of me and a Box of Queen Bee, who Buzzes at me when I go near. I sure can pick 'em!
I am starting to Really look forward to the gigs this weekend. Ah, three hours, of me, my bandmate, music and, one hopes a room full of people who love what I do. Compared to four Bengals, a Box of Bees, and a cat killing dog, it will be downright relaxing!
Love and Music,
Lorraine
posted by FabulousLorraine @ 6:23 PM
64 Comments
64 Comments:
ha haaaaaaaaaaaa relaxing indeed. You on stage? I'd pay to get in. You are the twin queen of multi-tasking Dev. There is a reason you named us Diva and Deva. I would very much like to see a queen bee in a box. If I were her I'd be pissed as hell when they let me out. I'd do a few bzzzz bss-ing and haya! waaaa saaaaa! Take that Human! With my buzzing BIG LONnnnng butt on their nose.
But, maybe she just relaxin' waiting to get out and mate so she's saving her strength...who knows. Maybe her bees in waiting are doing her hair...
I think it is hair. She has already mated, with her Big Butt. With Five or Six Boy Bees, called Drones.
Then they die.
The Bee world is harsh, guys.....
Y'know Lorraine, at least your job is NEVER boring.;)
I think the babies will warm up to you..they probably just need time.
So the bee is singing out to you (don't forget the sugared water, to keep her butt plump)... You are a bee charmer, you are.
Cabal looks like he's staring at whatever (food?) is on that plate very intently.
I like that photo of you; you look mischievous, or maybe that's Cabal's influence…
Jungle Love 1 coming out to LOOK at you is promising. :) And hopefully, there will be no snow to drive through to get to your gigs, which do seem much more relaxing than playing Dr. Doolittle.
Hurray for Cabal not killing the cat or himself!
I've finished a painting I'm proud of. Want to see?
Jungle Love 1 came out for her 6 AM food and was quite close and ate while I watched, and Jungle Love 2 came and LOOKED, then ran away.
When I got up again, at 9, Jungle Love 1 was on the bed in the other bedroom and let me pet her once, then I backed off, but it was progress.
I think I am going to move them. It will be stressful, but I have been Consulting, and the view seems to be they should be in one room till we are friends.
Lovely painting, Pantagruel!!!!!!! Very nice indeed.
PASTA & COOKY~!!! hahahah best names EVER.
i can just see you at the post office, no really they don't just send em loose in the envelope--so funny.
today i work a Columbian rap show, Juanes, and according to Red, this guy is hot. but you know me, i like the Viking types...so she can have him.
then tomorrow back to Duran Duran...which by the way, i LOVE. post up soon, no time for love, Doctor Jones...i miss my girls.
Quiche, the new kitties are just a little skittish, they will come out soon to the realization that they have won the Kitty Lottery, with you as their Mommy.
xoxoxo
Progress with the cats! :) Soon they will come to adore you.
Glad you liked the painting; it took about six hours, which is pretty damn fast for an oil painting. Because of that, it's not as polished, but I like the feel. The model is a friend of a friend, so that helped a lot. It's so much easier to paint someone when there's a connection, and I can get a sense of who they are and how they 'feel', to get all woo-woo about it. Especially when I can do it in person -- working from photos just is nowhere near the same.
Pantagruel, I really like that painting!
FOSTER Mommy. These guys are going to find a home of their own!
We have had quite a bit of drama today. Call Before You DIg is an important safety tip, as the people across the street found out, the entire FIre-rescue-ambulance-police forces turned out in front of my house from the resulting gas leak. No one was hurt.
Actualy, you knew that, because if it had blown I would not be typing, nor would my house be here. Man.
Jungle Love's 1 and 2 are installed in their own room, also with no injuries. They have lots of little places to hide, and safe places to be, and things to crawl thru, and now we can start making them happy..
Now I must go and feed Queen Kitty.
And tend Dog.
And do Assistant type things.
Assistant type things!
Isn't that a wee bit over the top?
I know, I know, I don't talk much about it, but there is a fair amount of Assistant type things going on, in addition to all these animals.
Boss is a fairly busy man, you know.
And there's me thinking he was just off gallivanting about - impersonating Harpo Marx and that type of things.
Oh well...
Somebody has to earn the kitties' food, I suppose.
I came upon your blog when exploring your boss's and as I told the Birdchick I have ended up reading yours and hers more "religiously" than his! (Not that I don't love his... I'm just sayin...)
I have really been enjoying learning about bees and Bengal cats. Wish I could take one -- but my set-in-her-ways old house cat and small space makes it impossible. I will spread the word though. AND because I just do not get out enough I am toying with the idea of an evening of music at Charlie's this weekend.
All that to say thanks for sharing so much that is interesting and compelling and fun.
So what exactly is the bee leash -- er, a strand of dental floss?
~Emily
Spacelaw- Heh! Right.
Aleta, nice to meet you! Welcome to our Merry Band, I hope you will chat with us now, we are a fun bunch, I believe. Do come down to Charlie's and introduce yourself, we are going to have some fun , because I Really REALLY need a break!
Do tell people I have 2 Bengals available for adoption. But tell them to first go online and read EVERYTHING they can find about this breed. We are doing a Full Disclosure on my girls.
Emily- Hmm..Kind of like dental floss. Some of them have to have a Bee Choke Chain tho, or they will get away and sting you.
I slay myself.
Lorraine, Sorry I haven't checked in on the new kitties before now, it's been a Week. I see you got some good advice about keeping them in one room-- it should really help them (and you!). It's a good idea to spend quiet time in their room yourself-- reading, emailing, etc, so they get used to you without your actually interacting with them.
Just think nonthreatening thoughts :D
Nah, use a spiderweb net! Much easier than a dental floss choke-chain... ;)
Kali, thanks! Glad you like the painting.
Aleta, Emily, and Adri -- welcome! (Crap, when did I miss the new people? Was I drinking?)
Pity that you don't have a local dog who is a Friend To Cats to test the foster cats' reaction to dogs. Cabal would not be ideal for this, sadly. The more I hear about Jungle Love 1 and 2, the more I wish I lived closer so I could come see them.
Thanks for the welcome Lorraine!
You do seem like a fun bunch and I will have something to say from time to time I am sure!
Can't promise I'll be at Charlie's but I am trying to make it happen. If I make it there I will push past my shyness and say hi!
Thanks to you and your fabulously amusing post, my husband and I are discussing the proper design of a good bee leash instead of doing work today. :)
Seriously, Ms. Fabulous, if you ever have to survive on your wit alone, you'll do wonderfully. Thank you for an amusing entry - even if it's because of a plethora of wild beasties in your home taking over your life. ;)
I wish you could all see them too! Pictures soon as I can do it,promise.
Thanks Mistress Mousey! I had wondered where you've been, and was thinking about you while sending a Package to you. Watch for it....
Aleta, I am WAY more shy than you, in real lige, when not Assistanting, performing or writing, kid you not!
If you have been drinking Pantagruel, it is no doubt for me, as my designated drinker, it's been a week of it.
Jungle Love one and two, ate the treats I left this morning, I just fed them wet food, they are under the Ottoman, which I draped with a shawl, to make it a Very Safe Place. I talked a while from across the room and left it.
It was a long confusing day today, in the world of Assistanting and Pets. At one point I was so confused I sent the Queen Kitty off with the Dogwalker, and fed Cabal some sugar water....
Cabal was ok with the SUgar Water, but Queen Kitty does NOT like the Dogs Gentle Leader....
LOL! Fablo, you crack me up! Quite the excitement today, you never really know how close we come to being blown away every day! If not by natural gas, or by the new things that just slap us right in the face! & then expect us to "deal".
Thank you for the experience with the Flying bengals! (still think thats a good name for a band... Life is weird, Laugh ALOT!!
Thank you for risking your life catching them.
My neighbour dumped a TON (actuel weight) of huge landscape rock in my drive way, so he can take it thru my backyard with a bobcat to HIS and build a Wall.
( we agreed to this pre-dumping. he said I could name my compensastion, and I said " are you kidding? Yr a builder and a Man who has Tools, there will be something you can do for me" )
The sad thing is , I kind of LIKE this ton of rock. It gives the Spooky House an air of Castle Ruins. May get my own ton of rock.
A ton of rock... flying bengals... nearly blowing up... a queen bee...
Yep, this definitely explains my sudden urges all week for single-malt. You'll have to keep me posted with how many drinks people buy you at your gig on Saturday, so I can make sure I'm not falling behind. Though, since Friday is my birthday, I may try to get ahead a bit on the designated drinking!
oooh Rock! Build cairns! spooky small caves, totems, markers of Where You Have Been or Where Should You Go ala the Inuit inukshuk. And it sounds right now You Should Go Away From the day job and the foster job and play merrily on your fiddle to the delight of many (welcome to you Aleta, and Adri too! Go to Charlie's! The music will take you away!) Have fun Lorraine! Pantagruel - very nice painting! I love the immediacy and gestural quality it possesses, you are right - that is difficult to achieve in oils - kudos!
Let's see...
A queen bee on a leash,
A team of flying bengals,
A ton of rocks and
A quivering dog.
Sounds like the perfect ingredients for a story, you know?
Aleta, don't be shy and get to Charlie's! Paul and Lorraine are great and the crowd is fun too.
Spacelaw, you go and write the story. Sue, you come out and build me caves. And a pond. I have always wanted a water garden...Sound good?
My neighbour offered to show me how to drive the Bobcat thingie. Nearly took him up on it...But no, must go and attend the Queen.
I have a photo somewhere of Xander with bees on leashes. I first saw it in some movie, I think it was Oliver Stone's U-Turn with Sean Penn and Claire Danes. It turns out that Lori and her brother used to do that all the time with wood-boring bees that don't sting. You stun them, leash them, and thread the string through a match box. Then you can reel them into the box, take them to school, and let them out to buzz around your desk on their little leashes.
What a wonderful weltanschauung!
I am looking forward to this weekend as well Lorraine, and don't worry pantagruel, I'll keep track of the drinks for you.
I'm going to be enjoying some wonderful single-malt myself, very soon. I'm thinking of buying a bottle of 21 year Balvenie Portwood to celebrate my thesis defense next Wednesday. I'll make sure to have one for you too. I think your painting is wonderful! Out of curiosity, what's the scale?
Aleta, it would be great to see you out at Charlie's. It truly is an amazing place in the summer when the doors facing the river are open and the music drifts out over the water.
Ahhh, I can feel life beginning anew as I am slowly waking from my dark slumber. Everything feels so alive and new, it's fantastic!
Oh, and tell the Queen I said, "Bzz bz zzbz bzzb."
Until later, be cautious of the flying bengals and wary of the aforementioned nematodes.
-Paul
Dan, who the heck KNEW???????
Paul, you've surfaced! Hurrah for Dr Paul! I can't wait to play this weekend, I am SO ready! Between you and Pantagrul, I suspect my drinking will go just fine, hee-hee, thanks for that guys!
Great choice, Paul. Serious drinking that is, not like the whiskies that are commonly found around here: 7 or even only 5 years of age. That's not drinking, that's pedophilia! I like my stronger drinks to have the age of consent.
Paul -- nice to meet you at last! Balvenie Portwood... I've not tried the portwood finish, but Balvenie's quite awesome. Mmm... now I want single-malt, but it's still before noon, here in LA. Please do keep track of the drinks for me! There's got to be some way to work it out so it's a live update sort of thing, for the extra silliness factor...
I wish I could come hear you guys play this weekend! It'd rock to celebrate my birthday by hearing you. :) Will you ever come out to LA and do a gig here?
Scale of the painting... I want to say it's 12 x 18, but don't hold me to that, as it's back in the Art Cave, and I'm at the day job at Saltmine U. I'm very stoked that you all like it. :) Thank you.
Can I do paintings in the caves?
Boy! Talk about a fast moving (typing?) blog!
Ms. Fabulous, it was a good thing I wasn't drinking anything when I read your "bee leash" comment to the USPS lady. Glad things are improving for the foster kitties. If your neighbor doesn't use all of the rocks for his wall, you should use some to build a fairy cairn. Granted, that could make life even more interesting than it is now.
You realize that you'll probably get called to go wrangle bees who have built a hive in an inconvenient (for humans) place. I mean, you have absolutely nothing better to do right now. X)
That is a cool painting Pantagruel! Beautiful tribal fusion belly dancer! At first glance, it looked almost like a woven tapestry; however, the close-ups showed that it was just the texture of the canvas showing through. I think it's amazing that you did it in only six hours.
Welcome, Aleta!
Good luck on your thesis defense next week, Paul!
You know, I tried various image searches -- both Google and Yahoo -- for bee leashes, but found little more than photographs of dogs and a purple thingie. I doubt the purple thingie can be a bee harness, but I wouldn't know ... you have made me curious about bee leashes, however ....
~Emily
Oh, Sweet Emily, my dear, there are no such things as Bee Leashes. I made that up. I was sort of paraphrasing an Eddi Izzard bit, where he talks about Keeping Bees.....
Very sorry. Won't do it again.
(well, I might)
Pantagruel, yes, you can paint my caves, or fairy cairin or whatever. I will get plenty of rocks. My neighbour made a slight mis-calcuation about the amount of damage a Bobcat would do to my backyard.
(he is taking the rocks from my drive, thru my backyard to his, as it is impossible to read from his yard and drive)
His poor face when I came home! He was mortified, and started right in telling me how he was going to grade it down, re-seed, fertilize AND build me a little wall of my own where he had cut into the hill. As well as be in my debt for some time.
I think I am getting the better of the deal here.
Ariandalen, yes, actually, the Birdchick and I ARE listed in the Swarm Patrol, and might well be called on to Go Remove Bees....
I found the picture!
Here is Xander with a bee on a leash: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fowlkes/130529677/
(You only THOUGHT you made it up, Lorraine!)
No harm done; I was not, after all, quite sure I believed it in the first place.
I mean. A bee. On a leash. Leash. Bee.
~Emily
Ok. Bee. Leash. Right. Showed us Danguy!
"O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!
And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Bee. Leash. Who knew?????
"Oh, what brave new world that has such people in it!"
Wow. Everyone is so welcoming! Thanks!
It looks like a few friends and I will be heading off to the borderlands tomorrow evening to hear some music!
Very nice painting Pantagruel!
Dan, we slay ourselves!!!!!!!
Aleta, can't wait to meet you!!!!!!!
I am beyond tired. Decided I had too much time with absolutly nothing to do, and so, am Doing My Garden at the Spooky House. I have a LOT of things to say about this, but it will have to wait. I will say tho, I am learning some new skills.
I'll be the frumpy old lady at the bar!
I'll be the frumpy old fiddle player on the stage! With the way my day is shaping up tomorrow, I am hoping I will manage to brush my hair, and find something clean to wear. And remember the PA.
DanGuy..whoa! It really IS a bee on a leash. Never thought I'd ever see that. lol
Lorraine it sounds like you're gonna get a sweet deal from your neighbor..if he builds you a wall you can have a faerie mural to go with the shed.
Ooh, mural! I want to do a faerie mural on the cairn/wall/cave! That's better than the primitive cave painting idea I had, of bees and Cabal and Bengals (though I still think they'd be funny done in a Lascaux style, inside a cave). Please, Mom? Here, I'd have to explain to the police why I was painting a wall and why it wasn't actually graffiti.
So Lorraine, did you flip out when you came home and saw the lawn carnage? And I somehow highly doubt you are ever frumpy.
Paul, I checked now that I'm home at the Art Cave, and it's 14 x 18. Since the model is 5'8", I'm not sure what scale exactly that works out to... 1:5? 1:6? Math is not my strong suit, I'm afraid. And thanks to Ariandalen and Aleta. :)
I've been doing quite a bit of yard work and gardening myself lately. It feels strange. I'm not really a gardening type person. It's oddly satisfying, though, sometimes.
We are growing tomatoes upside down, hanging off of our deck, and I've recently decided to level off about 400 sq. ft. using only a shovel and some string. My yard is horribly hilly and uneven.
Pantagruel, your painting is both lovely and fascinating. I like the coloring -- sometimes subtle, sometimes vibrant, like with the earrings. It reminds me somewhat of the painting my friend once showed to me -- it had been done by a friend of hers, who liked to paint his own friends as faeries.
Thanks for sharing it with us!
~Emily
I didn't flip out, it's all good. You do what you can for your friends, and he will fix it, most likely it will look better than it DID....I never figured you could haul a ton of rocks thru a yard with a Bobcat and not do some damage.
And now he owes me one, so I don't have to feel bad saying " Can you come over and fix this for me...."
No gardening today. Assistanting and Rock-staring.
I want fairy's painted on my little house. The wall is rocks...
Yey, having someone in your debt is Never A Bad Thing! and yep Pantagruel, I envisioned the same wonderful little lascaux style cave paintings - we think on the same wavelength. OH and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you, hope its grand and fun! I would love to help paint too! and build rock stuff! I have to start doing lawn work too, mine is uneven due to Massive Mole Invasion. Dan let me know how the upside down tomatoes work - I have been wondering if I should try them, since maybe I will have more luck than ones in the ground.
The upside-down tomatoes are working really well so far, ivenotime. They turned themselves right back up towards the sun, of course, but once the tomatoes sprout I imagine gravity will overcome.
Lorraine -- that's all good; glad you took the yard in stride. :) I will totally come out and paint whatever you like. Seriously. I wish I could paint the outside of my house, or my garage, or my wall and fence… but I rent my house, sadly, so I'm thwarted in this endeavor. Hrmpf. So yeah, let's email about what you would like painted. :)
Have fun Assistanting and Rock-starring today!
DanGuy, how does one grow tomatoes upside down?
Emily, thanks for the compliments! Man, I'm beginning to actually get embarrassed about the painting taking up bandwidth on Lorraine's blog. ;/
Ivenotime, thanks for the birthday wishes!
Walt Disney World has a complex greenhouse system for growing all sorts of things upside down.
In our case we took white buckets, drilled holes in the bottom, threaded the plants through the holes by setting them upside down in the bottom of the buckets, and then filled the buckets in with soil.
Easy to water and freedom from stakes and strings.
But can the stalks take the weight of full grown tomatoes later on without breaking?
'Cause it's the problem with gravity: It always lets you down.
Supposedly they can; only time will tell.
there are some upside down tomato planting kits advertised on tv - that's where I heard of them- it will be interesting to see how they do- it's supposed to be an easier method, but honestly my thumb is so black they would probably shrivel at my touch. humph. Murals! that would be lovely Lorraine, all along a fence.
I have something like 60 tomatoes started in little pots , from all over the world. This upside down method is intriguing, I nearly got Malena on one year, as she has little space for them, but I think mine can do in the ground method way...
Pantagruel, Iteresting idea, I would like my little house painted. But what if you are secretly a hommicidial maniac??????
Look what happened at my B'day. Rubious was fine, but like they will ever let SPACELAW back in that Pub!
Never seen that many police in one spot....
snicker, spacedlaw! i had no idea you were so wicked....
Can't help myself. Want 60 comments.
Not wicked.
Just maniac.
:)
HEY! Wicked... I like that.
By the way, last night I was putting some thoughts against those "story" elements and it will probably turn out to be my next NaNaWriMo adventure. Too much potential there.
I'm looking forward this NaNoWriMo this year in a way I haven't since 2005. Yay!
The following incident made me think of you:
While I was walking over to a friend's house last week to borrow his lawn mower, I found myself surrounded by many many flying insects. Flashback to being a child, riding through small swarms of bugs and being covered by the slow-moving gnats: I kept my head down, walked a little faster, and went over to Peachey, who was testing out his lawn mower.
"What the frig?" I was trying to not be scared as I realized these were some sort of bees.
"I don't know where they came from! Maybe they were in the grass..?"
We watched them lazily fly to the neighbor's yard. Peachey slowly walked into the midst of the swarm, being much braver than me.
"Are they yellow jackets?"
"I think they're honey bees."
Honey bees were hit a few years ago by parasites, and so are not as common as they once were. Fear changed to awe. "Do you think they're swarming?"
"..Yeah." He tried to catch one to get a better look, then decided he'd better not. He walked back over me and we watched the insects as some landed on dandelions, and most of the others kept on slowly flying around the corner of the neighbor's house.
"Have you ever seen this before?" He's lived here for many years; I'm still a recent transplant.
"No."
"Hm."
As the bees flew out of sight, I thanked him for the use of the mower, started to cross the street with the borrowed machine...and was again surrounded by the swarm. A driver across the street looked around, startled, as the bees flowed around his car - he looked at me, wide-eyed, as I kept on walking.
The bees vanished as I turned a corner. If I hadn't had witnesses...
Elionwyr! That was an incredible thing! How amazing. It must have felt really strnage especially if you guys had not seen any for a while. Maybe they were trying to tell you something.
Like: "We are new to this beeing thing too: We've never been bees before. Take us to your leader. You know? That woman that keeps a queen on a leash."
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