A C D E F G H I J K L M N O P

You may have taken notice that "B" is missing from my alphabetic blog title above. That's because there are no more bees on this property anymore.

The previous statement may be a bit of an exaggeration...I admit it fully. But if you'd been here this past Monday evening, you'd understand exactly what I meant. We were playing an all camp game which involves kids running everywhere (in buddies of course!). Not more than 5 minutes into the game, kids where running away from one part of camp with tears in their eyes and SCREAMING bloody murder. Turns out they had stirred up a swarm of nasty stinging insects that dwelled in the ground beneath a very thick and tall bush.

These weren't just any bees. They were the most aggressive, persistent bees I've ever seen. They were probably ground hornets because they were capable of multiple stings. Not only did they sting often and without discrimination, they would follow a person at great distance. I watched in horror as campers and staff ran sometimes more than 15 or 20 yards with the hornets still with them.

We must have emptied 15 cans of Raid on them and their home. The next day, we used a chain and a truck to pull the bush out, dumped gasoline down the hole, and set it on fire. Since then, I've seen a couple hornets flying around the area but they are usually flying solo. Nothing like the 100 we saw on Monday night. I think they were out when the hole was set on fire. They come back and fly around very confused as if to say, "I swear our bush was RIGHT here when I left!".

I hope none of you experience what we did on Monday night. I've never felt more helpless than when I watched several children being attacked by bees. I was capable of doing little to help other than to yell at them to run to the Health Center. That's right. I had to tell children to run for safety. Granted the threat could have been more dangerous, but in those moments, it was the most serious event going on in the world for those poor kids. 25 camper victims in all and between 5 and 10 staff casualties as well.

May your day be as exciting but with a less painful cause!

Keep it Real!