Sunday, August 5, 2012

The Most Amazing Toilet in Beekeeping

I know.  You are wondering what on earth a toilet has to do with beekeeping.

Well a lot actually.

First I'll tell you that last weekend was Clovermead's Bee Olympics.

Proceeds for the day were given to charity.

Four men this year volunteered to wear the bee beard.  I had my turn last year to wear the beard so this year I got to be a spectator.

It was a fun afternoon for everyone.  The bees were poured onto the willing volunteers.
Audience cheers and judges helped determine the winners.  It was all round good fun for everyone.

But the highlight of the day for me came after I left.  Because I came back.

I was at the car waiting for Dad so we could leave.  We got in the car and he asked me if I'd been to the bathroom.  I told him no because I didn't need to go.

That's when he told me that I needed to see the bathroom.

So he drove to the main entrance and I went back in.

I got in the washroom line and waited.  I waited and waited and waited.  Some people can take more time than others when it comes to doing their "business".

Finally the toilet was free and I went inside.  This is what I had to see:

Frames and frames of bees set into the walls of the bathroom.

Now if you do a little math, while you're doing your thing each bee is watching you.

Each bee has 5 eyes and there would be around 70,000+ bees per hive.

That translates into a lot of eyes watching you while you're watching them.

I figure this is as close to a beekeeper's dream come true as you can get.

While you sit on the throne you can look for the queen.

I also finally understood why I had to wait in line so long for the bathroom to be free.

With so much to see people were certainly taking their time.

After all, the job's not finished until the paperwork is done!