you don't poison Bees.

[Absinthe]

For the past few months I have become really attached to the bees that nested in the garden, I'd sit next to the hive and tell them my worries and never be stung. Every morning my daughter and I would after saying goodbye to her dad on his way to work, go and say good morning to the bees, it became ritual and never skipped it. I started learning about the weather by watching their flight so I'd know when rain was coming and when it would be a really hot day.
When there was a death in the family I'd tell them about it, birthdays, anything. And it was comforting to have them around when I felt sad (especially about having to move)
Bees have been part of my life since I was a young child, I love bees and they are very important to me, they are important in nature too so I hate people killing them.

So now the guy who's renting the mainhouse(we have a month and a bit left here and we have to leave) he started cutting trees down in the yard(another thing I hate) and he poisoned the bees. I went to say good morning and the poor lil things were all dead, tiny little bodies everywhere.
Humans are so ignorant, we complain about someone killing thousands of people but when we do the same to nature its somehow okay. Are we that closed minded that we can't think further than just about ourselves? My way of thinking is if it grows its alive, if its alive does it not feel just as we do?
And what about thinking about all those animals etc that we have made become extinct?
We all worry about apocalypses that happen due to viruses and nuclear weapons, but we kill the earth and mess with the balance of things, we don't think about how much damage we have done to the earth and its creatures, everything has a reason for being, its a circle and a system and when you start taking that apart you screw with the eco system, honey for one we would not have if bees no longer existed, amongst many many other things thanks to bees.

I went out again later in the day to check on them and there were a few that were okay and then this morning I went again to say good morning but this time he used a liquid poison he sprayed into the nest.
You don't poison bees!!!!! You smoke them out. Allow them to move on to a new home. Maybe it hits home more for me because its pretty much what he has done to my family.
They were my friends, messengers to the spirits and gods. They listened and brought joy. It might seem insignificant or silly to feel that way about something that's not human but life taught me the creatures and plants, the earth under my feet were true and were always there even when I was alone, there's so much I've been taught just by being out in nature. I learnt to focus and quite my mind standing in a field in autumn listening to the call of a bird while blocking out the noise of cars, factories, of the concrete world we've adopted.

There's always a better way to do things.
The wheel in the sky keeps on turning.

[RosieMoonflower]

I'm so sorry absinthe! Humans can be very cruel. If only humans realized how important bees are to the earth. They cary the pollen that pollinates all the plants on earth! I hate that people are so careless when it comes to insects and animals. I'm very sorry for your loss!

Rosie Moomflower

[Sylar_pf]

Hey Absinthe.
This story really made me sad. A lot.
People are the worst threath to Earth and the saddest part is that we don't even realise it.
I think that I read somewhere if bees die, we have 2 years of life on Earth and then we'll all die. Stupid humans.
The same connection you have with bees, I have with sea creatures. Maybe the thibg that pisses me off the most is mass killings of sharks. And stupid fear of sharks because of scary movies. More people annualy die from a coconut falling on their heads than from shark attacks! Things like this piss me off so hard.
Bees are so hardworking and beautiful creatures and all we do is take their honey and kill them
Maybe you could talk to your neighbour about that?
I wish you luck with feeling better.

[SnowCat]

What will your neighbor do when all the bees are done and we have no food? Everything has its place in a healthy ecosystem.

Snow

[Vesca]

That's horrible.

[bluejay_1919]

Poor little bees..they were just minding their own business.

[Absinthe]

So I went back every morning over the past few days and some bees survived, they were understandably angry but who wouldn't be with what he did.
The next day he poisoned them again, this went on for about a week, they came back and he just did it again and again. They gave me hope, still do that you gotta keep going, no matter what.
He wasn't winning so he ended up sealing the hole in the wall up, since then the huge tree that normally has red comb flowers has none left, there's not a bee in the garden buzzing along. No one to give sugar water to, no one to pick up and put back by the nest. And its horrible. Karma is already getting him though for this.
This sounds bad so no one take me wrong, his huge dog we were so scared of died, its tummy twisted on itself. Its really horrible that happened and I feel really bad for the dog, what he did wasn't its fault but it was still a danger to us our daughter and the 2 cats (the older one comes home now and again because he was scared of the dog) I was hoping the dog would go away to another home because we couldn't even go outside so our daughter could play.
This guy doesn't even care that the dog died or when his small dog ran away, he just didn't care at all.
I miss the bees but this just makes me say I have to help make people become aware of the humble bees purpose and what they do for us, what would happen if we had no bees.
Humans are sad creatures, we kill before finding the right solution.
I miss sitting by the wall with a glass of wine talking away enjoying the sun and watching these amazing little bees work. Its amazing that they can fly and amazing what good they do for us.
Did you know that when you see a bee on the ground the lil guy is just exhausted and filling a spoon with sugar water will help him go on his way back to the hive? They get tired just as we do and sometimes they don't make it back to the hive, its just too far. If a be enters your home its a good omen, good luck good news, and just open the door and window and he will go out. They won't sting you if you don't swat at them or move too fast when they land on you. Standing by the hive I sometimes got in the way and they'd sometimes collide with me or land in my hair, but they never stung me. People think they are vindictive but they aren't. I understand there are people who are allergic to them (my fiance is) but that doesn't mean we should kill them.
Its like my best friend Jason who's allergic to cats going and killing them just because he's allergic to them, that would be really stupid. You wouldn't kill a cat or dog because you are allergic so why a bee?
bluejay_1919, Vesca, SnowCat, Sylar_pf, RosieMoonflower, thanks all for your replies, I've tried talking to this guy before but sadly he is very ignorant of others and because I am a woman its offensive to him that I'm telling him what he's doing is wrong. I'm english he's afrikaans so there's a huge cultural difference there too, with them a woman should know her place etc very old fashioned 1950s tradition.
He got a lab puppy last week Saturday and he left it here the whole day outside in the scorching sun, here in SA you can cook an egg in the drive with how hot it gets even in autumn so a little pup like that should not be outside by itself, still very young too. The poor thing was breathing so heavy and crying so I let it come sleep in the flat, put down a blanket and gave it some water, he ate some of the cat food he was so hungry. He had fleas too.
It wanted to run out the gate into the street when I let it inside here, and I asked my best friend Jason(his family raises and breeds labs and he's raised 2) about the nonsense of leaving the pup outside. He still said to me with them they need to be looked after and taken out to pee and poop etc. To me its like another baby so you use logic. This guy doesn't have common sense.
When he returned later in the day I took the pup to him and told him its too hot for a lab pup to be outside and he tells oh but its not a full lab, I told him it doesn't matter, its a pup. You wouldn't leave a baby outside all day.
He goes and puts the pup inside his garage, he's a contractor so you know that garage is fulled with metal, paint wood etc all over the place, nails. I find them left everywhere now.(And I have a 2 year old running around so him leaving nails around is ridiculous and dangerous)
He left and the pup was closed in there, no water, no food til he came back. Now you might say "phone the spca" I would if our spca cared about animals. Here they put them down or never come when you've called for them. That's why you have to look for homes for your animals yourself because the spca does not care about animals. They'd rather put the dog down within the week its there and the cat 3 days if its lucky.
The whole weekend that pup ended up by us because he left it outside even at night. It wasn't a bother to us, we love animals and who can resist a cuddly lil golden lab pup like the one from the toilet roll commercials? Turned out he was "looking" after the pup for his father.
I can't wait for us to find another home and get away from here, even now as I'm writing this he is busy sawing and drilling our walls(the flats connected to the garage so we hear everything when he's cutting stuff and working with metal, sometimes from 7am-5pm. And again at 8pm. My daughter is trying to take her nap in the midst of this noise, so I really look forward to finding a new home.
Sorry this is so so long, but it is so nice to be able to talk about it.
Thanks everyone have a great day/night further!

[Vesca]

Have you considered talking to a local animal shelter about the situation? They may not be able to step in, but they may be able to point you in the right direction or know someone at spca who could try to rehome the puppy rather than simply put it down.

Animal cruelty is animal cruelty, and no fur baby deserves to be treated like an object. And if someone doesn't step in to relieve your neighbor of his animal and explain to him how to properly care for an animal, he's going to continue to do it. As far as I know, the spca is supposed to step in, call attention to the issues and tell the person in question what they need to do to remedy the situation first. It's not an automatic "kay, it's our dog now" kind of situation.

[Absinthe]

Just an update!
The bees are back, they moved to a better place. A huge tree behind our flat that little flowers are in bloom(also explains why my sinuses have been so terrible lately bleah)
But they've nested up higher and there's many many more this time. They're doing much better.
The guy built his dogs a dog house now and leaves them with everything they need. So at least that's all sorted out.
Still don't like him but glad the animals are doing better now and that the bees despite it all are back.
You can't beat nature.

[Sylar_pf]

That's great to hear

[EndlessNameless]

Its good to hear abut bees doing better.
When I was like ten I got bit by two hornets at the same time and it hurt. I am slightly afraid of bees and hornets now but I don't think I'd ever kill one. I highly respect bees because the help the earth so much, so when I see one I kindly thank it and leave that area.

[RosieMoonflower]

Glad to hear the bees are well!

[Vesca]

Glad to hear things have moved in a positive direction.