Bee S(t)ing^^^

The Abbot made the decision. The vows of silence in the abbey had to be obeyed, No caroling will be allowed during Christmas ... period.


One monk, who was a beekeeper prior to joining the brotherhood, had an amazing idea. He knew that the "buzz" of each bee was of a different pitch caused by the beat rate of its wings. He wrote to the abbot, "If I could place groups of bees of the same pitch in tiny cages in a row, I may be able to get an octave of frequencies. By carefully agitating these cages in tempo, the bees will fly and their specific buzz will be picked up by microphones and a simple tune will be created."

The abbot gave his approval as animals were outside the scope of the vow of silence.

After weeks of hard work, the bees were ready. Opening night was a "resounding" success as a slow and simple version of "Silent Night" was buzzed out by the little stars!

Everybody agreed that nothing was
more fun than a Carol of Monk Bees.
 (more fun than a barrel of monkeys)

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Dedicated to my past and present regular bee-ridge partners -- Trevor Li, Ron Savage, Vera Emil, C C Chen, Karol Crouse, Yu Chun Yee, Shamim Moledina, Leonardo, Peter Arnette, Sean Ng. No need to go as far as vows of silence. Just a smile and an occasional kind word goes a long way to make the game so much more enjoyable.

Urning Many^^^

In places where the Keas, Toucans and Macaws inhabit, finding shards of pottery and glass on the ground is very common. Although these birds mainly feed on grains and nuts, they also supplement their diet with insects. They go after the bees and other bugs which often take cover in any niche they can find -- usually a small empty vessel. But these birds are not bird brains. Over time they have evolved a skill where they are able to use their strong beaks to lift these containers and shatter them on a hard surface. The unprotected insects then have no chance.


Next time, keep a lookout when you are in places where these birds reside. You will notice that The Parrots Often Carry Bee Urn.
                                           (The Pirates of the Caribbean)
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Dedicated to the plight of the endangered species in our shrinking natural world. Through poaching, habitat encroachment and climate change, humans are wiping out thousands of species.

Beetween the Bees^^^

Once upon a time, there lived four bees.

All through the summer, they frolicked from flower to flower and had a great time. However, when winter came, it was clear that the meager food they had stored would be insufficient for them to survive.

After some serious discussion, they decided that two bees would have to sacrifice their lives so that the other two could live. Obviously, no one volunteered and they could not figure how to select the victim.

So which “2 bees ought not to be, that is the question”
(to be or not to be. That is the question)

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(Feghoot written in memory of Shaan’s Bee sting – June 11, 2003)