OLD TIMERS ENJOY BUMBLE BEE BRAWL By Norris Chambers Rooster fighting
appeals to some folks. These fight fans want the roosters to fight each other
and not the blood-thirsty onlookers. When we were quite young we had a little
trouble with roosters and old hens with chicks trying to start a battle with
us. Our reaction to the challenge was to do the cowardly thing and run. It’s not easy to
believe, but some birds don’t care for kids that get too close to their nests.
Such feathered antagonists as scissor tails and mocking birds are always ready
for a lively scrap. It was never our idea to quarrel with an angry bird. Many insects seem to
be natural enemies of nice kids such as We even had enemies
among plant life. We had to avoid cactus, mesquite thorns, poison ivy, stinging
nettles and blue bramble bushes! Since we were brave
lads we decided we had to defend ourselves. Someone of great importance once
said, “The best defense is an offense.” After thinking it over and some
discussion we decided to declare war on the bumble bees. This decision was made
shortly after When planning an
attack on a bumblebee nest the first item on the agenda is to equip each
soldier with a proper paddle. The bumble bee paddle is a conventional ping-pong
type thing with a bunch of small holes drilled in it for faster manipulation.
Two of Sometimes you strike wildly at an approaching defender
and he has a couple of buddies, one on each side, just far enough apart for the
paddle to miss them. You then have only two choices - stand and have a stinger
hit you in the forehead, or turn and hope that you can outrun them before they
find the back of your neck or make a nest in your hair. If you hesitate and let
one pop you, it is just about like being hit with a baseball bat and caressed
with a coal of fire. A bumble bee sting does cause "excruciating"
pain! If you run, you may escape injury. But your dignity has been damaged. The
battle doesn't end until the bees quit coming out and you dig up the den with a
spade. The honey isn't a prize to be treasured. Bumblebees do not produce the
best honey in the pot and it doesn’t possess the good honey taste that regular
honey bees add to their product. The
battle raged for a short time. There was loud buzzing of angry bees and the
swishing sound of paddles as they swiped at the angry bees. Occasionally there
was a juicy popping sound as a paddle stopped an antagonistic bee’s vicious
attack. During a slack moment I saw We
held our own and eventually the buzzing warriors disappeared. We realized that
we had won the battle and began to inspect our wounds. A
wounded bee, lying quietly on the ground, had suddenly stung his bare foot and
Carl was fighting back by slapping it with his paddle. Was
fighting the bees a lot of fun? The bees probably didn’t think it was and Clyde
and Carl might have had their doubts, but |