bee stings and diamond rings

Sunday evening as the sun was going down we added supers to the hives. The bees are clearly loving their life here, as they are filling up the comb like crazy. So we keep adding supers to the hive and letting the bees make more honey. Some day we will have to get honey out of there, but that is another time..

The hive was really crowded. It looked like they might be getting ready to swarm, as there was really not enough room for all the bees. They were hanging out on the front and all up the sides. There are no pictures, as we knew we needed to get the work done, quick. Claire ran the smoker and I had the hive tool that breaks the seal the bees have built. I ended up with a total of 5 stings, Claire had 2. Homer and Ryan were a little further away and did not get any.

Supers on, we admired the fireflies filling the night. Just a beautiful early summer night. Woke up the next morning and my ring finger on my right hand felt a little tight. I knew I had a bee sting at the tip. And as the morning progressed so did the swelling in my finger. And it really started to hurt.

Claire made me a boo-boo bunny like I used to have for her, and I iced it down all day. Took an antihistamine. And still it was swollen and painful.  The 2 rings I had on were 2 different sizes, so Homer cut the smaller one off. It helped for a bit, but then the diamond ring had to be cut off too.

Of the 5 bee stings, 2 are barely even noticeable. One is a little swollen but no pain at all. And then there is the one at the tip of my finger and the forearm just below..still hot, itchy, swollen, hurt! Not much done at all yesterday. Guessing the ones that hurt came from brand new bees, while the 3 that are not noticeable came from older bees.  Claire has requested a bee mask and gloves, says she really enjoyed it. We might need a larger smoker too..like a wood stove sized one..