A Hike to the Honeybee Hive & Javelina at Night
Posted 11-27-2012 at 10:15 AM by darlingbooks
Anne-Marie and Steve's Airstream Travels
We sold our home of 30 years and we have traveled in our Airstream Trailer ever since. We have been on the road for over three years touring the entire US, while wintering and touring in Tucson Arizona.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Yesterday was a day for a hike to the Honeybee hive, and we saw the usual and some unusual sights on the trip. We walked over 6 miles during the day.
I have seen horse tracks on the desert trails, but never a rider until this hike. This is a local resident, from a few miles away, and he spends winters here, and summers in Minnesota. The horse is a rescue horse, and seems to be well mannered around other people. I was going to give the horse my apple that I brought for lunch, and as this was early in our walk, I wasn’t hungry yet. The horse and rider got away before I could get the apple out of my pack, and that worked out the best for me, as I was really hungry at lunch time.
The group studying the damage to the hive. The rain storms this summer, filled the wash with water, and the bank eroded away. The hive was partially destroyed, but the bees are still working.
The wet looking area on the ground, is fallen parts of the hive, and the wet looking area on the bank, is the old but still working area. The other picture is of a smaller part of the hive,and the bees have built some new combs, and were real active. We didn’t see any bees flying to or from the hive while we were there.
Bill and Steve at a dead saguaro cactus. The ribs of these cactus had many uses with the Indians, generations ago.
The trail camera caught a visit from the Javelina last night. They hung out off and on for an hour, and pushed and rolled the seed block around. This was a small group, and the most that I saw in a picture at a single time was four. Mostly full grown adults, and no babies were pictured. The two on the right were having a discussion about feeding order, and a few of the pictures were showing some blurry action.
The two nose to nose, and another just came into the frame, right next to the camera. The large Javelina in the second picture shows how large that their head is, they look to be 1/3 head and the remaining 2/3 is body. They seem to follow each other, but they don’t get along well around food. We have seen them in Copper Crest Development, and the hair looks dirty and coarse, they just aren’t a cuddly animal.
The trail camera got a real close inspection by the Javelina, and the dirt streaks are slobber and snot from their noses. The batteries in the camera gave out last night, and the last pictures were too dark to show much. New batteries in place and ready for another show, but the seed block is small enough to get pushed out of the picture area, I think that I’ll get another.
We sold our home of 30 years and we have traveled in our Airstream Trailer ever since. We have been on the road for over three years touring the entire US, while wintering and touring in Tucson Arizona.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Yesterday was a day for a hike to the Honeybee hive, and we saw the usual and some unusual sights on the trip. We walked over 6 miles during the day.
I have seen horse tracks on the desert trails, but never a rider until this hike. This is a local resident, from a few miles away, and he spends winters here, and summers in Minnesota. The horse is a rescue horse, and seems to be well mannered around other people. I was going to give the horse my apple that I brought for lunch, and as this was early in our walk, I wasn’t hungry yet. The horse and rider got away before I could get the apple out of my pack, and that worked out the best for me, as I was really hungry at lunch time.
The group studying the damage to the hive. The rain storms this summer, filled the wash with water, and the bank eroded away. The hive was partially destroyed, but the bees are still working.
The wet looking area on the ground, is fallen parts of the hive, and the wet looking area on the bank, is the old but still working area. The other picture is of a smaller part of the hive,and the bees have built some new combs, and were real active. We didn’t see any bees flying to or from the hive while we were there.
Bill and Steve at a dead saguaro cactus. The ribs of these cactus had many uses with the Indians, generations ago.
The trail camera caught a visit from the Javelina last night. They hung out off and on for an hour, and pushed and rolled the seed block around. This was a small group, and the most that I saw in a picture at a single time was four. Mostly full grown adults, and no babies were pictured. The two on the right were having a discussion about feeding order, and a few of the pictures were showing some blurry action.
The two nose to nose, and another just came into the frame, right next to the camera. The large Javelina in the second picture shows how large that their head is, they look to be 1/3 head and the remaining 2/3 is body. They seem to follow each other, but they don’t get along well around food. We have seen them in Copper Crest Development, and the hair looks dirty and coarse, they just aren’t a cuddly animal.
The trail camera got a real close inspection by the Javelina, and the dirt streaks are slobber and snot from their noses. The batteries in the camera gave out last night, and the last pictures were too dark to show much. New batteries in place and ready for another show, but the seed block is small enough to get pushed out of the picture area, I think that I’ll get another.
Total Comments 1
Comments
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Is this in Arizona? As a beekeeper, it makes me nervous to look at your pics. AZ has Africanized bees, and even if they haven't bothered you in the past, it's no indication they won't in the future. However, make sure you avoid them after a bad weather night - i.e. rain, or pending rain. They can be highly alert after something that distubs them. The also react to the carbon dioxide in your breath, not necessarily how close you get to them. If you're ever attacked, try to run around obstacles to break up line of sight, and get into a vehicle or building to cut off their line of sight to their hive or to the sun. If there's no cover, run figure 8's around any visual obstacle as tall or taller than you - cactus, rocks, vehicles, people you don't like, etc. Good luck. Looks beautiful!
Rob.Posted 11-27-2012 at 01:27 PM by robwok 
