More Home Improvements

I was just going to label this entry, "Home Improvements", but I think I've already used that one. Besides, I have a feeling there are going to be many more of these same types of entries throughout the next year. :)

1. Bees Were Buzzing ...


This by far was the most interesting and entertaining. When we moved into the house we knew there was a bee infestation on the roof. We were told it had been there a couple of months and we were credited some money to get rid of the critters.

We finally got someone out to see if they could remove them all without killing them. Turns out the bees weren't in the roof, but rather in the wall behind the chimney. The only way to get them out would be to open the wall into the living room and let them free. NOT an option. We decided we'd be okay if they killed the little guys.

When the guy opened up the wall, the honey just started to drip out. He said there were probably 10,000 bees in there and they must have been there for more than a year. While the man was scraping the honey combs out I asked him how often he gets stung. He replied by asking, "what, you mean right now? Uhhh, about 4 already." He didn't even flinch.


In total about 4 or 5 honey combs were removed. No telling how much honey. Sadly, we have oleander trees in our back yard, and were advised the honey could be poisonous. It sure smelled sweet in the house though. Kinda reminded me of one of my favorite books, "The Secret Lives of Bees".


2. Pond Scum ...

We didn't do good with before and after pictures here. When we moved into the house we were a little nervous about the cute pond with the little bridge in the backyard. We had no idea how to take care of it. There were fish in there, but no telling how many. We couldn't see them. The previous owner told us we didn't have to do anything for them (regarding food, etc) that they just ate what was in the pond. It was so over run with lily pads and gunk, there was no telling what they had to eat. Our only hint was the time Chance jumped into the pond and came out smelling something like ROT.


The nicest guys came out to clean out the pond. These bags are all filled with the gunk on the bottom of the pond. Seriously, there was a least 2 feet of scum on the bottom. They said they'd never seen a pond so neglected.

There aren't any after pictures of their awesome work since it's basically just an empty pool. We can't replace the plants until spring, so I'll try to put in an update when it looks nice. The good news is we are now able to see that we have at least 15 fish and will inherit 3 more (thanks to our new friends at the pond and garden shop). Another bonus is that now that it's so peaceful to sit by the pond and listen to the water fall, I was back there long enough to notice a hummingbird fly to its nest. I guess our neglected trees have been a haven for little birds. I wonder how many little birds we'll have around come spring.