In February 2019, I set off for beekeeping school with great zeal. Life intervened, in the form of a job loss and the addition of another baby, and we are still hive-less…well, not entirely. Last night, my toddler informed me that there was a bug in her room. After some investigation and the hum of the dustbuster, the bug (a honey bee) was removed (and set free outside). But my mind continued to buzz, and I knew that the bee – one in a dozen that had been discovered in her room in the last week – wasn’t an anomaly.
Circa 1895 bee art.
Yes, dear readers – one of the three extant chimneys of our 1901 farmhouse is now also a beehive.
The bees seem quite happy in their new abode.
Repairing and restoring our chimneys is on the list, but after a few quotes that ranged from $18,000 to only (ha!) $8,000 – we’ve put that project on hold. Now I wonder if the universe is telling me to go ahead with getting at least one chimney tended…
Our 2.5 story house is rather high, and the chimney rises another 10 feet or so above the roofline. It is not a place I seek out for enjoyable cavorting.
Duct tape to the (temporary) rescue!
We need a bee person to trap and relocate the bees (I think these particular bees were swarming in our front yard the middle of May). I do not want to kill them, given the perilous state of honey bees, but I do need them to find a new home. Our chimney isn’t a long-term solution.
If you know someone who is up to the task – please let me know!
I live in TN and you can’t kill them. They set up home in two of our four columns of our older brick building. We called the TN Dept of Agriculture who gave us lists of beekeepers who would get these for free. It took him two summers to finally get them all moved. Good luck.
We had the same thing happen we just happened to be in the yard and just like on Winnie the Pooh, the cloud of bees went to a tree branch first and then right into the chimney. A beekeeper came out and was happy to have them. I hope they find a good home! I wish we were set up!
Janie – if you can find a bee keeper willing to capture the colony, I have an empty behive in my back yard here on Mill Street – must have the queen.
No solutions for the bees but the fireplace is beautiful!
The current trend is for “capping” chimneys, which is leading to the demise of chimney swifts. When the pilgrims and their chimneys arrived in the new world, chopping down old dead trees, swifts adapted to chimneys. Now that most new (and old) chimneys are capped, they have no place to go and are dwindling in numbers. They are very cool to watch on a summer’s eve as they gather and then disappear down a chimney for the night. So un-cap your chimneys, folks, and save the swifts! (and the honey bees!)
Very funny. I too have put off having my chimney cleaned not only because of cost but because if gives me one less thing to worry about when I leave the house — did I really get everything out? The major reason though is not to have to mess with fire wood. A number of years ago I had a wood-burning stove in the kitchen — it was large kitchen in big old 1876 victorian house. But wood is the pain, find a dealer, In Ky in country probably not a problem. How much to get? Enough to last a while so maybe a cord. Storing is a two or three stage process.
Where to put the big pile? Need a chopping block next to it to chop kindling. The the smaller pile still outside the house, I kept in attached garage — a later addition to the house — then thirdly next to fireplace or stove. Stove requires more attention than a fireplace because adjust fire while cooking while with fire place just need to keep going. So have to keep some wood in kitchen. Wood is slopping and messy with back falling and makes a mess. So when you decide to get your chimney operational that’s only the beginning — remember the wood!!
Are those Rookwood tiles around the fireplace??
Nancy, I have no idea. The only way I would know to ID them is on the back of the tiles – and as they are all intact, I don’t think I will be doing that! Would Rookwood tiles have been expensive in 1901? Because you know how cheap the Prewitts can be…