A little prick

What should have been a quick dart past the beehive, ended as a jumping dance and wild waving of my arms! I had a bee stuck in my hair at the back of my head. Was it the bright pink cap the bee was objecting to I wander? I contemplated ripping off my t.shirt as I wasn’t sure if the bee had gone down my back, but I soon realised that it was my head that was in danger. The sting was sharp and painful. I thrashed about and tried to find the sting, but that’s not so easy if you can’t see what you’re doing at the back of your head. Bolting back to the house I rifled through the medicine cabinet and read the labels of every ointment tube or jar we had in the medicine box. How old was this stuff? There is a little container of Germolene there. I think we brought it from South Africa about 25 years ago. I wander if it still works. I wasn’t about to try. Finding a little pot of tiger balm (bought more recently in China) I stuck my finger into the bottle and dragged out a brown finger of oily, smelly goop and rubbed it into the general area of the throbbing pain. That plus an antihistamine tablet finally helped the pain to subside. I rang Frans who was in Mudgee helping his brother build a cabin. I didn’t get much sympathy from my two brothers in law, Hans and Reg. They wished me well should I not survive! I do know now that I am not allergic to bee stings. This was my first sting. I am sure it won’t be the last! Actually, I was stung twice. I got zapped on my shoulder as well, but didn’t notice that sting as much.
I have ordered all our beekeeping gear (Suit, veil, gloves, smoker, brushes, strainer, tap, knife) from ebay. It should be here in about 10 days. I think I may let Frans have the first go at examining the bees up close. I’ll keep a safe distance.