What beekeepers do on their day off

We decided to take a day off and rather than visit our bees, we chose to visit Jerusalem. Maybe the beekeeping has emboldened us to not fear what some might think of as dangerous locations, we decided to ascend the temple mount and visit the site where the first and second temples were built. We arranged with an old friend of mine, Dani Barkai, to give us the tour. Dani and I went to Associated and CHAT together and lived on the same street. Dani is an excellent guide and is not only familiar with the regular tourist attractions, studied zoology at the University of Toronto and was a guide for Haganat Hateva (Israel Nature Authority).

The temple mount is currently the site of the Dome of the rock and the Al Aksa Mosque. It is where the first and second temples stood. It is the where Arik Sharon visited and was the excuse that was used to spark the second Intifada.  In 1967, after Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem, the responsibility for the temple mount was given to the Waqf. Today, if Jews want to visit the temple mount, they must agree not to pray, tear their clothes (as a sign of mourning), sing, or anything that might be seen as a religious act. The temple mount is the holiest place in Judaism, and the third holiest place in Islam.

After going  through security at the Kotel (Western Wall) we were guided through an additional  x-ray and metal detector to get to the temple mount. We  were six people and were assigned an Israeli soldier and plain clothed man carrying a bag and radio from the Waqf. It must have been a site for people to see because we were just six people walking around with our two chaperones. As you can see from the picture on the left, we do not have our arms around each other because we were warned that this is considered inappropriate behaviour. We walked east and saw the beautiful Dome of the Rock from the outside and and then made our way back to the western side of the plaza and then north to the Cotton Sellers’ Gate.

We posed for pictures and shmoozed a bit with the guy from the Waqf. At one point I turned to him and asked him exactly where the temple stood, and he responded that he and I have very different views of this location. He went on to explain that there is no evidence that there was ever any Jewish presence on the temple mount. I guess if you say the same thing enough times you start to believe it. Our police escort Danny, heard what he said and argued with him. Danny told the Waqf guy that he would show him the locations to point out the Jewish historical presence on the temple mount. When we left we thanked our escorts and Danny told us to come back often.

Dani Barkai guiding us at the City of David

Our tour continued and eventually lead us to the City of David. There is a lot to say about Ir David (City of David) but I am cooking meatballs now and have to stop. Ir David was interesting, a bit over-rated but important for anyone studying the history of Jerusalem and Israel.

After a few hours we headed back to the old city, a short visit to Dov Kempinsk,i and lunch.

DZK & Yael visit

David Zvi and Yael arrived yesterday and the girls (especially Maayan) are bouncing off the walls from excitement. Every meal becomes a discussion of who gets to sit with Yael or David Zvi.

This evening we took a drive out to hive # 1 at Beit Gamliel to check on the super. We put it on with frames with just foundation and wanted to see the progress of the bees. Yael put on Alison’s bee suit and David Zvi chose to stand back and take some pix. Yael was great. She was apprehensive at first but handled the smoker and even lifted a frame of honey.

The bees are doing great. The middle frames are full drawn and there is fresh honey in them. They are still not capped but filling up nicely. I am sure we will have some honey by Rosh Hashana.

Growing bees

Tonight is a holiday here in Israel (Shavuot – Pentecost) and we are off work today. We had a busy morning and thought of the expressions the Marines use “We do more before breakfast than most people do all day.” We dropped the car off for the annual fitness  test (AKA excuse to fleece drivers), walked Kelly down the street for her rabies shot (rabies is a serious problem in Israel because the neighboring countries are not careful about the issue and animals cross the borders freely), picked up ice cream at the Feldman ice cream factory and bought some treats for Kelly.

We went on to Beit Gamliel and Zoe and I checked on hive #1. It was the one with the super on it and we wanted to make sure the bees found their way upstairs and started to draw comb. They did and we were very happy with what we saw. Several frames had 1/3 ready comb and the rest of the frame was being built up.

Zoe was not afraid at all. She handled the frame and was a great assistant. If we decide to add more hives in the spring, each of the girls will get their own hive to color and take care of. Zoe is so into the bee thing that when I ask her what the four most common problems of the honey bee are, she prattles off  “American Foul Brood, European Foul Brood, Varroa, and Nosema”. I think she is serious about being a vet.

Kelly watching as I fill the car up with gas

We drove over to Yashresh to check on hive # 2.  We needed to get gas and stopped in Rehovot to fill up. It is  a real pain taking off the veil on these suits so I just turned up the air conditioner and left the veil on. I know that in the many years I lived in Canada I never saw a man with a bee suit filling up his car with gas. The woman who too my cash didn’t blink when I approached her with the cash. She thought my English was more interesting and asked me about how to say hanacha (discount) in English. We drove off, me still dressed in white from head to toe. We stopped at a light and there was a young Ethiopian couple in the car next to us. They laughed politely and I rolled down my window and asked if tonight was the start of Purim.

I went across to the hive myself because Zoe and Maayan were more interested in playing with another dog who was trying to fend us off from the owner’s land. This hive was a concern to us because when Alison and I went to see it last Friday, it looked weak with very few bees. Doron thought it might be the weather, time of day or maybe they were sprayed. Our concerns were unfounded because there were lots of bees and they were drawing comb and it was looking good. I gave them 2 litres of sugar syrup and we were on our way. I don’t know if we will get any honey from this hive this summer but our first hive should produce at least enough for us for Rosh Hashanah.

Checking the 2nd hive

Alison smoking the hive

We sent the girls off to school this morning and headed out to Yashresh to check on the new hive I installed last night. We got the smoker going, gave the bees a healthy dose of smoke and opened the roof and crown board. We pulled frames and started inspecting the bees. As we gain confidence and knowledge of what to look for, we spend more time observing how the bees behave and what they are up to. I brought my camera and took some close ups of the bees.

We pulled a frame and started looking for the queen. Alison spotted her, moving to the edge of the frame, moving quickly to the other side. There is a method of pulling a frame, then turning it 90 degrees while holding it in the same hands, then twisting the frame to the other side, holding the corners from the bottom corners instead of the top.

Queen among workers

When we got to the second frame, Alison spotted the queen. Alison has this unbelievable ability to spot living things wherever she is. We can be barreling down a highway (in Canada) at 100 km/h and Alison will say “hey, look at the deer”.  Again today, she said “there she is” except since she was holding  the frame with both hands and was unable to point to her. Some people mark the queen with Whiteout or some sort of marker. We left her alone but will look into the various methods of marking queens. The people who do mark queens, use colors to represent the year. She moves quickly and must know her importance because when we look for her she always tries to skirt around to the back of the frame.

Bees build their hives from the middle frame outwards. You can encourage them to fill out frames by taking empty frames and moving them 2nd from the outside. We did this and then placed the feeder box on top. The feeder box is filled with sugar water and gives them something extra so that they will have the extra energy these days, when they have to build their comb.

We also pulled some of the new frames with clean foundation. We were amazed at how fast they started building up the comb on the new frames. You could see the cells being formed and they were only exposed to these new frames for about 12 hours. These guys work fast.

Alison inspecting a new frame

Girls in the City

Yesterday, which was Yom Rishon (the first day after Shabbat, a.k.a. Sunday), we decided to hit the road and take the girls to Jersualem. They had been to the city before, but only at night, sleeping most of the time there. This day, we had several errands in the city and all needed a “fun” break from regular work and kindergarten.

The girls were real troopers, walking all the way into Mazkeret Batya, where we caught a sherut (mini bus) to the highway, where we could grab the bus to Jerusalem. They were very happy, though, to be able to sit down in the green cement bus stop to wait for Egged bus No. 434 and nibble some cheese and crackers.

Surprisingly, the bus was packed. Stevy and I stood the whole way and the girls shared a step that led to the last row of seats at the back of the bus. We arrived in probably less than 45 minutes. Our first errand was to cash a U.S. dollar cheque. The money changer was a friendly ex-North American, who also had the ability to deposit the money directly into our account. (A good thing since the banks here have the nerve to charge money to count cash deposits over 5,999 shekels, or about $1,500.)

Then our friend Dov picked us up and took us to the Old City. He also brought in the car a bag we had left at his place in September and which we needed to get back (errand No. 2). The bag took up most of Dov’s trunk. Dov and his brother, Moishe, own and operate Shoreshim (roots), a gift shop in the Old City. After a chat with the brothers, we headed through the winding streets down toward the Kotel, or Western Wall.

All entrances to the Western Wall Plaza are heavily guarded. We passed through metal detectors and had our bags x-rayed. The girls asked if they had to take off their jackets like Stevy and I did. I explained that they don’t since they weren’t carrying keys, money or cell phones in their pockets. The vast majority of Israelis and visitors don’t seem to mind this intrusion, which can occur many times a day depending on the places where one works or frequents: shopping malls, banks, bus stations, grocery stores, cafes, office buildings, etc.

Once through security, the girls and I waited in the plaza while Stevy headed to another exit, where he was to meet a guy who had de-bugged Stevy’s computer of a nasty virus. Noach actually drove to our house last Friday morning to work on the computer and then took it home to finish up and was returning it to us (Errand No. 3). The girls and I looked around in the meantime.

The sounds of Muslims’ afternoon prayers wafted over the wall from the plaza of the Dome of the Rock, above. Near the entrance to the women’s side of the Kotel were old, old women begging. Some of the faces I remembered from my visits to the Kotel in years past. Jersualem is timeless in so many ways. I took out my little leather change purse that I’ve begun carrying for bus fare and gave the girls shekels to give for tzedekah (charity).

Stevy returned and took the girls off to the men’s section. I headed to the women’s section to leave a note in the wall for a friend whose doctors just discovered a malignancy. I felt I should daven (pray) beforehand, so I found a siddur (prayerbook) with English. Like times past when I’d prayed at the Kotel, I did not feel the earth move. I don’t know if I ever will. But some women around me were clearly moved by praying there. I find the Kotel noisy and distracting as women walk toward and away from the wall. Nevertheless, I hoped my note would have some affect on God’s willingness to heal our friend.

After I found a crack in which to stash my prayer note, I returned to the common area of the plaza, where men and women are not separated. Peeking through the fence behind the men’s area, I spotted the girls and Stevy — their brightly coloured clothing in contrast with the mostly all-black garb worn by so many men there. As they walked up the ramp toward the common area, the girls cried “Imma!” (mommy) and came running toward me. I was glad to see them, too.

The girls played on the steps while Stevy and I planned the next part of the day: a stroll through the shuk (market) and finding some promised ice cream for the girls and then something substantial for all of us to eat. Leaving the plaza, we passed a group of yeshiva students singing and dancing.

Later, we visited Stevy’s friends who live and/or work in the Old City. One, David Aaron, runs a learning centre called Israelite. Atop his offices is an impressive view of the Old City and the Dome of the Rock. A young couple sat talking on the roof. The woman offered to take a camera-phone picture of the whole family. Zoe enjoyed running around on the roof; I was getting hungry.

We found something to eat and then found a playground, which the girls thoroughly enjoyed. It was probably the most exciting part of the day for them; I remarked to Stevy how the playground was much like those in New York City. Everything in the Old City is made of Jerusalem Stone; there are few green spaces — not like Yatzitz or Mazkeret Batya. The girls didn’t seem to notice or care.

The playground was around the corner from Dov’s shop. We returned around closing time, and he drove us and the big bag to the central bus station. Maayan fell asleep in the back seat. Zoe sucked her thumb all the way home.