Perfume. It works out.

I am an architect- and work at home now- up in the upper right windows with the cord hanging out. That's a hive camera, or sensor, I forget. And I went out today at noon for a peanut butter sandwich and a walk in the grass before doing more architecture- and staring up a the roof hives I heard a humming- getting louder-louder- louder- but normal bee behavior... then suddenly, it stepped up another level, and bees were pouring out of #3, and I turned around and saw the above- which is basically a very powerful hive pouring forth a swarm. And... this is the hive that I did NOT go through this past weekend (and felt guilty about).

I've hived a hundred swarms? Is that an exaggeration? I do it the same way each time pretty much- I do what I learned from my mentor Brian- and pretty much either catch them in something like a box and dump them in a super- or hold the super under them and dump them in.  If you haven't done this before-  its pretty dramatic- you shake them- wump wump (akin to "click click" on a mouse ) and they fall like water. Like a liquid made of insects, I can't say why an animal has to have two wumps to drop- but this one does.

So the story on this hive- is not only am I trying to be responsible and make a living at architecture- but I have a meeting 30 miles away I have to drive to- and be there in an hour... so I have like 15 minutes- to disconnect computers, get dressed, through my gear into my car...and catch a hive. And then go draw furniture for the most expensive restaurant in Seattle.

It works out.

The swarm, first gathering up on high- drops low-on a branch. And when that happens, its like the simplest thing I know- a massive, beautiful, cluster of stinging potential, smart, bugs- on a branch. Drunk with propagation. I really have zero idea of what they are drunk on. But they are DRUNK- they don't sting much- they are like this gelatin- or like water- everywhere and flowing- and the center of it all is the smelll of a queen.

As it swarmed, I shot up as fast as I could to the hive to see if i could CATCH the queen- as she left- but I missed her. She doesn't command- she runs around- at least when I've seen her- nervous, scared, ignored- but it's her smell- her smell- that commands. Insect Perfume. The most basic- and powerful- sense.

I can't speak for bees- or other people- but I get it. Walk out into a Spring night, with the moon moving full and up high, and that whole scent of life and promise and vibrant future- and the sounds and warmth of a frogs and geese moving south and --- and it's a quarter about seeing, and three quarters about things one can't see.

I get perfume. It's  a switch- like an electrical switch. Really- I once got like 500 bucks to study it- I am serious.

So- I see this swarm, and  I have 20 minutes to catch it, disconnect a computer, get dressed, start a car... And- it works out. A swarm hived.