TWO GOOD OMENS

 

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

26/III/2024

 

The other day while I was attending to our rooftop garden, I heard a very familiar ‘buzz’ overhead. It was a huge swarm of bees like a dark cloud in the sky, skimming over our terrace. The hum was so loud that it could beat the sound of an aeroplane flying by.

 

Bees are back in season. With winters gone and summers catching up, they need to get to work, which is making honey by profession. With blooms aplenty, they sure have lots of pollen and nectar to collect, not only from gardens but farms and fields.

 

A similar incident happened when our car cleaner raised an alarm for me to not open the door as there were honey bees hovering over our pots in the garage. One look and I knew they were “Chotti Makhhi”, who have been ‘hiving’ in and around our house. They are not ferocious and rarely sting. However, the honey they make is supposed to be the best.

 

Man, and bees are always at loggerheads. One cannot say it is the fault of the bees but all those who have been stung know the pain and its aftereffects. Swollen eyes, high fever, sometimes vomiting and even worse.

 

Our colony is so green and lush that they tend to make hives around. The clash begins when they start making hives in balconies of homes. People cannot even go out to dry their clothes. The windows cannot be opened for obvious reasons and there is a constant fear of bees.

 

A complaint is lodged with the society and they organise beehive removal. People might say that let them be as they are a very important link in the cycle of life. But then, their closeness does lead to a bad experience. It is more out of fear than anything else.

 

These bees come not only to collect pollen from our garden but also to drink water and carry it home to extend their hives. They drink a substantial amount that one has to top up the water lily tubs on a daily basis. However, they do not attack or harm yours truly. Probably, they take me as a friend and a provider.

 

Last evening, I heard a loud buzz in the ‘Water Hyacinth’ bucket. Those little bees were flying in, landing on the leaves and then crawling in to sip water. The number was large. Not bothering much, I sprinkled some water for them to have easy access, rather than go deep inside the clump of leaves. They kept returning again and again.

 

This gave me a clue that there has to be a hive close by. Where was the question?

 

Be that as it may. This hive was invisible till I had a close look in the morning when I saw a ‘Honey Buzzard’ sitting on the Drumstick tree today. He was there yesterday and revisited today. Mind you he was bigger than the normal ‘Kite’ and had whiter feathers. Before I could catch him in action, I went to inspect where honey would be found in that tree.

 

There is some construction going on in our neighbours house and is frequented by labour and trollies of sand and material. That place is in a mess but these intelligent bees knowing no one will bother them there have homed on to a branch. I presume they are the same ones that came visiting our garage.

 

They wouldn’t have found a suitable space in the garage so they must have shifted locations. I spotted the hive and that was the attraction for our big bird to come so close. Do they watch the bees and follow their activity? Can they ‘smell’ honey while flying? There has to be a homing signal, which I will find out.

 

The buzzard flew off when the labourers arrived. The bees didn’t bother. Just as I was feeling so happy to have solved one mystery, a Peacock came and landed on our solar panels on the roof. Now that I had my camera in my hand, I clicked a few pictures without realising that I had changed the settings for more light while clicking the beehive. All the photos got over-exposed.

 

Never mind. They say it is a good omen if a Peacock comes visiting your house. Indeed, we feel privileged to have such a beautiful bird so close to us. It was rather ‘two’ good omens when the Honey Buzzard and the Peacock came to check on us within a span of minutes.

 

Were the Peacock and the Honey Buzzard just passing by? Did they find something interesting on the roof? Will both of them visit us again? All these questions just make me say, I wonder!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND
© ® NOEL ELLIS