Monday, July 23, 2012

Bee Happy

Image Credit
Delilah Smith, Michigan, USA
III. NATURE.
XV.
THE BEE.
Emily Dickenson 

Like trains of cars on tracks of plush
I hear the level bee:
A jar across the flowers goes,
Their velvet masonry
Withstands until the sweet assault
Their chivalry consumes,
While he, victorious, tilts away
To vanquish other blooms.
His feet are shod with gauze,
His helmet is of gold;
His breast, a single onyx
With chrysoprase, inlaid.
His labor is a chant,
His idleness a tune;
Oh, for a bee's experience
Of clovers and of noon!




Oh the sweet summer sounds of bees buzzing in the gardens. Well, I'm not thinking about these kind fat bees today, I've got my mind on their little, angry, bee friends as I accidentally stepped on a hive of them yesterday evening. 
After a lovely afternoon of kayaking with my brother around Lake Calhoun, I got a sting on my hand as I was pulling my kayak out. My poor brother had to army crawl through the water to rescue my Kayak by pulling it back out to the lake and around to a bee free location. 

I have some winning tips on how to treat a sting. I read an article on the topic that had multiple solutions but I'll tell you about what I did that worked like a charm! 


  1. First, put pressure on the area around the sting to contain how far the pain will spread. This is key!! 
  2. Make sure you still don't have a stinger in the site, then wash it with soap and water. 
  3. Take an ibuprofen.
  4. Ice the sting areaThe coldness constricts blood vessels (which slows the flow of venom-tainted blood) and numbs the pain and itching. 
  5. Now, the natural remedy: Put a slice of tomato on the sting site for about 5 min.
  6. Reapply the ice and tomato about every 5 hours as needed. 


Day two, your sting will be an itchy little sucker. I suggest putting toothpaste on the sting site.  The tingling action will make you feel like you're scratching the itch, which is relieving. (I'm typing this  WITH my toothpaste on the sting, and it feels SO much better.)

Hope you are getting along with the bees this summer. But if not, I hope these remedies work as well for you as they have for me! 

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