If you read the News & Record, this is old news. However, the story is so fabulous, we want to share it with the world. People like Diane in Texas and Mark in Korea, just might appreciate a little hometown news!
Last week, part of this giant oak tree, located on Cypress Street, on the campus of Aycock Middle School, came crashing down. Inside was a colony of 50,000 honey bees. The local community worked together to save this thriving colony and relocate it to beekeeper George Sudderth's farm in southeastern Guilford county. Fellow beekeeper John Sabat was instrumental in getting the bees out of the tree by using a vacuum cleaner. Nobody was stung; not even once, and you can be sure those bees were HOT about the loss of their habitat! However, word has it that they are happy in their new home. Also good news... the remaining part of the tree is healthy and it shouldn't need to be removed.
We took the above photo on Monday, the day before the bee relocation. That dark spot at the top is where they were living. If you want to see more photos, you should be able to access them through the News & Record. They got some great ones in a series of photos they've dubbed, The Lost Colony. Click on the little icon of squares at the bottom of the black screen to access the pictures. It is worth seeing these photos! They are so thorough that teachers could use them to teach expository writing and sequencing! Thank goodness for newspapers like the News & Record and photojournalists like Nelson Kepley.
indeed very heartening to note and interesting too!
Posted by: magiceye | Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 05:08 AM
That is one talented beekeeper. Great shot of the tree - so tall!
Posted by: Leora | Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 06:16 AM
Glad they didn't simply nuke them. I remember a couple of years ago, the bee population was declining. Hope that's not the case anymore.
Posted by: Bill B | Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 07:48 AM
That is an absolutely fascinating story! I'm glad they managed to save the bees and the trees. Wonderful!
Posted by: Hilda | Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 09:42 AM
This was an interesting post. Amazing what can be done when people care enough and take the time. So wonderful that the bee colony could be relocated.
Posted by: Carver | Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 10:02 AM
cool story about the beees! Neato! My next door neighbor raised beees.
I've been away for a couple days at a retreat working on my novel and do not have internet access so I missed your message and I am not sure when yr coming. or if you already did.
Jan--I live on the est side of Detroit and generally head North, so I do not go south and west that much and haven't lived here too long, and I don't know if you want parks or human type stuff.
If, from the airport you go west on I 94 and then south on 275, there are a series of Metroparks that are nice: Lower Huron, Willow and Oakwoods, and then Lake Erie. If you haven't gone yet, you can look them up online.
If you have time for a detour, and can go into town, see the RENAISSANCE CENTER, the river walk, and Belle Isle. Centennial park is right there, too, with it's small lighthouse, and ruins nearby to explore. And you could go see the Heidelberg project. These however would require a detour into town.
Most of my favorite places to go for photos are to the north or northwest.
Hines park isn't far from the airport--it's an odd long park, there are a few spots worth photographing. If you have not gone yet and want more info--let me know.
Posted by: mary taitt | Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 04:56 PM
Kensington Metropark is really "swell," as is Cranbrook, the Zoo, the cultural center.
Posted by: mary taitt | Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 04:58 PM
Amazing story, and I've not heard about it. So glad that everything is going to bee okay!
Posted by: Jacob | Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 08:06 PM
I'm late reading this info, but just glad of the outcom, relocating the bees to perhaps a better place.
Posted by: Danton | Friday, July 24, 2009 at 09:00 PM
Not a job for me, but I'm glad somebody did it! Great!
Posted by: Dina | Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 07:27 AM
Greeting. The first precept was never to accept a thing as true until I knew it as such without a single doubt.
I am from Dominican and bad know English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "Jen is regular, standardized, and successfully a however better region than sam."
Waiting for a reply :D, Charla.
Posted by: Charla | Saturday, September 05, 2009 at 08:15 AM