[SADXA] I'm off of 30m and 80m for a while

[Jim W]

So I'm clearing brush near the house to make a work area for the 
assembly of my new homebrew 12m/17m yagi and it's a great day. Clear 
sky, temp in the mid-70's and the birds are chirping.  I clear out the 
last of the prickly pear clumps, lay out the antenna elements on the 
ground, and lower my 30m and 80m dipoles so that I can tilt over the 
tower.  The cables have been safely laid underground, the rotor system 
has been tested and is ready, and the lightning protection system is in 
place.  The tower is cranked down and ready to be tilted over.  But I'm 
short a wrench, so I go back to the garage to get it.  Then I notice 
them.  The bees.

There are only a couple hundred visible but they're making a 
considerable noise.  Instead of returning outside, I close the garage 
door and go out into the front garden.  It's quieter but something still 
isn't right.  Then I notice more of them.  A swarm. Tens of thousands of 
bees have taken over a branch of the mesquite tree that's across from 
the house.  That's it for me.  I go inside and summon the bee guys.  
They come out, inspect the area, and tell me that the bees should be 
quiet now that the temperature has gone up and they're tired.  The bee 
removal guy is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, but the bee inspectors tell 
me that he'll call first before leaving the office.  The bees are 
looking for a place to build a new hive and they might leave the 
mesquite tree for parts unknown tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, I've carefully recovered my tools and the antenna parts from 
where I left them.  I'm not going to tempt fate by raising the dipoles, 
since one of their wires is resting inside of the mesquite tree next to 
the swarm.  If the antennas are pulled up, the mesquite branches will 
start shaking.  So might the bees.  I don't know how many there are, but 
they're in a clump over four feet long, shaped like the lower half of a 
football that's been laid on the ground. It's about 18 inches thick at 
the fattest part of the swarm.  This is a pretty impressive gathering of 
insects.

So VK0EK and FT4JA will have to wait for a couple of days until the bee 
situation is resolved.  I can still use my Yagi, so I still have the 
usual HF bands and 40m at my disposal.  But there will be no QSOs on 30 
and 80 from this QTH until after the bee situation is resolved.

73,  Jim  W9FI