The Birds And The Bees

This picture comes from the beginning of our mission and has been on the blog before. We experienced a little monsoon when we first arrived in India and one day after we had moved to this new apartment it was raining very hard and I found two birds taking refuge on the upper window of our bedroom. The window is above a a terrace and this terrace has been named by us, the pigeon porch. The pigeons really like this place and it is difficult to deter them.

That upper window has since been lined with filled water bottles and that works great for keeping that area clear. We tried the same technique on a flower pot ledge out there and the pigeons joined forces and knocked the bottles off. Not knowing the seasons here we kept up the battle. We finally realized that it was Spring. When it is always hot how do you tell? Well intense nesting instinct or not we finally won and the pigeons left the porch.

Did I say won? One day later they were back. How did they know it was us and our apartment. They flew over or maybe around to the other side of the building. We were working in the office and heard a noise that we did not recognize. We looked in the living room and pigeons were hopping around. Two more came to the window and we were thinking shades of Alfred Hitchcock. It took a little doing but we finally "talked" them out of nesting in our house. So now for every nesting season (there have been three) we put a net up on the laundry porch and as soon as we scrub it clean again will do the same for the old pigeon porch off the bedroom.

Now as to bees. We went to Bangalore for a conference again and had a good time, but the train ride is still sub par. When we returned, (this time we were gone almost five days instead of just 24 hours) we saw this hive on the porch on the other side of the apartment.
It was the size of a large watermelon. We were impressed and just shut the door. Three days later we went to take a picture and the hive was now the size of three big watermelons. You can see a honey comb and I hate to disturb their industry, but we have heard killer bees talked about so we are taking steps. The one thing you must not do is get under it. If a little piece should fall on you they will all come down straight for you.

So birds we will battle but, bees we let be.