The thing about bees....

Nana Ann has some bees at her house. This is alarming on several fronts because while bees in just their natural glory are pretty amazing and we are all rooting for them (what with the pollination and honey) when they are at your home and near your face, they can be a bit alarming. There are issues of allergic people (me) small children (Milo) smaller children (Finn) visiting guests (the New Yorkers are here, more on that later) so bees at her home are very very inconvenient. However when you are 4 and your Nana has some bees at her home, it is a very very exciting day indeed.

After we left her house Milo peppered me questions about bees and I did my best to explain to him about bees, queens, beekeepers, the nature of pollination, honey, all that good stuff....

Me: Pretty cool thing to see all those bees wasn't it?
Milo: But Mom they can't come in the car? (there was some panic here, and I will note it only because Milo has taken slightly after me and screams for Mark anytime a bug is spotted in the home)
Me; Nope, they cannot come in the car.
Milo: Why are they at Nanas house?
Me: Well bees are just part of nature and they can pretty much go where they please. We can't really stop them.
Milo: Does Nana like them at her house?
Me: Umm, no not really. I mean Nana likes bees, everyone does, but they cannot live at Nana's house
Milo: Yeah! Nana said, "Bees you cannot live at my house you have to go to your own house!"
Me: Something like that.
Milo: How will Nana make the bees go to their house?
Me: Well she will call a guy out, either a beekeeper or an exterminator. Can you say exterminator?
Milo: Terminator (I flash to Governor Arnold in a beekeepers jumpsuit and this just makes me laugh)
Me: Close enough.
Milo: What does a terminator do? (again I have to kind of reign it in here, my mind flashes to alien robots which I know he would think is cool, I could bring up John Connor, Arnold again, but wait....bees, we are talking about bees....)
Me: Well a beekeeper is a bee friend, and would come and scoop up the bees and take them away to a hive. But an exterminator will come and kill the bees.
Milo: Yeah, and he will tell them Nana doesn't want you here too! Probably he won't give them any milk.
Me: Probably not.Do you know what bees make?
Milo: Honey
Me: That is right, and did you know that bees have a queen?
Milo: A Queen?!!! That is silly.
Me: No it is true, she is in charge.
Milo: Is she the mommy?
Me; Very nice observation, yup, she is just like the mommy. And do you know where bees live?
Milo: Not Nana's house (wild giggling)
Me: Nope, not at Nana's house. They live in a hive
Milo: A hive!! (more wild giggling)
Milo: Lets talk about bees again and some more okay?
Me: Okay.

Later that night at dinner we filled in Mark on the bees at Nana's house and our conversation and all the bee facts we know. Only I think it got a bit jumbled with other Milo fun facts, because the answers had slightly changed.

Mark: So Milo how many bees were at Nana's house?
Milo: Umm, this many (he holds up 2 then 3 then 2 fingers )
Me: Nope, there were hundreds, it was crazy! They were everywhere.
Mark: Wow
Milo: And Dad they were going "zzzz zzzz zzz" (how he knows this I am not sure since as noted above the windows were closed, and no bees came into the car)
Mark: Do you know what bees make?
Milo: Yup they make milk.
Me: What? Milk! No they do not.
Mark: I think they make honey, is that right?
Milo: They make milk AND honey
Mark: And where do they live?
Milo: In a cup.
Mark: In a cup? Really where do they live?
Me: Do they live in a hive?
Milo: Yup, a hibe. The live in a hibe Dad.
Mark: And who is the head bee?
Milo: Dinosaurs.
Mark: What? Is it a king bee?
Milo: No it is dinosaurs Dad, they are in charge
Mark: I think it is maybe a prince bee? (okay this is just blatant leading as far as I am concerned, but he rolls with it)
Milo: (raising his voie and very serious now) No Dad! Dinosaurs are becuase they are bigger!

And with that the conversation stopped, he would have no more of it. As far as he is concerned Dinosaurs ruled it all!