The bees!!!!

 Sitting late a night a few days we kept hearing a strange buzzing sound. We thought at first it was a mosquito we couldn't see somewhere in the room... well... ignored it until it came closer to us and we could squish it. Sorry for any mosquito enthusiasts in my readers, but, I don't like them, i react badly to their bites, worse than a wasp stings so in this house they are enemy number one and the first thing to get squished. So we kept hearing it...and hearing it... And eventually we decided to look for it and... No mosquito and worse the sound was coming from the walls.

Now not only have we had mice unwanted in our homes but also pet rats in England so we knew it wasn't a rodent. In the morning we called for some help to find out what it was. And... Well with some ears pressed to the walls it determined that there were bees in the wall... A huge hive of bees in the wall. And with bee allergy/fear of bees they had to move out.

Good news was that the wife's uncle kept bees, so we had someone who would come and get them. The problem was that they were getting in and out of some very small gaps in the wall...so we have to cut in to the wall to make a hole to get to the hive... There was no access from the attic and the hive wasn't up there which would have been a far easier. 

So sawing into the wall we began... And the suddenly thought, 'our roof leaks I bet bees can get in those holes' as the uncle sawed into the wall we rushed in and started blocking and taping any holes we could find as the idea of a swarm of enraged bees in a confined space was not enticing. Duct tape slathered gaps and and expanding foam sprayed in other places, towels and rags were jammed under the doors for the other rooms so if they came in one they stayed in one.

So the uncle outside in their bee suit was starting to scrape the nest out, he puffed them with smoke, and kept bringing the nest down. He was looking for the queen. If he found the queen then the whole hive would follow her to keep her safe, so, fingers were crossed for finding the queen....we had no luck...we got a lot of the bees and hive out in one piece but we never saw the queen. The bees we added to the hive stayed and joined willingly so we guessed she was there.

It took a full day but eventually all the bees were out. Stragglers that didn't come out willing were removed with a shop vac and the last remnants of the hive scraped out of the walls. The next job was putting the house back together.

Thankfully slats and boards had been remove neatly and so the drumming if hammers began as the the cut out was put back, loose nails and boards were put back on place and the few places where we saw them went in were sealed up. So the bees had now moved out.

And finally, over the next coming days we occasionally saw a bee that had flown from it's new home down the road to where it used to live and then buzzed off. None moved back in permanently...but I still watch as I've found out my home in the woods is susceptible to insect squatters...if only the bees paid rent...

First of a new skill set

Living here I have had to learn to do a lot more things myself rather than just paying someone to do it for me. I know that sounds kinda, I don't know, posh...but not posh...at least bloody lazy but that's not the case. I always have tried to do stuff around the house a bit of painting... Maybe lay some laminate flooring...but cars... Yeah mechanic all the way before, but here, and now, I on a steep learning curve. 

When we first arrived we rented a vehicle, as we were being gifted a car from a deceased family member. It has been sat around for a while so need some work.  

So I said I'd help, now prior to this my entire mechanic experience was holding a torch (flashlight) so my dad could see (I had no idea what he was doing), how to change a tyre (tire), and check the oil, aside from that it was turn key and car goes vroom.

So I arrive and see the cars up on bricks, well the front end anyway. And I'm faced with my wife's father and her uncle awaiting for me nearby. Now, I get the cajun louisiana accent, and by this time my jet lag was mostly gone, but the two of them have a slightly different style ones fast the other slow. So I struggled in translation, 

It hadnt helped that amy had told them I had worked on cars before so they're chatting away about  the engine or something... And I'm just nodding... Then I heard suspension...at least I knew where that was so I got prepped for crawling on the floor. Head under car looking I got the feeling I was missing the point. 

Turned out working on the car with Amy's uncle was a lot like working with my dad, I held things in placed, shone the torch, and occasionally put my weight behind things...but at least he explained the plan of what was going to happen each time. 

So my first seriously giving a car, I ended up with grease all over my hands, on my face, and somehow in my ear and to this day...I still don't know what we fixed on that car that day. Parts were changed, but I have no idea.

Arrival

We left England, my wife, two boys (3 and 5 at the time), and myself on Halloween in 2018. I have to give this simple piece of advice, if you are flying anywhere with children, go direct. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt to do transfers from one plane to another with only a couple hours between, the stress is not worth it. But, ours could have been tainted by our entry, we came in through Chicago, which as a rule that's not very helpful to the family travelers and that's, all luggage needs to be collected between flights, and it took an hour for it to arrive. I'm not sure what happened between the plane a baggage reclaim but I'm pretty sure our bags went on there own holiday, only around the airport, but still there own short trip. So, I never recommend connecting flights, ever...

Once on the last flight we arrived in New Orleans, my favourite airport. When we landed the new terminal hadn't been completed and you can basically walk off the plane and out in to the street. Hardly any difficult security to get through where you begin to question your own existence just simple and calm. Except for one thing $5 for a baggage cart takes the piss. And it locks once out of elevator in the car park anyway... Seriously $5 for about 200 yards of travel...rude, just plain rude.

So, in NOLA, and as we walk out of the building...November 1st by a couple of hours... We get hit by a wall of humidity. We left England in jumpers and coats, and land wishing we were wearing shorts and t-shirts. Apparently, I don't know this but there's still insane warm fronts in November in south louisiana... Who knew...not me in 2018. 

Next is the hour and half drive to our new house... Seriously weirded out by the side of the road stuff and turning on a red light.

We get to our new home, almost a cabin in the woods, just a little bigger. And we can see the road from the window. The lights had been left on, it looked so welcoming after nearly 24hours constant traveling, starting in Norfolk and ending in Terrebonne parish. But those welcoming lights, didn't just welcome us, they also welcomed, what I believe should be the state animal... mosquitoes. Loads and loads. We pushed our way through the swarm with all the luggage, let at least a hundred into the house. We blocked off the bedrooms and trapped them in kitchen and living room. Then it was to my shock something I had a skill for...towel whipping... Of course I used to do that horizontal at my brother's or uni housemates but now vertical against mosquitoes I wasn't too bad either. After about half an hour of that we sent the kind cousin who collected us on their way (out the back door where no light brought the evil bugs closer to the house). 

Finally it was time to sleep, our two boys were unconscious, nut just sleeping that sweet child in a movie sleep but unconscious drooling all over the pillow. The wife and I finally lay down to sleep and a massive crash of thunder shakes the house. Literally shakes the house. The a wall of water slams on the tin roof, the white noise it creates was very soothing, until it was followed by another crash of thunder... And then... A slow dripping sound. We get up mobile (cell) phones in hand and start searching, we find the leak in the roof, and put a bucket under it...deal with the next day.

Finally sleep. 

Not yet...

Massive crash of thunder and then all the fans turn off and the window A/C units turn off....

We had certainly arrived and Louisiana welcomed us with everything it wanted to shows us what it was made of.

That night just as I was going to sleep I truly wondered what had I agreed to.

concept

The idea behind this blog is to recount the happenings of a Brit that's moved to deep South Louisiana. But not only that, the trying to set the home up as a homestead, work at the same time, look after two boys, look after the wife, and you know live and have fun. With any luck the posts on here will be amusing and informative... Hopefully. So where to begin...