Back Off Ed Hillary!

This sign makes me laugh every time that my luxury, kiwi green station wagon rolls me past it. Just as the last few syllables of 'see you later New Brunswick' are rolling off my tongue, as I cross the border into New Scotland, I'm greeted by this disingenuous shot across Pooh Bear's bow. It's also a slight to Sir Edmund, the bee keeping hill climber.

I went to Agricultural College in Nova Scotia, so I've got a pretty good idea why the sign was erected by the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture. No doubt some bees have been 'sleeping around' and have caught some sort of horrible transmittable disease, such as C1B1 (Swine Fly Flu). No one wants slut bees or diseased drones to 'get busy' with the queen, thus endangering the future of society as we know it. Nevertheless, this sign and it's placement seem comical.

If you look at the tire tracks on the other side of this sign, you can see well worn u-turn grooves in the pavement where bee carrying New Brunswickers have been enlightened, and rushed back with their hives to the safety of Aulac. They then released their bees with strict instructions not to follow them back into Nova Scotia.

The history of importing diseased bees can be traced back to the Acadian expulsion when the New Brunswick Acadians fled to Nova Scotia. One of the Acadian women accidentally brought a diseased bee, from Fort Beausejour to Amherst, in her hat. This one bee decimated the natural population of bees, thus causing a crop failure through lack of pollination (with ensuing famine). It also led to the expression 'she's got a bee in her bonnet', indicative of a troubling situation.

You made that up, right?

Absolutely. Pure, unadulterated bullshit.

I would like to know if, during the many years that the sign has been present, if anyone has ever backtracked with their bees. What do you think?

I doubt the sign is very effective. They might as well paint it over with something more meaningful, like 'Rita's Tea Room...342km'. Just a thought. Or maybe a catchy government slogan...

Bee...not in this place.