Smoke Out

I spent a few hours this weekend at a nearby 4-H Club Western North Carolina Bee Field Day. I won't complain about the fact that I was one of maybe only four folks crowding the field that didn't wear white (clad in my standard dark-colored garb, I was essentially the pinnacle of all that is visually threatening to bees). Why mention of donning bee-appropriate clothing wasn't stressed in the e-mail about the event, I don't know. Why I neglected to consider this necessary step in advance myself, I don't know. So, suffice to say, I got close, just not too close. 
Wild times got underway with a smoker lighting contest. 
Here's the rowdy line-up. 
Contestants had to have their smokers lit in advance, then pick them up, puff them three times, and place them back on the ground. Winners, and losers, were judged according to how well their smokers puffed and the longevity of the smoke. I was actually grinning like a mad woman the entire time. I don't know why (I seemed to have been plagued with an overarching lack of knowledge that day), I just was. More bee escapades to come...