NEIGHBORS:The buzz for this monk is bees

| Tuesday, September 2, 2008 12:41 AM PDT ∞

JEFF FRANK

OCEANSIDE ---- There's a swarm of bees in the neighborhood ... Who you gonna call?

Would you believe a Benedictine Monk?

Dozens of times a year, people do just that; dialing the number of Brother Blaise Heuke, whose monastic life at the Prince of Peace Abbey is supplemented by his skills as a beekeeper and rescuer of stray beehives.

The 70-year-old monk, cheerfully, and at no charge, answers the calls when swarms of bees are discovered in populated areas ---- although he's happy to accept donations for the cost of gas and beekeeping supplies.

Attorney Janet Bledsoe Lacy was fascinated when the beekeeping monk came to her law office this summer to remove a hive near a public walkway.

"He arrived in his bee suit, this diminutive guy who had a couple of bees on his shoulder," said Lacy. "I said, 'Do you know you have bees on you?' He said, 'Oh, yes. That's common. They were in my truck.' "

Brother Blaise placed a container scented with bee pheromones next to the hive. Two days later, said Lacy, "All those bees moved from the hive on the ground into the container that he had, and he took them away. It was just so neat."

Chances are, those bees found a home in one of the 100 hives Brother Blaise maintains at the abbey and around North County. He uses them to produce honey for the monks' meals or to be sold in the abbey's gift shop. They also pollinate the abbey's 85 fruit trees.

Things haven't gone very smoothly for the beekeeper over the last five years. His hives kept dying off, perhaps victims of two types of bee mites whose presence is plaguing beekeepers all around the country.

Brother Blaise tried various chemicals to eliminate the mites, and may have succeeded by redoing his bee boxes so that they rest on top of screens that keep the bees inside, while the mites fall through.

"All my bees are doing really well this year. Last year at this time, I didn't have any. They had all died off," he said. "The last five years, I had no honey."

He's up to 25 gallons of honey this year after getting a late start in stocking his hives. The community hive rescues help keep those bee boxes filled. Local humane societies and police and fire agencies frequently refer him to remove hives from public places, giving him a renewable resource. Extra hives he delivers to farmers who need them for their orchards.

Beekeeping was not in Brother Blaise's background until he came to the Abbey 36 years ago. Born in Louisville, Ky., he spent much of his time as a child at a nearby monastery. By the time he was in eighth grade, he had decided to become a monk but was told no by his pastor.

"He said that I should finish high school. He told me, 'I want you to date and get that out of your system,' " Brother Blaise said.

He joined the St. Meinrad Monastery in Indiana after graduation, applying his plumbing skills when he wasn't involved in prayer.

"We had bees at St. Meinrad, but I never worked with them," he said. "I was busy doing plumbing and never gave them a thought."

When need arose for a plumber at the Oceanside abbey, Brother Blaise volunteered to go and has lived there for 35 years. On a pilgrimage to Rome shortly after his move, he stayed with a beekeeping family, helping out on occasion.

Upon his return, an older friend with beekeeping equipment asked if he would like to have it.

"The next day, I was a beekeeper. That's how I got started," he said. "I had 10 hives in the beginning. Then the man died and I had 10 more. It wasn't long until I was up to 100 boxes."

When times are good, Brother Blaise can collect 100 gallons of honey a week from the hives. He also extracts beeswax which he melts and gives to a candle maker in exchange for other goods.

The work is done in a small brick building on the abbey grounds. On the window is a sign reading "Bee all you can bee." Inside, Brother Blaise or helpers at the abbey ---- sometimes local Scout troops ---- string wire onto wood frames. He then lays a thin sheet of wax onto the wires. The bees build on that to make a honeycomb, depositing the honey under the wax.

Brother Blaise cuts off the wax and puts the frames into a centrifuge, which spins the honey out onto the sides for easy collection.

Beekeeping does have its occupational hazards, beyond the problems of keeping the bees alive.

"I'm stung once or twice a day. They usually wait until I have my (protective) suit off," he said. "I can take up to 300 stings a day without any problem."

Brother Blaise will celebrate his 50th year as a monk next spring, about the same time the abbey marks its 50th birthday. He plans to continue beekeeping, despite the difficulties of the last five years, because with the support of the Benedictine community, he doesn't have to worry about finances.

And when the honey is flowing, he said, "it brings in money to support our life. ... Everybody likes honey. It's kind of a universal gift."

Contact staff writer Jeff Frank at (760) 740-5419 or jfrank@nctimes.com.