Elsewhere in the valley the heat exposed the vulnerability of established operations. One beekeeper with boxes crowded against a west-facing shed lost a badly weakened colony after a period of overlapping stresses. Another reported a loss attributed in part to prolonged heat and water shortages, although Caleb knew enough by then not to pretend temperature alone explained every dead colony. The county extension office urged keepers to examine food, water, ventilation, parasites and colony condition rather than search for one simple cause.
Word spread that the Voss boy had brought all his colonies through the worst week without losing one. Caleb did not consider this proof that he had discovered something magical. He had watched carefully, made a series of ordinary preparations and been fortunate that his colonies began the heat wave in reasonably good condition. When old Vernon asked what trick he'd used, Caleb told him about shade, water and avoiding unnecessary disturbance.
"That's all?" Vernon asked.
"That's what I did," Caleb answered. "Walt helped me plan it."
Vernon stared out at the rows behind the shed. "Huh."
The monosyllable amused Martha when Caleb repeated it over supper. "That's about the longest compliment your uncle gives anybody," she said. Thomas asked for the actual numbers, and Caleb showed him that food stores and brood observations varied among colonies even though all had survived. His father studied the notes for longer than Caleb expected.
"You're learning not to confuse a good week with a good year," Thomas said at last.
"Walt keeps reminding me."
"He's doing you a favor."
Mrs. Alders, who supervised the elementary school's garden club, arrived in early August carrying a paper bag of tomatoes and a request. She wanted Caleb to visit the school after classes resumed and explain to the children why bees mattered to their flowers and vegetables. The school garden held beans, cucumbers, sunflowers and a patch of native flowers, and she had noticed that several children were afraid of every striped flying insect they saw. She wanted them to learn the difference between healthy caution and needless fear.
Caleb nearly said no. He was comfortable speaking to Walt or Dylan and could manage an argument with his father about the cost of a feeder. The thought of standing before a room of children who expected him to know something made him uneasy. Mrs. Alders recognized his hesitation and assured him that he did not need a polished speech.
"Tell them what you've learned," she said. "And if you don't know the answer to something, tell them that too. You'd be doing me a greater favor than you realize."
He agreed, and after she left, he wrote a new page in his notebook headed QUESTIONS KIDS MIGHT ASK. The list included whether all bees sting, how queens are made, why flowers smell sweet, whether honey comes from pollen and whether a bee can recognize a face. He did not know every answer. He looked up reliable information rather than guessing, which became as much a part of his education as the facts themselves.