It's a New Season....

Thanks to the unseasonably warm temps this year,
May has become swarm season. Michael caught 2 so far.
Both came from the top bar hive we have in the garden.
The first clung to a t-shirt he uses to tear fabric strings
from. The second swarm clung to a blackberry bush limb.
Here Michael is situating one swarm in hive boxes. Later,
we transported them onto the hill with the rest of the ladies. 



Spring = time for general homestead upkeep, kids.
Early on a Saturday morning, I was out with
my electric sander, taking the cracked varnish
off the front door. Although it was after 9 a.m., Michael stuck his
head out the door and said, "Good Morning, Little Marvin"
since my Dad is notorious for running loud power tools
well before 8 a.m.. Oops.



And the interior door, rehung. Yep, it's Smurf blue.
We had intended it to be a little darker, like Delft pottery,
but we like it. It's happy and different than anything anyone
around here else has.



Our salvage house door has been turned into a new garden
gate. And not a moment too soon. The old one fell to pieces
and I had to bag it up for the trash....really, in pieces.



We've moved the beans this year. They are where the corn
used to be. Michael is stringing hemp twine so that the vines
have a natural medium, up which they can climb.

And the very first strawberries of the season!
We had them on cereal this morning.

All Kinds of Good Stuff...

Remember those cucumbers on the vine? I cleaned them at the sink and look what
happened. Nice crumbs around the plate, eh? Well, when magic like that happens,
you have to make sure it's still edible. We assure you that it is.
Interested in the receipe? C'est ca.

Glenn and Michael check the top bar in our garden.

A side view of one of the top bar combs

Capped honey at the top and brood on the bottom.

On Bee Hill, we checked the supers and harvested some frames.

We brought back two frames from the Bee Hill supers. They're hanging in our basement,
on coat hangers, drying within the range of the dehumidifer.  Soon, soon, we taste.

Some new lovely things....

Pies! Raspberry on the left and rhubarb on the right.
Granola with a mound of rasins in the background.

Remember these? The seeds for the bee garden
have turned into beautiful flowers.

Michael checks the ladies in the hive closest to the woods.

The ladies, they're hungry. They're clustered on the feeder.

We add another super to both hives. Go, girls, go!

Michael refills the feeder on the top bar.

Michael checks the cukes.

We got four already!

Our bee observation chairs.

A bee visits our onions...and this could make for
some interesting honey.

Goings on over the past few days...

Michael removing the top bar's canvas cover.
Here, he's planning to stretch out the bars by
inserting uncombed bars between the combed ones.



Our lovely yellow api-chicas are pulling down the sugar syrup pretty heartily right now. Personally, I imagine them flying around with syrup beards and rambunctious demeanors, like toddlers plied with Milky Way bars and  Pepsi. Perhaps it's a feeding frenzy before we take the syrup jars off in July. In the top bar alone, they are going through a quart in less than 24 hours.

Last night, Michael and I got out the huge, stainless steel pot we use when we make cheese. And around 7:30, we made what felt like several hundred gallons of syrup. We even used a whole ten-pound bag of sugar (although, to my arms, it felt lighter than 10 pounds...Walmart, are you light-weighting us?). From all that, we got (gasp!) only 2 and a half gallons. I had such high hopes that we'd fill at least four plastic jugs. But alas, no.

Below are some pictures of how things are progressing, along with some other things of interest.....






Some observation seats near the top bar. Yes,
we're right in that flight path, aren't we? I've
learned to duck.




Michael found, when he pulled apart the combs, that
the bees have created a honey font. Unlike
the comb sculptures we remove in the traditional hives
on Bee Hill, we left this one alone, so the ladies can use
their resources as they need to.



One of the top bar combs.



And more comb sculpture.





The ladies almost have all the bars in the window filled with
comb.

 

Here, Michael is on Bee Hill inserting pollen
patty on the frames of our recently
replaced colony. They are doing extremely well, and
are just a week behind the strong colony to its right.

Traffic jam before the tunnels.

It's almost raspberry time here, and a cousin of Michael's
takes his bucket out in the evenings and picks what
is now ripe.

Near Bee Hill, one of our girls peruses the thistle offerings
along the field Glenn recently cut.

Michael harvested a fanny-load of radishes
and that means radish salad, which what
I'm making here: white vinegar, brown sugar
and white and red radishes.



Sometimes, you have to use up things from the
freezer. I had this yummy yellow frosting
taking up space, so I made a chocolate wacky cake.
Fast and easy! With Fourth of July sprinkles.



And, I made strawberry rhubard crisp for breakfast.
Don't let the oatmeal fool you. It was really good.

Nuc progress and other fascinating tales....




Fred: 'What the <BLEEEEP> do you want?'
Me: Could you, um, maybe file my invoices and bills, please? You know, that pile there?
Fred: Not a chance, biped. My job description involves alarm barks and
napping in cute positions. That's it, capiche?
Me: Well, if you could--
Fred: Do I need to talk to HR again? 'Cause I'll go straight to HR.

 


Sunflowers are coming up. Squash, too.
Our top bar is cranking along very well. The nuc that we
put in almost two weeks ago has created new comb
on empty bars.




On the left are two foundation frames with the original nuc comb.
The two on the right are newly constructed comb, built on empty
hive bars.




Inside the top bar. Looks like the floor of the NYSE. So, uh, how's honey trading?



Holy crap. They're line dancing.
But girls, come on. To 'Achy Breaky Heart'? Really?

 

Our Lady of Perpetual Watering.

 


The nuc we used to replace the weak colony last week might very well be ready
for a super by early next week. They are doing stellarly. But oooo lawd, is everyone
there touchy! The summer brood are way more aggressive than the wintered over crop.
I had one lose a stinger in my suit sleeve. And I had only just been
marveling at the butt-folding dance I thought she'd been doing.



Evicting the weak colony...



At Construction Junction in Pittsburgh, I got a swank
blue bathroom sink for $10! What plans do I have for it?
Oh, they're bee-related, but you have to wait
and see, wait and see....



The amazing sculpture, made from one solid wooden
tree trunk, at Bedillion's Farm, along Route 18
in Hickory, PA--our excellent bee suppliers!
Read their blog here!

The nuc box--filled to the gills with bees--in the
back seat of Michael's car.



Glenn sprays the hive super with sugar water.



Glenn holds a frame from the strong hive.



Michael gets the smoker going.




Michael brushes the weak bees from the frames.



Glenn does the same.

In the strong hive, bees enter with pollen in their
baskets.



Michael and Glenn remove the nuc frames for
transport to their new home.



Glenn inserts the first nuc frame.



Glenn continues to insert the nuc frames.



Oh no! We left the frame holder on the hive....we have
to retrieve it...Michael is down with a sting at his ankle,
but he goes back to pick up the hive body so I can get
the frame hanger out.

You can't see them, but the bees are ticked! They're
flying around like mad.



Michael checks out one of the old frames.




Glenn, too, checks out the old frames.



Resting on Bee Hill, after replacing the weak hive
with a new nuc.

Two ladies check out the old frames.