Monkey Lobster

from the pollinators

 

 

It's hard raising bee's. So much is out of our control, so much of it a mystery.

I watched More Than Honey recently, a documentary about bees. It surely solidified my commitment to the art of raising bees, as well as my desire to raise animals with care and compassion. Elsa's interest is inspiring, she loves the bees and is a careful and gentle keeper. At this point she knows just as much as I do and it's so fun sharing this experience with her. We are also lucky to have the hands and knowledge of our next door neighbor Becca.

We currently have 3 hives. I sure hope they survive the winter.

The Bees

I love keeping bees. It is such a challenge and such an art. So much goes into keeping them thriving, and there is so much to learn. I am working with my next door neighbor Becca, and our fearless assistant Elsa. 

After loosing last years hive, we started this year with two hives, each with laying queens. Each hive/queen gets a name, so Queen Latifa and BeeJeezus joined the bee yard. Mid-summer we divided the hives into two more, smaller hives and ordered a new queen, Beeyonce for one of the hives, and took a frame with two queen cells from BeeJeezus for the other one (Sweet Baby Beejeezus). Both new smaller hives seem to be doing well and the new queens are laying away.

This past week we checked on BeeJeezus and found the hive to be queen-less. With winter right around the corner, it is too late to order and establish a new queen. The bad news is, her colony will slowly dwindle, with no eggs to hatch, and come spring, it will be an empty hive. The good new is, that we get to take her honey and share some with the other hives.

Over the next couple of weeks we will prepare for a long cold winter. We plan to wrap, insulate and shelter the hives from winds. And hope that they survive.

Garden Days

Here's a peek at what's going on in my garden this week. This is the view out my bedroom window. It's the very first thing I do in the morning.........look at my garden.

Lots of greens, garlic scapes, fava beans, chick peas and snow peas.






The fruit is looking more hopeful than ever. I just have to cover the ripening fruit with bird netting before the critters get it.  The bee's and I are still just getting to know each other. Although I will tell you, that I did get a nervous system altering shock from an electric charge meant for a bear. I now know how to properly wire a fence, if you ever need assistance. 

Imma Bee Living That Good Life

Imma Bee livin' that good life (listen to it, it's clean)

OMG, they are so effin cool! I did however get stung today thinking that I'd be all  "I can poke around at your eggs without my gloves and veil". I am sad for the loss of that bee who sacrificed its life to sting me in the forehead.

Maybe you don't need this amount of detail, but check out the fat curled up larve in the second picture. The queen is a LAYING MACHINE!!!! And the tiny little eggs and larve in the piture above!!!!! I'm just sooooo excited about it all. Can you tell?

got bees

I am so happy to be in the presence of these gentle animals hard at work. I look forward to getting to know the interesting community that they are building right before my eyes.