Still Hot . . . .

It's still hot - not quite as bad as the 100's from last week, thank goodness. The bees are just hanging out and working hard.

From late winter to early autumn, bees keep the temperature in the hive's nursery between about 91 - 97 degrees F to ensure proper development of the young. They rarely allow the temperature to vary more than 2 degrees in the course of a day. Sometimes foragers bring water rather than nectar. Nurse bees - those tending the brood of unborn workers - will use the water to either dilute honey to feed the brood or, on hot days, to cool the hive through evaporation.

Be sure your bees have plenty of water - just like our four legged friends - they need clean water every day.

There's a real pecking order at our house and sometimes the Little Black Kitty gets in the front of the line.

Bluebirds - #2

They're back and nesting in the front yard this time. I put up a new nest thinking I would get another pair - but the pair in my garden moved to the new house in the front yard.
When I go out front to get the paper, her little head pops out of the nest - she's watching. The best I can tell , there's 3 or more eggs. We'll have another set of babies soon.

a little poem

I eat my peas with honey

I've done it all my life

It makes my peas taste funny

but it keeps them on my knife.

Happy Father's Day

The "Fathers of Beekeeping"


L. L. Langstroth, Revered as the "father of American apiculture", no other individual has influenced modern beekeeping practice more than Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth. His classic book The Hive and Honey-bee was published in 1853.

Moses Quinby, often termed 'the father of commercial beekeeping in the United States', author of Mysteries of Bee-Keeping Explained.

Amos Root, author of the A B C of Bee Culture which has been continuously revised and remains in print to this day. Root pioneered the manufacture of hives and the distribution of bee-packages in the United States.

A.J. Cook, author of The Bee-Keepers' Guide; or Manual of the Apiary, 1876.

Dr. C.C. Miller was one of the first entrepreneurs to actually make a living from apiculture. By 1878 he made beekeeping his sole business activity. His book, Fifty Years Among the Bees, remains a classic and his influence on bee management persists to this day.

Real Yard Art

This is what I call "real yard art" - isn't it just stunning! Friends of mine have this in their yard.





And this is their water garden - I'll show you mine later. They did share some water plants with me - a lily getting ready to bloom and floating water hyancinth.
They have a great yard.

Water for the Bees

This may look nasty but the bees love it - the water gets just dirty enough to suit them. Rock and stick for sitting and sipping.






And on the pretty side, some flowers blooming in my yard right now.




Gardenias - the smell is overwhelming. My Aunt Rena rooted two plants for me several years ago.







Hydrangea - I have rooted several bushes from this plant by putting a brick on a limb. By the next year, it's rooted and ready to be moved.






Bee Balm - the bees love this and I keep splitting and moving so I'll get more and more plants.








And Roxy - resting. It's a hard life at my house.

Sticky Mess

Well I did made a sticky mess - with my camera!
Every time I'm in the beeyard now, I take my camera and of course there's honey and of course it's sticky - so you can guess the rest.
This is the message I got when I pushed the on/off button "Lens error, restart camera" - trust me, you don't want to see this message. So off to the camera store and it will cost more to repair than I actually paid for the camera. And the warranty is long gone.
So now I've got to get another camera - it's great fun taking the bee photos and Lily and all the stuff in the yard and the cats and hopefully at some point, my two legged children.
So that's my b'day gift to myself (even though it's months away but wait - maybe I've already given myself something this year). Oh well, off to the camera store.