Bee report

One evening last week, our bee mentor (Tommy Steele) came out and opened our hive with us. We had been thinking about doing it for weeks, but felt we needed someone more knowledgeable than we are to give us a report on how our bees are doing. Luckily, our bees are thriving. Something about benign neglect, maybe? Well, we've not really been neglecting them, but we haven't been messing with them much either. I had actually quit feeding the bees a few weeks ago, but after showing us all the emerging new bees, Tommy suggested I start feeding them again. And this morning I put on our very first honey super! That means the bees have probably stored up enough honey to feed themselves through the winter and now they can start making honey for us. We have so much to learn about beekeeping. It sometimes seems a little overwhelming. I feel that we will have to go through a full year cycle before we know what we are doing and when we are supposed to do it.

(try as I might, I cannot get this clip reoriented)

A few weeks back, the Bluegrass Beekeepers club that I belong to had a drawing for a hive to give to a young beginning beekeeper and my grandson, Coleman, won. (Coleman will be 14 in just a matter of weeks.) The hive is now established in his backyard, right next to his garden. Unfortunately for Coleman, he has been stung a few times already, but I think he is learning how to keep his bees well fed and happy and the stings don't seem to have discouraged him much.

(Coleman and his beehive)

There's plenty around here for the bees to be working on right now. I love, love, love the color of these phlox!