On Friday, when I had a few hours on the farm, I got into the bee hive. These industrious little insects are beginning to feel like friends! I'll never forget the sound of the buzzing hive when we first opened our new package of bees on Mother's Day. The sound welled up ancestral feelings of getting the hell out of there!! But we championed on and today, the expanding population is settled and calm. Happy to be there, not concerned about we giant white creatures taking out their living walls and peering into their perfect octagonal nursery and storage units. I am truly wowed. The pollen fills spaces with yellows and greens, purples and ivory. Larvae can be seen, glistening white, growing under the feet of worker bees. And the Queen. The glorious queen. Without her presence, things don't go very well in a hive. Finding her is the goal and this week, objective met. Putting her back in the hive without squishing her is critical as well! (yes, I could use a size smaller gloves)
Can you find the queen in this picture? She is just to the left of center with the larger, longer abdomen. Cool, huh? Look below this frame to see the other in the hive. We open the hive once a week and it has become something to really look forward to doing! The couple who owned the place before we got it last May - she too loved to garden. Now the daffodils and tulips are but leaves turning brown. The iris shot up their tightly-wound blossoms to open into delicate bearded orbs of color. Jeanie did a nice job making a flower garden; appreciated so very much by this passionate gardener. And most likely, the bees!
Dinner included fresh broccolini and spinach from the garden! Neither will be phased much by a frost, thankfully! Grow on, grow on!
No comments:
Post a Comment