Two weeks ago Friday the bees moved back on to the farm. The first couple of days they saw sun but then only rain and wind and a bit of hail. They are loving this sunny day!
Today they are out and about collecting food. See the pollen sacks on their legs as they return to the hive.
Funny story how we got to know each other…I picked up the nuke hive from Chris Zanni and drove them home in the back seat. As a way for them to get to know my scent and jerky, fast movement style I brought the bees into the cool guest room to stay the night and become friends. It was sweet. I would go visit their screen mesh box and talk to the hive I could see hanging there. All was good that night and morning. Then about noon the second day, I hear the bees and go to check them out and realize there is a hole in the box. The bees are getting out and building a new pattern in the window of the house. At first I was confused as what to do. It was mid-day and too hot to set the hive; I needed to wait until dusk. So I decided to pick up the box and take it outside. Good thing I did because in 15 minutes there were hundreds of bees outside the box, but luckily outside the house too. The ones stuck inside the bedroom came out easily when we removed the window screen. It all worked out great as the majority of bees stayed with the hive to protect the queen and I received another opportunity to practice relaxation and anxiety management.
Now they seem happy building and growing the hive and very tolerant of our family. I can see by the bottom tray they are building and growing. The photo was hard to capture but you can see the bees are working on the left side where the wax shavings and pollen balls are building up. I cleaned the board yesterday so I can see the work they have done in the last 18 hours or so.
It is good to have the bees back on the land. I love to walk by and hear the buzz of their activity in the back corner.
