Spring Buzz at TwoTrees
To bees or not to bees...
We were pretty sure we'd lost our queen last fall, but the girls held on well through the winter, and while I couldn't find eggs or brood, the colony remained well-organized and robust. By late march it became apparent that we'd indeed had a Sovereign, and the colony was wonderfully strong. My beekeeping teacher, to whom the hive belonged, decided to move it closer in to town, where she could more easily maintain it, so my husband and I purchased a new English Garden Hive and held a 'Blessing of the Hive' on Friday night. Then on Saturday, drove up to Brush Mountain Beekeeping in Wilkesboro, NC, to get our new bees. Wonderful facility and folks - so very warm and helpful!
Installation of our girls in their new home was a real exercise in adrenaline VS studied calm - especially when about 20% of them refused to come out of their transport cage regardless of what we did. Ultimately we placed the open box and hold-out bees right in front of the hive opening and watched the girls orient on their sisters' scent and march right up out of the box and into the hive. By dusk, the colony was reunited and the cage empty of bees. Happy bees and happy beekeepers :)
We were pretty sure we'd lost our queen last fall, but the girls held on well through the winter, and while I couldn't find eggs or brood, the colony remained well-organized and robust. By late march it became apparent that we'd indeed had a Sovereign, and the colony was wonderfully strong. My beekeeping teacher, to whom the hive belonged, decided to move it closer in to town, where she could more easily maintain it, so my husband and I purchased a new English Garden Hive and held a 'Blessing of the Hive' on Friday night. Then on Saturday, drove up to Brush Mountain Beekeeping in Wilkesboro, NC, to get our new bees. Wonderful facility and folks - so very warm and helpful!
Installation of our girls in their new home was a real exercise in adrenaline VS studied calm - especially when about 20% of them refused to come out of their transport cage regardless of what we did. Ultimately we placed the open box and hold-out bees right in front of the hive opening and watched the girls orient on their sisters' scent and march right up out of the box and into the hive. By dusk, the colony was reunited and the cage empty of bees. Happy bees and happy beekeepers :)