So, We Are Still Learning!

So, despondent about our bee loss, I called the Carolina Bee Company   to try to see what we may have done wrong and if our depleted hive stood a chance at survival, and were given some awesome advice ... and learned something we didn't know.

It seems that, when you have 2 new hives (or more) close together, that one Queen may give off stronger pheromones than the other, and that bees from the other Queen may just decide to migrate to her hive rather than stay in their own. Apparently, it's called "drifting". Hmmm, who knew! We hadn't had that problem last year as we only had the one hive.

The remedy, since neither Queen is yet free of her "box", is simply to steal a frame or two, from the now overloaded one, and then seal the "weaker" hive for 3 days so that the bees cannot come out of that hive, and they - apparently - will bond with the Queen in there and strengthen that hive.

So that's what Mark did.

When he opened the tops of both hives you could immediately see that - yes - the one was definitely overloaded, as you can see in this pic and the other had no frame activity going on, as you can see in the pair together, in the pic below. 

Mark suited up since the stronger hive was the aggressive one on Saturday, with the bees that actually chased him! Today, though, they were actually quite docile and well behaved so he really needn't have bothered. We're just glad that the man at the Carolina Bee Company was able to help us remedy what had been a very distressing situation for us.

Mark also planted my one Calla Lily down by the creek near the one that is already there, and we have Gladioli bulbs that we're going to put between, and either side of them, to add some colour (and bee food) down there.

I ordered 2 wild bee houses to put up near the house, so that the Carpenter Bees, bumble bees and wild bees all have places to stay as well. I could probably have made them myself but easier, and possibly even cheaper, to buy.

I guess, soon, I'll have to look for some gourd bird houses too.

I love how things are coming together over there.

At home, this morning, the great grand-puppy was ill with diarrhoea so I had to dose him up with some Probios and a pill from the vet. He has a very sensitive stomach so I'm so careful with his food but apparently, last night, his mama gave him some pork off her plate ...poor baby paid dearly for his treat but is ok tonight and much happier for feeling better.

Not A Good Bee Day

 Today we went to check on our bees and hive one was devastating, so many dead bees, only a few trying to eat their way through the wax box to free the Queen. It's very sad, there are maybe only 20 bees in there. We don't know why, but obviously it will be a weak hive for awhile, if it survives, because there are so few bees trying to do the work. I'm just praying they survive and thrive, I hate to see this happen.

Hive two was a hub of buzz-iness, looking very healthy and settled in. They seemed happier, too, as nobody was interested in buzzing Mark while he changed their sugar water. Yesterday, they were the aggressive ones that chased him and hive one had been the happier friendlier lot.

Mark put together another planter for me, and I planted some bulbs he had bought. I don't know how they will do, they seemed very dry to me. We shall see. Everything else is flourishing, and the clematis - I swear they've grown another couple of inches since yesterday!

This evening, I've been propagating gardenia and rosemary cuttings. I hope they take. I didn't have much success with the last batch that I did, not sure why as I've usually got a pretty green thumb.

My computer has started acting up, the battery won't charge (and - of course - now the batteries are locked in) yet runs ok off the cord but at 0% battery. UGH! I'm going to have to take it to Geek Squad at Best Buy tomorrow and have them put me in a new battery, I guess.

That's about it for now, I'm done. Lying on my bed, relaxing, and may well be asleep within the next hour. Blessings all.

We Have Our Bees!

We finally have our bees, and they are settling into their new homes. Hubby drove to Travelers Rest to The Carolina Bee Company, to get them. It was a hot day, so they were a bit rambunctious, and the second box was def more agitated than the first.

They chased Mark and one stung him on the forehead. We left them for about an hour, after he put their sugar water in, and they had quietened quite a lot, and were going in the hives. 

He doesn't have a problem working with bees, and some had got out in the truck while he was driving them "home". The first box was calmer and just buzzed around him gently, as he did what needed doing.

They were slow coming out at first.

Then, once almost all of the first box were out, they started crawling around the open hive. While they did that, Mark popped the sugar water into their water tray, and then put that on top of the hive and then put the cover on. He expected the second one to go as easily, but they were not happy, and were fussing from the get go, and chased him off a few times. We left them to settle and figure out that their Queen was in her hive, and to go in there with her. Even then, when Mark went back to add their sugar water tray, and pop the cover on, they still weren't happy with him invading their space.

Amazing how 2 lots of bees can be so different.

We set the hives up between the orchard and the creek.  Mark had mowed in the area yesterday, between the rows of fruit tree saplings. We brought over 2 troughs from our house, and I've ordered 6 hummingbird vines, so I'll plant 3 in each and then let them grow up and over the chain link.

Up at the front porch, the clematis in the planters (attached to the entrance arch) have sprawled even more. They are entwining themselves around the wire frame, I'm excited to see how they will look in a few weeks.

I love how everything is coming together. God is so good!

A Productive Day

Today we got quite a lot done. 

Hubby got his bee area together, inside an old chain link enclosure that we had.

We're going to find some honeysuckle, or something similar, to plant so that it runs up the sides and will add some protection from winds and night time marauders who might fancy some honey. Methinks when he picks the bees up, on Saturday, that they will be quite pleased with their new home. We aim to please!

He also started mowing but ended up running out of gas, no worries, tomorrow he'll get on and do some more. There's plenty still to do ... about 6 acres of our property is grassy. Probably 2-3 acres is the creek and marsh.

I was thrilled to see that my peas have already started sprouting.  

As far as my beans ... 2 tiny shoots popping up, one bottom left and one near the top on the right hand side.

Out front, the clematis (that I planted in the side bases of the outdoor archway) have started winding their way around the supports so they are happy in their new home as well.

I transplanted one of the air purifying plants that needed a bigger pot, watered all the others, watered all the outdoor plants and felt very content today.

Tomorrow, we'll take some more spider plants over, and I'm going to plant some rosemary cuttings (my last batch all failed to grow) and take some more gardenia cuttings to pop in water to try to get rooted. Hubby will take the gas can, and mow some more.

A Good Day

 I can only say that I really didn't do much today but help hubby put together 2 plant stands ... he however set up the chain link pen, fought the weed barrier that kept trying to blow away as he was trying to lay it down, and then covered said weed barrier with mulch to get the pen ready for the beehives. We get our bees this Saturday, so wanted to have everything ready. He then set blocks up and put the hives on them, but tomorrow is doing a bit of finagling to put a tabletop surface across it, to make it sturdier. We are thinking of putting honeysuckle vines around the outside to give the bees a less stark enclosure (and make it look prettier than just being a chain link square).

We took over a lot of my indoor plants out of the bathroom here, and put them in the barn by windows to get the light ... thus enabling me to get more started here from cuttings. Sadly, my last lots of rosemary and gardenia didn't do well, so I need to start some more. We alos took some of my grow bags over there, so that I can plant some root veggies in them in the next week or so. 

My snow peas and runner beans are already starting to shoot up through the ground, and the bulbs in my planter tables are doing the same.

Unfortunately, last week's "cleaning" sent out more dust than it picked up, and so now everything is covered with red clay dust ... the table, my train model drawer chest, my shelves and books, the portable loo and the camp bed mattress. I was so disheartened. I started trying to clean again, and my mood went downhill so fast, I thought, "no, just leave it alone now until after this place is fully swept, shop vacced and mopped THEN redo it" because the simple truth is, it'll be doing the same thing the next time I shop vac, and I'm going to be doing it a few times before that side is not throwing up that dust. Physically, it took me a few hours when I cleaned everything as I set it all up when we took it over there. My body just isn't up to doing it all again only to have to do it over and over.

Mark is trying to cover the clay dirt outside so as to make it less of a mess when it rains, so that once we have the pad clean, it won't be getting an more clay mud walked in.

However, today WAS a good day for what we did accomplish, so I'll focus on that and forget the downside!

Slow But Steady

 It may seem lazy but little and often works for me, and not doing anything when I don't feel like it, works for me as well.

Thursday, when we went down to the property, my mate, Kwacha, came with us. She needed the peace that surrounds that place. We jammed to 90's songs as we rode down and, once we got there, we sat on the "porch" and I watered all my plants as we chatted. 

Then, inside, she swept some more of the dried mud, and I shop vacced it. 

Today when we went down, I did nothing. We'd taken one of my mobility scooters down to store in the barn. Mark fell in the dirt getting it unloaded, and thankfully it stayed on the ramps and didn't fall on him. 

I'm thankful for the rain, it means the trees, that I usually have to water with a jug, will get a good soaking.

Next Saturday, we get our bees. Mark is going to set the hives up in an enclosure (it's a 10' x 10' chain link dog/chicken pen) to stop unwelcome visitors from disturbing them.

We did grocery shopping today, I loaded up on salad stuff, fruits, and BOGOs since I'm trying to help Mark eat less carbs to help lower his A1C and his diabetes and health, in general. I had to start rearranging one of the freezers, as his stuff took up more than the one shelf I'd allocated way back when. That's going to have to be another work in progress, I'll do some more tomorrow ... and on a few other days, methinks.

For now, a few more minutes for ye doggies on the bed, and then, time for them to go out, and me to go to bed. I need my beauty sleep, saith she. 

Ye great grand puppy sleeps on nanny's bed, he is a nanny's boy. He is such a darling, and lays down by my feet.

 

Our 2 boys like to take over daddy's bed. They sprawl. It's why they can't sleep with us ... there's not enough room! 

Have a wonderful Easter everyone.

We Didn't Do Much But We Did A Lot

 "We didn't do much, but we did a lot" seems to have become our most used saying, of late. It's come to mean in a  roundabout way, that although we only did what we felt like doing, and gave up as soon as we started getting tired (hey, we're old!) we are accomplishing stuff over at the property, little by little, and measurably. Were we twenty years younger, we could do a lot more, but we aren't and so we do what we do, and appreciate that we've been able to do whatever we've done. 

Monday, we went over and hubby moved more mulch and put along the dirt track/driveway to fill in some of the ruts for now. 

Since we have no irrigation down that far, I watered the privacy trees using gallon jugs ... and since I can't walk, I drove Serendipity close to the row and watered with my arm out of the car window.  Where there's a will, as they say. Mark watered the fruit trees using the jugs as well. I had bought soaker hoses but we've had so much "stuff" put away that - as yet - I've not found them all.  When we do, we will have them running down by the fruit trees. We are looking into putting a pump in the creek to water the privacy trees and the (eventual) roses and gardenias up front (currently in buckets and pots, as we have to build up the front area a bit beforehand).

Today, we went over with 2 goals in mind.  To sweep, vacuum and mop some more of the concrete pad in the building, and to move all the plants we've taken over previously, to the front porch area and get them all well watered. We were over there a couple of hours and achieved both. You can definitely see the difference between the areas we've done and what's left to do.  It's a work in progress that will not be completed any time soon.  It wears me out, rolling around using the shopvac, and hurts my shoulder after a while. Hubby does the sweeping, I do the vacuuming, then I wet mop and he dry mops over just to garner some more of the wet mud dust. Cleaning both mops is fun too, whilst trying not to create a mudpit when emptying the mop bucket. Ah joy!

But it's coming together slowly.

I took a picture from behind the privacy trees, looking up towards the building. Yeah it looks wonky as I am NOT a good photographer, and where I was at was on a slope anyway. The row of privacy trees will grow 3-4 feet a year, they say, so in a couple of years, should be at least like a decent hedge.

The weird looking black thing about 1/3 of the way in from the left, is the table with the water barrel on it, and is at the end between the 2 rows of the orchard trees (that you can't really make out in this pic) and that is actually about as far from the building as it is from the row of privacy trees (although it looks like it is right up on it). 

We are going to situate the beehives close by there, so that our bees have access to the blossoms, as well as blooms farther afield. We've decided to put the beehives in a pen to protect them from unwelcome visitors who may visit in the night.  We'll be picking up our bees April 11th, only a week and a half to wait. We learned a lot last year and are better prepared because of what we went through. Nobody had explained to us about the moths, and we lost our bees because of it.  We won't make the same mistake twice.

The journey continues (and I'm thankful we got my gas at $3.41 this morning before it went up again this afternoon). The property is 26 miles away, so it all adds up.  I'm glad Serendipity gets such great mileage. She is a great little car, and i've had her now a whole year!