Catching Up On The Last Couple Of Days

It's been a good couple of days.

On Sunday, Angelica and Samantha put up some more of the fake ivy screen along the fence, which is blocking some of what makes the dogs go crazy. If it's not something loud, like a nosiy truck or school bus, and just maybe somebody on a pushbike or jogging, then it doesn't seem to bother them as much. Very thankful for their help, and they've done a good job.

Hubby and I were down the field. His bees already know him and he goes over and talks to them. It's neat watching their behaviour. 

We haven't mowed near the hive as there's a plentiful supply of dandelions to keep them happy until the wildflower mats flourish. 

Mark put up 2 posts and cable, and then planted 2 of the grapevines, as well as some other flowering plants.

The dogs got to come down there with us and after an initial sniffing sround the hive, they decided to leave the bees alone. We were a bit worried about Brunel, as he's an eejit sometimes and likes to catch flies and things that hover near him. Thankfully, he seems to have decided that's not a great idea with the bees.

Unfortunately, the promised rains didn't come, so I was out last night watering all the plants in the front yard, and we had to take a hose down the field so's Mark could water everything down there.

Mark had his appointment with his cancer doc yesterday and he is stable for now, white cells still high but red cells coming up, immune cells coming up and no kidney issues. YAY. His next apointment is in 6 weeks.

Tonight, we attended our great-granddaughter, Lily's, preschool graduation and it was lovely. The whole class sang, and performed to, 3 patriotic songs and did so awesomely well. All the families were very proud, and deservedly so.

 

Our Bees Are Home!

It's been another smashing day, and we've finally brought our bees home. 2 got out of the box, even as Mark was carrying them out of The Carolina Honey Bee Company. One landed on his arm as he walked across the road and he brushed it off and it followed him to the car, along with the other one. He put the box of bees in the back, and those 2 just kept crawling up my back window. I kept watch on them as we drove home. They did check back to the box (where the Queen was with the rest of her crew) but then played back up the window. All the way home.

They all seemed very happy with their new home. Some were a little slower at finding their way in but even those buzzing around weren't bothering Mark as he was doing stuff with them, and he wasn't wearing any protective gear at all.

I stayed in the car, as our ground is too uneven for me to walk on down there. 

The box they came in, with some bees still in it and others going into the hive through the entrance. Just off the right, level with the far end of it, is the berm that my hubby and grandkids shoot at. Unfortunately, you can see the house being built along our back fence line. Why would you build a house that close?

Close up of some of our new babies finding their way in. They are neat to watch. 

So now we just want to give them some space and let them settle in. 

Tomorrow, we'll be down there to plant some more vines and trees. We intended doing it earlier but hubby went to dig and the post hole digger handle snapped, so he has to geta  new one tomorrow in order to accomplish that.

Felt Like A Florida Summer's Day

Yes, it did! I got out of the shower this morning and had to close the window and put the AC on - I couldn't get dry fast enough. I was sweating while trying to get dry! The air was already getting warm and humid. Thankfully, the AC kicked in pretty quickly and I was soon ready to face the world.

We took my 3 newest books to the library for the local authors shelf. I'm hoping that local people will check them out for their children, and maybe buy them as gifts for them, their grands and great-grands. I'd love to have feedback on them from more than my family.

Lunch was a pita from Cava. I always do the "build your own" and have had some excellent compilations. Today's was a Honey Harissa Chicken with red pepper hummus, tomatoes, onions and cucumber. Hubby and I shared it, their portions are very good.

This evening, earlier, we planted 3 wildflower mats down by where the beehive is, so that - when they grow - the bees will have a nice wildflower patch to hang out in, close by. They'll also have all the other trees and plants we've been putting down there.

Then, I planted out the miniatures that we got from Lidl, in 4 window boxes. 2 were pink rose, yellow kalanchoe, pink rose, and 2 were yellow kalanchoe, pink rose, yellow kalanchoe. They should look really pretty once they are all established together.

Tomorrow is our big day, when we go to get our bees. I'm excited. Hubby's been refreshing his knowledge (his dad had bees, and then Mark had taken a beekeeping course a couple of years ago when we first decided we were going to get bees) by reading up on the subject.  We just want to be good bee parents!

Spring Plantings Are In Full Swing, And Other News

Spring has sprung, as we all know, and we've been busy planting. Hubby has been working on a flower bed in the front yard by the fence, I planted the mini roses in the window box, and today I planted the 6 lily bulbs that I bought on the weekend, and some of the cress seeds that came in the mail from a fundraiser for Upstate Animal Rescue Foundation of SC. I also have 3 seed mats from them, one for "honey bees"

and 2 wildflowers but because it's been raining for the past couple of days, I've not been able to get down to the field to lay the out near the beehive. 

Hubby has a couple of new rose bushes to plant down there as well. I want a lush retreat of scented flowers and shrubs down there so that I can enjoy the fragrance along with the running water sounds of the stream and pond hubby is building for me.

I'd bought 4 nice wooden planter tables and hubby put one of them together tdoay. I'm putting the window boxes in them with the miniature roses in, I decided they'd last longer that way. They are quite sturdy but take a bit of time to put together. I'm patient, and thankful my hubby does stuff like this for me.

They'll also be going down the field, to go in a V from the corner of the field, down the 2 fences, behind the beehive area. Just to have everything down there, neat and tidy, looking nice.

Hubby went back to work on Wednesday and oh! that 5am alarm was just sooo unwelcome! Since he only does part-time, and it's only 2 days a week, I must not complain. Bleary eyed I shall be on those 2 days!

We ran out of time with the dumpster due to the rain, so it went back today and I'll rent another in a few weeks so that the rest of the demolition of the old building can be completed, ready to concrete a base and get prepped ready for the new one.

On a different note, Mister McAfferty's Cat ... it seems my project is harder than I expected. So many revisions of illustrations, I got so fried, and have had to request them do them in order and we get them right before going to the next. I'm glad they are patient with me, I must be one of their most awful nitpicky authors.

That's about it for this time. It's still raining, and looks like it will be for much of the next week.