October 28, 2016 · I waited for it to get a little warmer before taking my laundry out. 11:45am, and a couple of bees were out, not collecting nectar, but water as the frost was melting from the grass. Just watching to not step on flowers is no longer enough! LOL and that's my Summer's not over, yet story!
Pictured above is a hive box waiting to be decorated. All hives need identification. Decorating them helps and it's a lot of fun having friends of all ages come over to share their creative talents! Of course, we won't decorate any that have bees in them, just in case anyone was wondering!
August 7/15: KH: Hey Donna! I'm reading a story DEATH BY A HONEY BEE by Abigail Keam, The main character is a bee keeper and there is a murder.. Anyway, I just began the story. She asks the police if she can get back in the bee yard. Her bees needed to be watered and powdered.."referring to the technique of dusting them with powdered sugar. By grooming, they knock off parasites. It was a holistic way of treating for mites." What do you think of that? me: it helps to get rid of mites but also helps to get a count of the mites - dump some bees into a jar, shake them up a bit with powdered sugar, let them settle down a bit, then let the girls out. water down the sugar until it's syrup and you can count the mites. kgX me: it's kinda fun and the girls don't mind cleaning each other off - sorry, can't see the keyboard in the dark, fingers got moved KH: Fascinating. About the bees. I don't type in the dark; but I do type fast, and sometimes my fingers slip and u fet biyt... get this. I backspace fast, too. lol me: As for watering, Joe just set up a "water fountain" for the bees, yesterday. I got him , as per his request, a plastic food-grade pail with a lid and very specific instructions. He cut one of the top ridges off the outside, drilled some holes near the top, filled it full of water, put the lid on tight and flipped it upside down. They're not too excited about it, yet, and we're supposed to get rain, today and tomorrow. We can't feed them, right now, for a couple of reasons. Otherwise, a little sugar in the water might get their attention.