What I've been up to

Well last week we put in a pretty nice garden and got some flowers started too.  I finished my "Bird in a cage" mini album, and uploaded to you tube.

Swarm!

Swarm!

One of the most dreadful times for a bee keeper is in the time of a swarm. A swarm can be the cause of many things, but mainly because the queen in not in the hive or is not producing more eggs or something else. Then a supersedure could or will take place. This is when the bees produce their on queen, by feeding a new egg with royal jelly. Hence you could have 2 queens at this time or none at all, any way long story short. A large amount of the bees decide to find a new home in which to start a new hive. 

The other day I was checking on the hive as usual, but as I got closer to the hive I could hear a loud buzzing sound. There was a lot of frantic flying around too, about fifty feet in the air. I knew it was a swarm and being new at this I wasn’t sure how to go about this and of course I am not prepared with the right equipment and things the high tech bee keepers use. So in one of my books it says “not to panic, go back in the house and have a cup of tea”. Really! I was frantic so I got on the phone to every bee person I could think of to get some kind of advice. My supplier-lady calmly said “just shake them into a box and put them into a new hive”. First of all they were now in a big clump on a large tree at least fifty feet high, next bees and shaking of any kind don’t seem to go together very well. There has to be some better way. So instead of tea I sat down with my dear finance and had a beer. 

A few weeks ago I purchased two new hive bodies to start with the new packages of bees I ordered (they will be here Sunday) and they were sitting on our porch out of the rain. Well I noticed about six or more bees checking them out. They were really interested in the smell, the new wood and the frames have comb on them. I started to think if I put the new hive under the tree perhaps they would find it. I ran this by the other bee folk. They all said very unenthusiastically well you could try it almost like “Well if it would make you feel better.) So that’s what I did. But I wanted to make it real attractive to them so I took a bottle of last years honey and smeared it on the little front porch landing strip entrance to the new hive. Then Put on the bee gear got into the old hive took out a comb of honey and placed it in they new one. 

It just didn’t make since to me that they would stay on a branch for very long in the cold, or worse rain, especially with a nice new warm, stocked with snacks home right under their little noses. I slept better that night than if I had done nothing.

Next morning I checked on them. There was still the big clump high in the tree. But now there is a little activity around the new hive and a lot of coming and going from the old hive. Bees are every where.

Later that day I walked down to the hive and to visit my clump. Now I’m not sure but it appears that the swarm is in the hive. There is definitely not a clump in the tree. Also when checking them again later in the evening I got stung by a very protective little girl.

Time will tell if this all worked out. 

Rainy Saturday!!

Saturday I volunteered to work at a diabetes screening for work and fund raising.  My friend Kay, came over the night before and we made bracelets to sell and raise some cash.  Wow, what a super rainy day, but some people still showed up.  I think almost all the bracelets sold too.  So all in all we did pretty good.

There are Bees in the White House

There are bees in the White house, well they really live on the South Lawn, and it’s not just for show. Last year the bee keeper harvested an impressive 170 pounds of honey!

Bee Culture Magazine November 2010.

It never really dawned on me that places like the White House and Buckingham Palace would have bee hives in residence, but it does make since. Really, all gardens would fair much better with just a neighbor bee hive. It wouldn’t have to be very close – considering that bees can travel seven miles from the hive while foraging. I bet that is one of the reasons some gardens seem to have much more going on that others.

I checked my hive out today and it is just a busy super highway of coming and going, I opened it to just take a little peak, replacing the inner cover – minus the mold that had grown on it during the winter. The girls were so busy; they never really seemed to notice me. Either that or I’m becoming a little better at moving so carefully around that they don’t care. Some day I’ll have to post an article about the Zen of bee keeping. It’s all about moving gently in their space and sending the girls all the love you can muster, while tearing apart their little world to inspect the brood, Queen, and honey flow. Starting now till winter, I will be checking in every ten days.

So my heart leaps to read about the South Lawn White House bees. It makes me realize in chaotic times, there are some things that always follow order and peace in the world.

10 things

10 things I love

Campfires

Daisy chains

Walking across the creek

The sound of the creek after a good rain

The sound of crickets in the garden

A single weeping willow tree by a pond

The look and smell of fresh cut grass

The golden hour

Humming birds chasing each other

Red wine and a piece of dark chocolate

What's in a name

I know pretty certainly that I'll get inquiries about the name of this blog.  Well, I conjured it up about three years ago when I was reading my favorite magazine, Artful Blogging, by Sommerset press.  I saw a picture of a very thoughtful looking bunny in a scrapbook drawing and I knew first that some day I would have a blog, and that The Pensive Bunny would have to be the name.  It's kinda like a character, a symbol really, that I have for my creative self.  Quiet and deep in thought about all the things and people I care about, especially art, bees, scrap- booking, food and gardening and, well you get the idea.  Now I finally have a venue to let all this stuff I think about rest on a virtual page.  Funny isn't it, that I just got around to blogging and that my head hasn't exploded!