May as well start now

[Denim Deb]

OK, that reminds me of an old song.

 

[Corn Woman]

So true.

 

[Corn Woman]

They finally arrived!!! I picked up my bee package on Saturday and installed them in my top bar hive. I managed to only walk away with 1 sting ( not the bee's fault) and had some mineral clay that took care of it right away. I have a feeder set up and made sure they have a water source that won't drown them. I can check on Wednesday to see if the queen has been released. All of this is new to me and I am so excited for better pollination with my fruit trees. I have been reading to get as much good info as I can but there is nothing like the hands on approach. Any information from other bee keepers is sure welcome. I am hoping for an all natural method for my new endeavor.

 

[Corn Woman]

Today makes day 4 after the bee package was installed in the hive and I checked to see if the queen was released and the box was empty. I gently lift one of the bars and notice the weight and I'm thinking these bees are heavy, and then I am amazed at the comb. They have made huge progress on 3 of the bars. This is so exciting for me to see all these little bees working to build the colony. Too bad humans can't learn a lesson from them, so much more would get accomplished. It's hard to not go out and look at them all the time but I think it's better to let them do what they do and not interrupt the progress. For now I'm just happy to take another step on the road towards self sufficiency.

 

[Denim Deb]

Sounds good. That's something on my dream list, but quite down the road.

 

[Corn Woman]

I had thought about it for quite some time Deb and finally jumped in.

 

[Denim Deb]

I need to be in a different location and really, really need to think about it. I'm allergic to honeybees and get shots for it every month. It's one of those things that I want to do, but am worried about at the same time. And, while I'm allergic to other bees as well, honeybee is my worst one.

 

[Corn Woman]

You don't want to risk it with a bee allergy Deb, my sister is very allergic to bees and it's just not worth it. Find a beekeeper and use the barter system perhaps you could trade fresh eggs. I was able to get kale and a few tomatoes planted last night and put in 180 onion starts tonight and still have about 200 left to go. Yes I am late getting them in but my garden has only been plowed for 1 week. The plan is to get the rest of the onions in and the remainder of the greens by tomorrow. High expectations on my part but I work 6 days a week so I have a little time in the morning and after work. I still have all of the peppers , eggplant, squash, corn, beans, ect. ect. Kind of hard for me to not fill the space available. Shouldn't worry about my late start I have driven home in a blizzard on Memorial Day more than once and have had frost as late as June 10th the joys of growing your own food but I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Denim Deb]

Only beeks I know also raise their own eggs, veggies, etc. :/

 

[Corn Woman]

Wow am I BUSY! The garden is almost planted and would have been done except I have to be at the office and take care of business stuff. I wish my business would have involved my love of gardening but such is life. I planted the eggplant last night and more corn this morning. I'm still planting tomatoes and more greens in the shady areas. Lettuce and peas are ready to be harvested finally but other than that not much bounty. I have a hard time believing that its June already.
This weekend is POW WOW and I hope to take a little time "off" to go connect with my native roots. I love a good drum circle and grass dancers are my favorite. It's always the best time to add another piece of turquoise jewelry to my collection. Maybe the budget will allow me to splurge this year.