Barefoot Beekeeping

The weather's going to get cold and rainy in the next few days, so I did a full inspection this evening while it was still warm. It's the best way I can think of to spend a Friday evening.

The previous water supply was a big plastic planter filled with water, but instead of being a bee pool, it quickly became a mosquito nursery. Whoops. I dumped it out last week and today I replaced it with a pie tin filled with marbles and a couple of rocks. Sure enough, within an hour, one of the girls tried to drown herself. I fished her out with a stick and added some more marbles for landing pads. Silly bee.

I have these gray plaid rain boots I've been wearing to the hive, but the problem with them is that the right boot is way too tight, and I can't really wear them for very long before my foot starts to ache. I haven't had a problem the last couple of visits, but this time, I got all the way back to the hive and remembered that I forgot the hive tool. Back I went, and by the time I got back from the car, my feet had had enough. I took them off and promised to be careful where I stepped.  The girls were in a great mood today so I didn't have to worry. I didn't even wear gloves or a veil. There were a few curious girls buzzing my hair, but nobody head butted me, let alone came after me.

I was SO proud of Maud today. Not only did I find more eggs, I saw last week's eggs in various stages of hatched, some capped brood, some pollen, and even a little honey. All of this is food for the brood, so it looks like they're getting ready for the big hatch just in time for the main honey flow around the solstice. I brought a hive inspection sheet with me this time and wrote down what was on each frame, and whether there were eggs and brood. Now I have something to show my bee teacher when I ask her what to do with my ladies.

After two weeks of drama, the girls seem to be settling in quite nicely. I'll leave them bee for a while and let them do their thing.

Maud is happy! 

Oh, and here's a bonus! This lovely creature snuck up on me while I was packing up.