Saturday, our population here at Winterpast increased by 10,000. The bees made the journey from the lush northern valley of California over Donner Pass and right to our door. No, they didn’t fly themselves. Our dear friends delivered them as only dear friends would do.
The morning started with a quick trip to the hardware store to buy more mulch. Not sure how many bags we’ve brought home this year, but I think it’s close to 100. This morning, HHH wanted to be sure that the bees had fresh mulch under their bench. He quickly leveled their water fountain and made sure their hive was at a light incline to shed any spring rains that might hit. We were ready.
We’d had a scare very early in the morning. The Queen of the Bees, our sweet mentor had called in a panic. Did we have the order number for the bees? The company had no record of our purchase. Now, when you’ve paid as much as a hive full of bees cost, this can make your heart skip a beat.
Luckily, earlier in the week, I found one little handwritten paper showing our order number and the type of bees we ordered.
“Ohhhh. Yes, we have that order right here!!!” the company was quick to assure us. Thank goodness my organizational skills are as good as ever. Wish I could say the same for the bee company.
Well, the waiting was a bit tough, with excitement building through the morning. Finally, just before noon, they pulled in. Along with our one hive, they had a full truck. Ours were right in the back and easy to grab.
HHH and I were already in full suits waiting to install the bees into their brand new home. In less than ten minutes the job was done and the bees were fed. No screaming or stinging took place. Just the movement of five frames of bees from their NUC box to our hive. Easy peasy.
We had asked if our mentors would need some help installing their bees and they jumped at the chance to have help. At the first stop, we installed 12 hives. At the second stop we installed 16 hives. They had one more stop after that, but we decided they could handle the four hives themselves.
Saturday, we learned so many things about the bees. The ones that hang around the hive being easy to transport are the worker bees that live in the hive. The ones that fly around are the foragers, who can be quite upset when you move them. Each hive got a feeder full of 1:1 sugar syrup and a pollen patty.
With each hive, we met the queen. Our mentor inspected them and had kind words for each which made each installation very special. Her touch of kindness was appropriate for these hives that were quite happy to be in their new homes. While five of us worked with all those hives and bees, not one person was stung. While we didn’t use smoke to calm them, we did wear our suits for protection.
It’s a great feeling to know that at four different houses there are happy bees ready to pollinate their areas. Honeybees can fly in a two mile radius, which is really quite amazing. They live only 45 days with new bees constantly replenishing the hive. The hives have a peaceful hum when they are happy and and get quite loud when they are not.
Now, we wait. In two weeks, we’ll take a look inside and see how things are going. Of the four homes that received bees today, only one had a hive that survived over the winter. Only one. All of us agree. The amount of times we can try again is limited. Bee keeping isn’t a cheap hobby. But, it is one that is addicting.
Whatever you do today, get outside. If you happen to have a yard and plants, watch for honey bees. They’re fun to watch with a full cup of morning coffee and hope in your heart. The world needs our bees. Please pray for a great year.
