Feisty Today

Made some fondant this morning and had planned on pulling a couple of frames to see what's been going on inside the home. But when I removed the outer cover, the inner cover came along and I think the ladies didn't like the rude blast of sunlight. Instead of a couple of guard bees coming to check me out, I had a good 20 to 30 of them. So, I stood there still for a moment, reciting the 'Secret Life of Bees' mantra, "I love you, I love you, I love you..." doing a quiet overlook until things settled down.

The bees are eating nearly 3/4 of a tray of fondant every 5-7 days. All seems well thus far but I do notice more bees are up top each time I check on them. I am hesitant to rotate the boxes just yet, knowing that there may not be anymore food inside the hive. Putting the cluster down bottom will remove them from any food I provide while our temps are still quite wintery. We may be in the 50-70's some days but we still experience overnight temps in the low 30's and snow is predicted for next week. Typical February for Southern Maryland.

Getting to Know You

It was a rare 70 degree February afternoon as a few coworkers and I enjoyed our lunch outside. We soon noticed a lone honeybee that had landed on an orange water bottle and was sipping on a water drop. I suggested the coworker put a drop on her finger and offer it to the bee. She was surprised to learn that honey bees are not aggressive. But, instead of an up close and personal encounter, the bee decided to leave us alone, sitting there in the sunshine engaged in lively conversation ending in an offer to visit my apiary and to learn more about bees.