Today I sold the last three packages for 2019. There are usually a few that look for an owner due to various changes on pick up dates, but these went where they can be happiest. I had originally planned to get these packages from Wisconsin where the last of our package producers for 2019 is […]
Back in 2018 we were fortunate to be invited to place bees up in the Viola and Stone City area. It turned out that a couple of the landowners had developed a beautiful pollinator haven on the site that Grant Wood depicted in Fall Plowing in 1931. Grant Wood is most known for American Gothic, […]
We distributed most of the package bees that were preordered for 2019 this weekend. What an adventure! We normally work with one supplier that sends us one of the earliest loads out of California–usually arriving in the first weekend of April. The cool wet start to the California production season pushed everyone back three weeks. […]
The part of the year when we split parent hives to repopulate the deadouts is upon us, and that always lifts my heart. April through June is generally an upbeat propagation phase where all of the hive equipment is needed to get the bee season rolling. It also requires a lot of queens–some of them […]
The past couple of weeks have not lacked for excitement. Package bee supplies are short in northern California, and that has led to many adjustments for a lot of people to put the pieces together . There has been too much wet and cool weather to spur bee production and queen mating. Currently there is […]
The almond bloom is exceptionally late this year due to the cool wet weather. The central and southern parts of the valley are in serious petal fall right now (as the image above shows), and almond growers are nervously wondering how the almond set will develop. Did the bees have enough flying time to get […]
This morning I told Andrew that I needed to fill up a few buckets of honey before preschool. Naturally, he decided that bucket filling should be his morning adventure! Now we have the photo evidence above of his first foray into filling up the bulk containers that provide honey for our serious users 🙂 He […]
For the last couple of weeks, the snow just keeps hitting the Midwest! We haven’t had this much snow in the first two months of the year for over a century. Impressive! I probably have a little higher threshold for the end of winter since there have been a couple of escapes to visit the […]
It felt fitting to snap a farewell shot of the driveway into the almond orchard where I’ve been putting in my days recently. I have no fondness or talent for selfies featuring myself, so apologies for any shortcoming in my technique! As I last mentioned, the bees are looking pretty respectable right now. Around two […]
The Handy ATV + Trailer Bee Feeding Unit All Loaded Up!