We are quickly moving away from splitting season and into the honey season (we hope). About a week ago the black locust trees started blooming--about a week earlier than usual. There was a monster honey flow for a few days, and then it started raining in much cooler conditions. That is just as well for me since I am just winding down at Mount Mercy University for the academic year, so there aren't many honey boxes out yet. Without boxes on to collect potential surplus, it is always possible that they will plug up their brood space and lose holes for eggs that should mature by the time the main honey flow arrives. Swarming probability skyrockets in those conditions too. I'm also slowed down a bit because I am slipping in a Hopguard treatment this spring too. I just saw too many mites to wait until the fall knockdown. There are still a couple of yards to split. I'm still distributing and setting up nucs for folks who want to start beekeeping this year. Here are some of them that sat in front of my little farm stand building for a couple of days. It was a beautiful day with lots of flight during the afternoon. These EZ nucs are great for folks who are buying a fair number of bees and don't want to travel with all of their equipment needed for a direct transfer into the permanent hive. I suppose I should note that I do not ship nucs; it's pick-up only in Mount Vernon or Lynnville. With locust following on the heels of dandelions and fruit tree blossoms, hopefully there won't be much need for supplementary feeding. Here is the pump and tank that Alex remounted on a new treated frame for this spring. Behind the pump there are 15 splits positioned on moving boards that will bear them to a pallet somewhere in Central Iowa for the rest of the year.