Hive work, travel, weather woes

Unlike many around us during this time of isolation, Mama and I never lack for things to do. Things that must be done. The twice daily feeding of our flock and herd. The watering of trees, flowerbeds and garden. The mowing and trimming. Tending to the garden. Tending to the bees. Tending to the dogs. Every evening lately, I have not sat down until almost 9 pm. It has been good. While there are those we know who struggle to fill their days, ours are generally loaded with chores and activities. the busy-ness is a labor of duty – if not love – for the animals we tend to. We love this life. Today the hives will require some extra attention. I have built the syrup feeders and will install them in the feeder this afternoon. Lord willing.

As we participated yesterday evening in a Zoom meeting with our fellow Wise County Beekeepers, I struggled to know for certain if we really needed to feed the bees – which seem to be doing very well. They come to the hive loaded with pollen. I cannot see if they are full of nectar, but they are very active. I have no reason to question the vigorousness of the swarm I caught. They had a lot of comb drawn out in the trap in only a few days while they were in the trap. Today I will see inside the hives to determine whether or not any of the three hives needs more room and add a honey super if needed. From this point on, I will check inside the hives on a weekly basis. That day will have to be either a Saturday or Sunday in order to meet the suggested hours for such a task. The suggested hours from those who make their life raising bees is to open the hives between 10 am and 4 pm. That way the forager bees are not in the hive. They are about a third of the populous of the hive. Waiting until evening is one of the reasons I had the issues with the swarm trap when I transferred them to the hive. All the bees were home and all the bees were angry. Lesson learned.

Mama and I are meeting with Glenn tomorrow; our realtor/contractor in Lawton. We really need to nail down the timeframe required to complete one of the two houses as well as determine as closely as possible how much money we will need to get one of the houses to market. I would like to get a sense of why it has taken so long to get these projects done, but that may not forthcoming. We will see. At this point we need form answers and solid commitments, not speculation and vague promises. I am insisting Mama come along because she has not been satisfied with my interactions with Glenn in the past. I just take him at his word and go on. That has proven disastrous. If the dynamic changes having Mama in the conversation, we will know pretty quickly. Since all we need is a completion date and a projected amount to make that happen, it should not be a difficult set of questions to answer. we will see.

On the way either to or from Lawton we will see if we can find a strawberry farm Mama has been reading about. She really wants to pick strawberries. That would be a fun time other than the issues Mama and I are having with our backs at the moment. Perhaps, our current back pain will limit the amount of fruit we can collect and thereby limit the money we have to spend to pick that fruit. What a wonderful business model. We pay the grower to pick their fruit. Anyway, we will find the farm and see how things turn out after the storms that blew through last night. If we do get to pick strawberries it will be my Mother’s Day present to Mama.

Those storms reached us to some extent. We did get about ¼ inch of rain with all the wind and lightening. From the downpour Mama and I were watching just before we went to bed, I had hoped for far more. We could have used an inch or more but will happily take what we get.

Life goes on and with Mama, it is always a pleasure.