Man, I hate getting caught in traffic.....
They have been taking full advantage of the warmth and all the blooming plants.
The out-of-control rose bush.......
The mock orange....
...and lots of wild plants and flowers.
Monday morning we heard a heard a noise we recognized from last year....bee swarm!
Click to biggify
This time it was a swarm coming out of our tree and getting ready to depart. They poured out as though from a faucet and soon congealed around one branch in the tree where the new queen was located.
Everybody gather 'round....
And there they sat all day long, presumably while the scouts were out looking for a suitable new home.
Waiting for directions.....
We called our bee friend, Nick, to let him know that there was a swarm available. He wouldn't be able to get it until after work, but they didn't budge all day. How to reach it, though......
Andy to the rescue!
One loaded hay wagon, coming right up.
It was almost dark, very windy and clearly getting ready to storm. A few strategically placed bales, a bee suit, a big cardboard box, lopping shears, and Number One Son to help and the bees were out of the tree.
Careful, now......
After trimming a few smaller twigs off the end, the whole branch was gently clipped off the the tree and placed in the box. Just a few bees were dislodged, but 95% or better were all captured for relocation to a new hive at Nick's place. I felt sorry for the few bees that didn't make it into the box, but the whole swarm might have fared very badly had he not taken them since it started raining shortly after this and continued all night and the whole next day with dropping temps and a soaking inch of rain.
I think there might be some honey in our future....
The hay wagon - excellent! You'll love your fresh honey :-D.
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