Quick Update on the Girls

Monday, June 11, 2012


The girls have been working my white lavender bloom. They have been busy in the blackberries too. You should see how many we will have to pick. 


The honeybee is out of focus. (I guess this picture is all about the blackberry.) A bee is hard to catch in focus as she's constantly on the move. There is a reason for the saying, "Busy as a Bee!" We have supplemented their nectar with sugar water. We mix one part sugar with one part water, heat the mixture to almost a boiling point and pour it into the special feeder that is on top of the hive body. It's been hot and dry here and I worry about the amount of flowers available for them to feed upon. I think we have fed them over 80 pounds of sugar. It's been so much I'm starting to loose count. We started purchasing extra 4 pound bags of sugar, but we've given that up. When the clerk at the grocery store looks at the 25 pound bags of sugar we now purchase I just say, "Don't even ask!"

Dave and I have placed a bench out by the two hives. We sit there in the evening and watch "bee TV."
I tell Dave it's not many guys who can say they have over 40,000 girls working in their backyard. 

Until later,

Alma


10 comments

  1. Do you have your pattern for "Evening Bloom" for sale as a separate pattern, or only in your book Country Inns?

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  2. Hi Jacqueline,

    The pattern would only be available in the book. We don't publish patterns from our books.

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  3. With all that sugar and those blackberry blooms, that honey is going to taste fantastic! It would be interesting to have a webcam set up so you could share bee tv with the rest of us :)

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  4. Wow, who knew what was involved with keeping bees! Lots of sugar for sure! Enjoy your bee TV. :D

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  5. I love the idea of "bee tv". The white lavender is so pretty and the honey will no doubt beeeee great! I am anxiously looking forward to seeing your latest book, "In the Meadow". The butterfly quilt is a must-have for me. Thanks for sharing news on the girls.

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  6. Alma, I recently purchased some black raspberry honey here in Colorado and it is delicious! Best of luck with your girls.

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  7. I was thrilled to hear you on Pat's radio show on APQ!!
    So will you be adding honey to your baking segments? That's going to be some honey & expensive hobby- LOL!!! What isn't?! Those bees can really fly quite a distance and find almost anything, you'd be surprised. Hugs!

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  8. I am so intrigued with your bees. My husband will be retiring from his full-time job in a couple months and has been wanting bee hives for some time. Any suggestions for how to get started? We're in rural southeast Nebraska.

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  9. Hi Pam,

    The best way to get started beekeeping is to attend your local beekeeping association. They offer classes. A class will make you much more successful. If there is not an association close by see if a local farmer has bees and could be a resource for you. It's helpful to begin with 2 hives too. You can compare one with the other. One of our hives failed. It turned out that the queen didn't make it. It was helpful to have the other hive to help restart the failed one. It would have been very sad to only have the one hive and have to wait until the next year to begin again. Good luck with your venture! They are lots of fun!

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