Country Mouse Monday: welcome back, girls!!

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, I want to shout it from the rooftops:

It's Spring! It's Spring!  

And to celebrate, we spent a few hours at Rebecca's apiary on Saturday, splitting hives, and bringing some new girls home to our house.

Welcome home, girls!

May you be happy here long time.

This was our very first experience with splitting hives, so we'll see how it goes, whether the collection of frames we took from Reba's strong hives will yield a queen who will be successfully mated and settle down to her glamorous life as mother of the colony.

Regardless, can I just say what a huge treat it was to suit up after so long an absence and to stand there in total awe as usual, as bees flew and alighted everywhere, standing quietly, reverently, in a cloud of their sound, sticky everywhere afterward, honey even in my hair?

And man, the thrill of seeing the Queen -- no matter how many years we do this, as big a thrill as ever.

This morning it's been great to watch the bees adjust to their new surroundings, making their exploratory flights in the brilliant spring sun, learning the landmarks.  To hear them, smell them, watch them at their work.  Oh, how I missed their busy presence, after the failure of the home colony late last fall.  

Losing a hive is its own peculiar sorrow.  

So many questions for the beekeeper, so many possible reasons why a colony failed, always wondering, "Could I have done something differently? Could I have prevented this?" Truth be told, last year's home-package was never all that strong, and probably we should have replaced the Queen when we saw that her laying was weak, but we persevered, silly optimists, learning this lesson the hard way.  

I keep returning to the new hive in the yard, watching, listening, breathing in their sweet scent, or peeking out my office window (from the bee-servatory), so excited that they're here, they're back, we're about to start on this beautiful adventure again, this delightful management of these most remarkable little creatures, turning sunshine and flowers into gold you can drink, eating up the flavors of our surroundings, tasting beauty.

XX

Comments

[HomeRearedChef]

I am so glad that you were Featured on BlogHer, or I would not have been introduced to your wonderful site. I LOVE bees, anything about bees. And now I want to hear more about your bees, please.

I am presently reading the series in The Olive Farm, by Carol Drinkwater, and in her life's journal, after having acquired an olive farm, she decides she wants to keep bees. And so she does. I was envious from the start. But I would love to hear more about your beekeeping. It is my dream for someday. :)

Sincerely and big hugs,
~Virginia

[Sara]

I love this! So glad to discover you via BlogHer. We are a military family and we have all sorts of fun plans for when he retires from the military and we are able to live in the country. I especially want to keep bees and have our own honey! Can't wait to hear all about it. :)