Another month has gone by and we are finally...almost....out of the cold weather. I say that but it's cold this morning but will warm up later today. The next several days will be spring-like weather. I see tulips, daffodils and hyacinths poking up from the ground now although nothing is blooming yet. Even the forsythia has not flowered yet but it's coming. The magnolia tree out front is not showing me anything yet. I don't see the buds on it. I do hope it blooms because it's just a beautiful start to spring.
The bees will be coming next week...the first batch. The two hives are set up in the yard. The electric fence is in place and working too. I had to put it up because last week a bear came through and rummaged through one of the hives last weekend. Thankfully he/she didn't destroy it, probably because there were no larvae and no honey there right now. But frames and top were tossed around. It's all put back together and protected now so I'm ready for the girls to show up!
Originally I was getting them on Monday, the 21st. Now it will be Thursday, the 24th. That will be a 3lb. package of bees. I will also be picking up a Nuc (5 frames of bees) sometime soon too but I haven't a date yet.
What was interesting is that earlier this week, we had 70 degree weather and my greenhouse was full of bees!!! They must have wintered over in there where I had stored some hives and frames. So I guess I didn't lose all my bees ...most of them were lost to the cold though. That was a sad day in January.
I do hope to plant some cold weather crops this weekend in the garden...lettuce, peas, kale, chard. Soon we'll see red buds on the trees and we'll be off and running with our summer season.
I see lots of work to be done outside. I think I am going to hire someone to mow the lawn this year so that I have more time to do fun things in my time off. I'd rather be growing things, picking flowers, taking walks, hunting mushrooms and generally enjoying life than keeping up with the maintenance of a lawn. Plus, there's plenty of work to be done beyond the mowing.
But don't get me wrong. My "lawn" is whatever is green and growing. I do not use pesticides, or any other fertilizer on the lawn other than maybe a bit of compost here and there. Mostly I just let whatever wants to grow grow. I like putting down clover because the bees love it and like letting anything else flower that wants to. Again the bees like it...and so do I. I often will mow around anything flowering.
I hope to keep these bees well beyond the year. It's too heartbreaking to lose them. Wish me luck!!
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