Bees

For two years now my husband has been a beekeeper. He was drawn to the hobby because he thought it would greatly enhance his vegetable garden and my flower gardens.  Within 10 days one of the two hives we bought failed.  They swarmed and left the bee box and were gone forever. Poof. The other did pretty well, and last fall we had our first really good harvest of honey.  Now after the long winter, we found out that hive has failed too.  Good thing he had built three more bee boxes (hives) and had bees on order.  They aren't cheap!  $90 plus pays for one queen and a bunch of worker bees.  So we got the three  new hives and so far, so good. Now if it would only warm up long enough that we'd stop fretting about them.

Today I had to step out of my office and go next door to another building.  A HUGE bumble bee (I swear it was the size of an armchair!) came towards me and then veered off.  Then at lunch time as I was driving down the road, another big bumble bee came right at my windshield and bounced off.  I guess I should be happy the bugs are back in business since it's spring time.  I just wish they wouldn't come within such close proximity of me!  We have two dogs and two days ago, after their after-work walk, I felt a tick crawling on my neck.  It probably jumped onto one of the dogs, figured out it couldn't get through his skin because of the meds we pay good money for, and jumped off the dog and onto me.  YECH!  Good thing I'm not bug phobic.  Bats?  Now that's a whole 'nother story.

Bugs, trees, flowers, rain - all good signs of Spring. I need so badly to get outside and pull some weeds and straighten up my perennials. If only the temperature would cooperate.  Maybe next weekend.  So far, for this weekend, low 60's and scattered rain.  YECH again.  Good thing I have lots of knitting and quilting to do.