Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Bees Have Arrived!




I got the long awaited phone call this morning. The bees were in Quilcene and ready to be picked up. This was a day ahead of schedule which meant I had to stay behind and get the hive assembled while the husbeast made the long trek to Quilcene and back. He didn't really mind since we both love the Olympic Peninsula. It was an enjoyable drive. Meanwhile I was back home making sure things were ready. This is a picture of the bee screen that we installed in order to keep the bees' flight path high above the neighbor's head.


The bees arrived at the house around 3pm.
Here they are in their travel trailer.
They make a lovely humming sound.


My friend and bee mentor,  Kristine, arrived around 3:30 and I began the installation. Things moved rather quickly. This video was taken after I'd hung the queen from the center frame in the bottom hive box, added the second box, and poured most of the bees from the box into the hive.


I've got bees all over me.


The bees are slowly making their way into the hive, following the scent of the queen.


And a bit later, I've filled the bird/bee bath so they have a water source and you can see the majority of the bees have entered the hive.


A close-up of bees on the threshold. Go in. Don't be shy.


No comments: