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More Beekeeping
Apr. 26th, 2011 05:12 pmClearly, I will need a bee icon of some sort. And maybe plant some carrots so I can say my bees like carrots in a literal fashion.
Package removed from hive, frames replaced. I did NOT retrieve the queen's cage, it was absolutely covered in layers of bees and I was afraid of squishing them. I suspect that means she's still in there, anyway. I'll check in the morning. Wax is being built up in hearty fashion, like it is supposed to, everything looks good.
Didn't fire up the smoker, which might have helped if I was determined to get the cage, I suppose. Also didn't actually get dressed, just dashed out in veil, gloves, bathrobe and crocs. I must have been quite a sight. No stings.
My floating solar fountain came, so that's in the pond now. It works great! I've got the head with the largest holes on it, so it bubbles more than sprays. I don't know if that is enough agitation to keep the mosquitos away, but too much spray and the water will all end up outside the pond. Easy to adjust, in any case. It only works in direct sunlight, but I had that when I put it in this morning, so it will probably bubble at least some of the time on most days.
Wednesday was very interested in both the bees and the fountain. She'd try stalking the fountain, but as she got close to it her shadow would fall across the solar panel and it would stop bubbling, so she'd back off and it would suddenly start again with a higher than usual burst of water and she'd jump on surprise. Too funny. I hope to discourage her interest in the bees, but they are small moving things. Hopefully the novelty will wear off without her getting stung or too many bees getting smushed or eaten.
Package removed from hive, frames replaced. I did NOT retrieve the queen's cage, it was absolutely covered in layers of bees and I was afraid of squishing them. I suspect that means she's still in there, anyway. I'll check in the morning. Wax is being built up in hearty fashion, like it is supposed to, everything looks good.
Didn't fire up the smoker, which might have helped if I was determined to get the cage, I suppose. Also didn't actually get dressed, just dashed out in veil, gloves, bathrobe and crocs. I must have been quite a sight. No stings.
My floating solar fountain came, so that's in the pond now. It works great! I've got the head with the largest holes on it, so it bubbles more than sprays. I don't know if that is enough agitation to keep the mosquitos away, but too much spray and the water will all end up outside the pond. Easy to adjust, in any case. It only works in direct sunlight, but I had that when I put it in this morning, so it will probably bubble at least some of the time on most days.
Wednesday was very interested in both the bees and the fountain. She'd try stalking the fountain, but as she got close to it her shadow would fall across the solar panel and it would stop bubbling, so she'd back off and it would suddenly start again with a higher than usual burst of water and she'd jump on surprise. Too funny. I hope to discourage her interest in the bees, but they are small moving things. Hopefully the novelty will wear off without her getting stung or too many bees getting smushed or eaten.