The bees have had the top bar to themselves all Winter and Spring so today I decided to take a peek inside their operation.
They were very calm and I was able to harvest a small portion of their honey stores. The 16 minute video below chronicles what I found!
At least eight years ago but probably ten we planted an Avocado seedling my Grandfather started from seed. I really had no expectations that it would grow but it has survived all these years.
About three years ago it had considerable freeze damage and I pruned it way back. Sometimes the closer you are to the less you see. As many times as I walk under this tree to let the littlest chicken out of her coop it took a visit from my brother to discover that this year there is a copious amount of fruit beginning to develop.
I am not sure which variety of avocado we have I believe it is a Fuerte (Gwen) having seen a few mature fruit in the past. Last year there were two fruit on the tree one of which was knocked down prematurely by the wind. The other one ripened and I made some great guacamole with it. In the previous five or so years there were none.
Avocados are strange reproducers. There is an “A” list of trees and a “B” list of trees. You need one of each in a given area to have a successful pollination. On top of all that the trees flowers have two phases. The avocado exhibits a type of flowering behavior known as "synchronous dichogamy". An individual flower will be open for 2 days, however the timing of the male and female phases are distinct. When the flower first opens it is in the female phase and the stigma is receptive to pollen. At the end of the female phase, which lasts 2 to 4 hours, the flower will close. On the second day the same flower re-opens in the male phase and sheds its pollen. See figures for illustration of the female and male phase flowers. You can read more of the colorful details here.
The success of this years pollination is undoubtedly due to the hard work of our honey bees!
When it comes to trees just plant them. I know at first it seems like they will never grow but as you march through the life you have been given on your way to death and the judgment those trees are slowly and constantly growing. You will look back at the time that had flown by and the trees will remind you it has not all just been a dream.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
(Genesis 2:16-18)
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
(Hebrews 9:27-28)
The Florida “Winter” garden is starting to yield and foremost on my mind is getting prepared for and freezing that might occur during the next two months. I need to buy some frost cloth and keep it in reserve. The cucumbers and greens are growing well.
I will be harvesting some of the burp less cucumbers in the next two weeks. Once they start to develop they grow at an amazing rate.
I have been brewing and applying compost tea the last two weeks. I think it is helping to get the plants blooming but I am not sure. I just take a shovel full of the compost form my pile and bubble it in water with some honey or syrup.
The bees still seem healthy but they have not made much progress in the last two weeks. Maybe the cooler weather has limited their resources.
I recently received a V01108 Hat Veil Pullover Combo and a M01944 Domed Smoker I purchased from dadant.com which totaled $56.00. when I opened them up I was very pleased with the quality they are a real value at the price especially for beginner beekeepers!
Back in late August I moved bees from the front yard who had taken up residence in an owl house, to the back yard where I had constructed a Top Bar Bee Hive.
I was delighted to find the bees happily building comb on the first two bars!
I just received a couple tools to help me in the future and am looking forward to using them soon! A Domed Smoker and a Bee Veil both from www.dadant.com. both with shipping totaled just under $56 and I think at that price they were quite reasonable!
My top bar hive is a special case since the colony I placed in it was well established in a bird house to begin with. I had to insert the entire bird house into one end so I cut a hole in the back to allow easier access to the bars. Enjoy Jacob and Julia!
Last night we moved the Top Bar Hive into it’s new home in the backyard.This afternoon the bees were merrily settling and undoing the damage I caused during the transfer.
Later I ate this delicious meal!
God is so good!
Down to making the bars for the interior and then I gotta figure a way to get my bees into this thing without any undue pain and suffering.
Coming along nicely!
Something has happened in the bee hive. Hundreds of the bees have fallen to the ground dead.
The hive has grown over the months to at least five times it’s original size. Now the colony seems to be falling apart.
It will be interesting to see if they return in the future.
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
(Pro 24:10-14)
When times are dark not everything that glimmers is leading you home. A light bulb is only a dim and fragile substitute for the sun.
If we are not willing to go without comforts and wait on the Lord for what He desires us to have we can easily be diverted from our path and find ourselves lost.
Bees apart from the hive are lost and if they do not find their way back they quickly perish.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
(Psa 27:1-7)
The bees have been with us off and on for about 8 years. If you build a bird house apparently they will come. I have grown to love the bees and it is comforting to know that even if I am napping they are hard at work. Bees are one of God’s most inspiring creations!
This video was recorded with a Canon SD960. It is proving to be a great compact pocket camera!
