An object in motion stays in motion

-Posted by Isaac

Wow, what a busy couple of weeks on the bee farm! A lot of motion. Newton's first law comes to mind. A lot of bouncing from one thing to the next to the next. Day and night.

For one, about 120 pollination hives have been moved to their out yards. With the hope of a honey crop to come. For four or five days, the girls were loaded in the evening, traveling in the early morning, and usually set down before the sunrise.

Good morning bees!

A few are still at work in the pollination business. 

These 20 hives are working in the produce fields below Bainbridge.

Not long ago I was complaining about the cold front nixing our spring honey crop. The bees couldn't make it out to work. But it appears I may have been a little too bitter too early. The blooms hung on and we caught the end of two really good nectar flows. The honeysuckle:

And the black locust:

It's not near the crop we had last year, but at least it's not a zero. 

I should know better than to complain. Hey, spring weather is fickle.

In fact some hives are doing awesome. The timing on the April split and the location had the most to do with it, but certain yards were actually requiring more supers. I took the kids on one of these trips and little Eden procured my phone, becoming the bee paparazzi.

With the return of the heat and nectar flow came the return of swarming.

Lots of swarms! Day and night.

The bee club was all abuzz last Thursday evening. So many swarms this year! Free bees for the taking. And each comes with it's own thrilling story of beekeeper heroics.

Dan Williams shows us how it's done.

Remember all those nucs from a few weeks back?

Most of them have left. Gone off to some bright future somewhere. I have yet to receive a post card, but I assume no news is good news.

About 60 have been transferred to bigger equipment, soon to move to their own bright and hopefully productive future in an out yard.

And finally, we got around to the buckwheat.

More moving, more busyness. This time involving tractors. And where there are tractors, my little farmer is sure to be found.

This year's buckwheat is going in the field around our house. Which makes things a hell of a lot easier than last year. For one, I don't have to move any hives. Also, getting equipment here on our small roads didn't give me a heart attack. Last year it was a precarious, car dodging six mile drive. It's much easier to be a road hog for one short mile.

Everything went very smooth. The weather held, the seed got spread, the seed got covered. And now we're having a beautiful light rain. 

Sometimes things work out.

No, we're not above a farming selfie now and then.