Wellsir, while getting ready, last Thursday, to go to the "Country Chalet" on my way to my UCO board meet, a strange thing happened. The bees started swarming again. I immediately contacted my 50 year beekeeper friend and again the Florida apiary guy for advice.
This swarm settled in a honeysuckle bush and it was pretty dicey when cutting those stems away so the swarm would fall into a box.
About 2/3 did hit the box but a great many did not. I had placed the box in a wheel barrow for this contingency and it would be a heckuva lot easier to roll into the bus under the swarm.
After I put the box up on its new home I tipped the wheelbarrow up with the lip of it on the front of the new hive box. IT WORKED! The bees went marching in just as the song says the Saints will. Except those bees are certainly not saints.
So by the time all this transpired I barely had time to shower and drive 70+ MPH to Edmond for my meeting. I did make it on time but nothing to spare.
Friday I worked around the cabin all day doing weeds, etc and received two phone calls from Herself. One: The bees swarmed again and are in the Red Bud tree.
Two: The swarm is gone, don't hurry home.
IF those silly buggers insist on swarming the least they could do is to wait for me to drive home to get them and give them a great new home. I bet they didn't find nearly as good a home as I could have given them.
Saturday morning I got way deep into the original hive and found four queen cells (that is what causes swarming) and cut them out. I hope I did not cut out the new queen that is supposed to be in the original hive. I was told to wait two weeks and recheck. This will be a nervous two weeks.
ENUF!
Going to start my new book on the patio while we have some decent morning left. ... and then fix my mower as the blade broke off and then do the lawn as it is ankle deep.
............lotsa fun....................
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