A Very Good Two Days!

Boy, life sure does change fast. Here I was, all down in the dumps over too much rain, then the sun came out and everything was better. Two warm days in a row, no rain, so we could get busy outside and get things done, and what a difference. It's been quite an adventure the past few days. First, we've been looking for some aged used bricks to lay as the floor for our greenhouse, and came across them just sitting by the side of the road with a sign on them at a neighbor's place, AND they were just what we wanted, AND at a great price, AND he realized that we don't have a truck and would have to make many trips in our car to pick them up, so offered to bring them on a trailer for us to unload and he'll pick the trailer up later. What a guy! We were so pleased with them, and Jim worked for hours to stack them by the greenhouse ready to lay in place when he gets the floor ready.

Then, our Momma Cat brought her two newest babies out to meet us, and Anna promptly fell in love. Andy even popped them into his pocket, where they snuggled down and got all cozy. Anna spent the whole next day snuggling those kittens, one at a time, until one bit her finger, so she reluctantly let them be with their Mom for a while.

So we were working around the place, when I heard the bees buzzing really loud, and realized that they were in the process of swarming. At least once a year, usually in the spring, the beehive will get crowded, make a new queen, and the old one will take part of the hive and move out to find a new home.

If you're clever, and we weren't, you set up a trap hive, to keep them home and you then have an additional beehive. Because we didn't, we had to watch as they poured out of the hive, rose up into the air in a big cloud, then finally settled nearby in a big clump on a branch. They rested there for about an hour, until their scouts came back with news of a new location to move to, and then the whole bunch rose up and moved off, never to be seen again. It's a fascinating process to watch, and since the bees are very placid at that time, you can stand close and watch the whole thing, without fear of being stung, as long as you're careful.Then the next day they did it again! This time it was a smaller group, but they repeated the whole process. We called our beekeeper friend, but he wasn't able to get here in time to catch them, so those bees were lost to us. We're planning to get another hive and keep close, just in case they ever do it again, we'll be ready.The garden is doing well, and today while Jim mowed the grass, I spent time thinning and transplanting the florence fennel, weeding several beds, and mulching more paths and the edge of the tomato and herb bed. It's looking great, and we ate our first salad of the year of our own greens, radishes and green onions for dinner tonight. Terrific stuff. Life is very good.