Just as in the days of Noah, when God brought all the animals to be saved to the ark two by two, we are experiencing an odd phenomena. You may recall that last fall all 6 of our bee hives left. Just up and left. No dead bees, no sign of any reason, they just disappeared. We have since learned that a neighbor had the exact same experience last fall.
Well, they are coming back! Yep... so far this year we have had 2 hives repopulated. One came back mid winter and moved right into the hive. It has since grown so large that is already swarmed once this year and Hunter caught the swarm. So now that hive is two healthy hives. Last week, we were blessed with another wild swarm that actually showed up, parked just above another hive. IT was not a swarm from the two we had! So of course we caught that one and they are now happily building comb in a new box.
That makes 3 active and productive hives so far, that have come to us with little to no effort on our part!
Will there be more? are these the same bees that left last year? Who knows. Bees are amazing little creatures. For now, we are just thankful for these little guys who will be producing honey very soon!
Follow along our adventure as we make the transition from corporate city life to the world of natural farming. Each day brings a new experience and brings us to a deeper understanding about the life and spirit that made America great. At our farm we do our best to give the animals we raise a natural, free, happy, stressfree lifestyle. Our mission is to learn and share how to manage a farming operation that is both profitable and humane.
Well, after posting this just this morning, Hunter comes running into my office to announce that the first hive is swarming AGAIN! IF we manage to catch this one, we will have 4 hives up and running.
ReplyDeletestay tuned!