They're here, and they're happy! Three thousand bees arrived at our house just after the church service on Friday night. I'm not sure what I expected, but it was such a surprise to see so many bees in such a small mesh box! Because it was later in the evening and close to dusk, we couldn't hive the bees Friday night, but they needed somewhere to stay, so they rented a downstairs closet for the evening and were no trouble at all.
On Saturday, Bryan and my dad hived the bees. It was a perfect day-sunny, calm, and 62 degrees. Hiving the bees basically means that they transferred the bees from their temporary mesh travel box into the hive, where the bees will build honeycomb and eventually make honey. Bryan got all suited up in his gear(my dad went without-so brave!) and introduced the bees to their home. They also provided the bees with some food for now until they can go out and collect pollen to make their own.
On Sunday, we had our annual Easter gathering with tons of family and friends, all of whom were quite interested in the bees in the backyard. After our lunch, we all headed back to the hive so that Bryan could check on the bees, make sure the queen was still okay (very important!), and show off his new hobby. It's probably a good thing that the bees are staying at my parents' house. I think that if they were just outside our door, Bryan would be too tempted to visit every day! As odd as this all sounds, it was really a lot of fun, and I hope that our bee-keeping days are just beginning. The best part of all the bee activities this weekend was that nobody got stung!!
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