Flyin'....and Bees

It's flyin'....time, that is!  Can you believe it is the last day of April already?  Of course, you can...you read the calendar like I just did!  But this month has seemed to fly by at extraordinary speeds....full of celebrations (Easter and Christ's resurrection, my mom and dad's 67th wedding anniversary and birthdays galore...mine, included), new life (flowers and gardens just bursting with promise), destruction (the terrible tornados that have caused so much devastation and heartache), a wedding (in case you missed it....which I did...4 a.m. just wasn't doing it for me), and the bee-ginning of our bee-keeping experience (pun intended)!

Early Thursday morning, Willie and I drove over to K&K to pick up his package of bees and a few other supplies....but not before having his hive and setup checked out earlier in the week by Joe, his mentor.

 

I couldn't begin to tell you how many "package" of bees were in the back of Kenny's (the first K of K&K) truck, but if I hazard a guess...well, at least 130 of these babies.

Care to take a wild guess at how many bees are in three pounds (which is what we are starting out with)? Post your guesses and the closest one to the correct answer will get a free pint of honey....that is, after they start producing, we start harvesting....AND you come for a visit.  Did I forget to say that there were "strings attached"?!!  You also understand that we may very well not get any honey this year, so your prize could be a very delayed one....but it's all in fun, anyway!

The new beekeeper.....

 Spraying them down with sugar water...

 See that little matchbox-sized box they're peering at so intently?  THAT'S the queen!

And that's Willie dumping ?????????? (how many?) bees into the hive after the queen was in place.

 And now our newest residents are busy making themselves at home....it's been fun to watch them scout out the area.....checking everything out.  We'll keep you updated on their...and our...progress!