Partyin' @ the Strawberry patch
Sunday April 1st 2012Alki yard 6-10-11
Everything is just about perfect, the Hives have all been flipped out, (reversing lower and upper Hive boxes to trick the bees into thinking they have more room than they really do) and I’ve supered all but 1 of the colonies. I’m amazed at the speed this yard has taken off with, granted I used drawn comb, averaging 2 frames per colony but 2 out of a hive total of 20 is really not much. I am pleased with the bee’s industrious attention to detail within their respective homes. Summer has finally come to Puget Sound and the sun is present, albeit vacantly as if it has better things to do than shine our way. What distracts our summer sun I wonder, what has its attention that we only get an absentminded shine instead of the full hammer of heat and glory? It beats the rain for sure so I suppose I shouldn’t dare question it, lest my bees suffer.
Speaking of hammers: the Steller Jay’s have relented in their bloodthirsty harvest of my honeybees finally! I lost an entire colony to the Jays this Spring, they were a weakened colony, coming out of a wet winter but they would have rebounded had the Jays not taken their toll, often sitting on the stoop of the Hive body itself and plucking each girl as she innocently peeked out to see if the sun would bless her that day. It was a mindless slaughter that drove me mad; further incensed by online searches on the very topic of deterring Jays. Each topic in every forum referred to the fell beast in the following ways:
Magnificent/truly regal/the glorious Stellers Jay/wondrous addition to anyone’s backyard/clever, brilliantly plumed lord of the wings etc..
I am the only human on the face of this earth who finds the foul creature to be so malignant, so full of evil that once I thought I saw in its demonic, beethirsty eye, the glint of a taunt to try my hand against it. I decided a reverse aviary is the only answer so I have begun plans to build and install this defense later in the summer when the days grow shorter, nights cooler and my honeybees sluggish, or in the jays case: easier to pick off. Right now however all Hives are so strong that the Jays have ceased their attacks, the bees are cross and easily agitated by the birds, chasing them high into the plums, squawking. Tanagers have been picking off honeybees too, high in the air and with impressive acrobatics. I can’t help but admire the agility of them as they dart and dodge after the tasty honeybee; its swift, hard work chasing the intrepid honeybee as she wends her way home, a tiny golden speck against the blue sky and afternoon sunshine. I found a small patch of wild strawberry this weekend, slathered in honeybees; it was a huge honeybee party and seeing it made my day. I’ve added wild strawberry to the list of contributors of nectar. Things like this are just the littlest finds but always the richest. I feel like I found buried treasure, seeing them running amok in their element like that.
That’s all for this report, thanks for reading, find us on facebook using the link on the front page and ask us anything you want, or leave a comment here if you’d rather.
Daniel
Comments
Trisha - Tuesday, December 20, 2011 @ 8:24 AM
You put the lime in the conocut and drink the article up.
Latrice - Friday, July 29, 2011 @ 2:19 AM
Thanks for the iinsght. It brings light into the dark!