Waning Days of Beltane\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waning Dyan Moon<\/p>\n
We near midsummer; it’s only 15 hours away.\u00a0 The Summer Solstice, the hot sister of my favorite holiday, the Winter Solstice, comes to Minnesota at 12:47 am tomorrow, the early hours of father’s day.<\/p>\n
To celebrate I plan to work outside in the garden and do some pre-Raphaelite reading, maybe look for a PRB take on midsommer.<\/p>\n
To start, this morning I checked on the bees.\u00a0 There are many, many more bees than came in the small wire and wood box in April.\u00a0 They come and go, searching the area for nectar and finding plenty at this time of year with the bumper crops still ahead.\u00a0 Nectar flow precedes honey flow and we are hind leg deep in pollen and nectar.<\/p>\n
The bees did not meet the threshold of 8 sides substantially covered with brood that indicates the need for another hive box.\u00a0 Maybe next week.<\/p>\n
There must be a trick to getting the smoker lit and working.\u00a0 It has challenged my bee-keeping more than the bees so far.\u00a0 In order to use it\u00a0 you have to a fuel burning, then smother it, but not put out the coals so the fuel will continue to smolder, producing smoke for the duration of your hive check.<\/p>\n
Like many learning curves this one imposes a double penalty.\u00a0 While taking time to keep the smoker lit and producing, I can not work the hives.\u00a0 Once in the hives, which I work slowly anyway because I’m still learning, the smoker punking out (pun!) puts me at risk from angry bees.\u00a0 Meanwhile back to the smoker which means I’m not checking the hive.\u00a0 Normal learning process.\u00a0 Frustrating and exhilirating.<\/p>\n
Now for some deadheading, trellis building and potato and beet mounding.\u00a0 Check you on the flipside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Waning Days of Beltane\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waning Dyan Moon We near midsummer; it’s only 15 hours away.\u00a0 The Summer Solstice, the hot sister of my favorite holiday, the Winter Solstice, comes to Minnesota at 12:47 am tomorrow, the early hours of father’s day. To celebrate I plan to work outside in the garden and do some pre-Raphaelite … Continue reading Smoke Gets In Your Bees<\/span>