Round One of the Package Bees

    We sold over 500 packages of honeybees this past week at the Beez Neez Apiary Supply. It was a very busy week and I am very grateful to my daughter Rachel and a number of our bee friends who helped out. I ended up hiving 5 packages myself on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. Of course Saturday was cold and rainy, just like most of the previous week had been, Now, after several weeks of  rainy weather the forecast for this coming week is sunny and warmer.  Its finally starting to feel like Spring is here to stay.  It was nice to see all of the bees flying.  I'm looking forward to the warm weather so I can do thorough exams of the hives that survived the winter.

    I took advantage of the nice weather to spend a good part of Monday working in the garden. I planted peas again, filling in the holes where either they failed to come up or something ate them.  I worked on weeding some garden beds and continued my sheet composting of the newly expanded garden area in the front yard. I'd like to get more beets and carrots planted this week and I'd like to get our squash started indoors.

    I have a broody hen setting on 10 duck eggs and two of her own eggs.  She has been at it for about a week now so I'm estimating the ducklings should hatch out around the middle of May.  I'm planning on taking the duck eggs away from her about a week before they hatch so we can improve on the survival rate over what I can expect from a hen. I will let her continue to sit on her chicken eggs so she will still get to mother something.

   Mrs Buzz Saw moved her kittens into LInda's side of the closet. Linda thinks it is a reaction to the fact that the kittens are starting to move around a bit more.  As we were sitting on the bed we watched several of the kittens trying to explore their surroundings while Mrs Buzz Saw kept carrying them back to where she wants them to be.  I expect she will lose containment pretty soon.