Shunning Covid and in want of a family visit, the Chicago contingency, as I call them — mother and sis’s Caryn and Jessica — got in their car and drove to Minnesota. It is not a bad drive. Before the possibility of Covid check points as you cross state lines, I made the trip quite often — it is my hometown after all, and besides my mom and two of my sisters, my middle son Andy and his wife live there.
When we get together, we pack a punch. My husband knows to steer clear when we head for the kitchen, start a game of hearts, rummy-cube or backgammon.
But one area where “Zen” and calm is a must is in the bee yard. Jessica, the youngest (and acts like it!), wanted to visit the honeybees and learn about the hives, bees, etc.
We had a beautiful day on Sunday — sunny, low breeze, 70’s, so off we went. I had to check the supers and put some Formic Pro on the hives to combat the dreaded Varroa mite, so it worked out well.
Jessica was marvelous. She kept her cool, stayed calm, and did not let the close contact with the honeybees unnerve her. Even when the honeybees, shall we say…heavily mingled on the outside of their hive, she didn’t flinch.
Take a look at her handiwork. Here she is smoking Hive 1 to get into the supers. The colony lives in the bottom two boxes, and the supers are the upper two boxes, giving honey to the beekeeper.
Taking a peek
Not much honey in this super. Hives 2 and 3 were the blockbusters.
Here, Jessica holds a frame from where the colony lives — bottom boxes. They are storing honey for their consumption over the winter.
We closed up the hives and headed back to the house. Zen did not last long as a game was set up and waiting for us on the patio…
#beekeeping #beekeepinginmn #sisters #zen #nature
A Gardener's Diary 