(There was supposed to be a video of my bees on the fountain, but I've been trying since last night to upload and it just won't do it. So please look at the older post of the bees on the fountain and imagine it in motion. Thankfully, I'm a much better gardener and beekeeper than I am computer genius.)
I posted a picture of the bees on the fountain a few days ago, but I thought this little video might be entertaining. The girls are thirsty! They are also very protective of their water source. Much buzzing going on around my head. They are capping honey in the top super on Walter, and Ora is filling out nicely in the brood box. I had added a super to Ora a couple of weeks ago, but decided a few days later to remove it. I had inspected and there was not a lot going on . Anyway, this past Saturday I put it back on. There are 7 frames filled in the deep hive body and I didn't want to risk them running out of room as they fill out. I'll also add another super to Walter this week. We still have sourwood and goldenrod to bloom and there are lots of flowers and vegetables blooming in the garden and surrounding property.
My resident handyman spent the afternoon building shallow supers. He had done some remodel work to the house during the winter and had saved some nice pine siding. Being an engineer, he had no problem reading the plans and building the supers from this wood. You can find the plans at http://www.beesource.com/. Tomorrow morning I'll head to the farm store to purchase frames and foundation. Guess I know how I'll spend my afternoon. But it's a nice way to spend a day. I love to build frames.
Just got back from the store. Very breezy this morning and the temperature is a wondeful 68. Great afternoon to build frames.
I hope to start harvesting summer squash and cucumbers from the garden this week. The lettuce is almost gone. It got hot - well hot for us anyway - 82!! We need rain. The pole beans are 7 feet tall and covered with blooms. It may be the end of July before they are ready, but I can green beans and will have plenty for the fall and winter months. I planted bush beans for the first time this year, and they are doing well. I'll do a whole bed of them next year. They are the Blue Lake variety. My tomatoes are small but pretty. Most are cherry variety. Again, it will probably be late July or August before they are ripe. I have a stepping stone at the entrance to the garden that says "Patience". I read it and remind myself everyday.
I've been harvesting new, red potatoes, but they are about gone. One of the pests I didn't plan on having this year was a chipmunk. They have eaten almost as many potatoes as we have. I've been reading about growing potatoes in bags that you hang and will probably try that next year. As I've said before, I don't give up easily on anything in the garden. The one good thing that's come from the potato bed is tons of earthworms. When I planted, I added lots of compost and several layers of wheat straw. When I push back the straw, I see worms that are about the size of small snakes. What an incredibly fertile bed that's going to be next year. BTW, sometimes I do see a snake. There is one just about every morning. I wish I could see a chipmunk hanging out of it's mouth. =) (Sorry if I offended any small varmint lovers out there.)
I know this has been a very strange post, but sometimes things just work out that way. Just gives us a reason to laugh.
