Anna getting the bees in their hive near the wheatfield and meadow.

April 30th,2012, sunset

April 30th and we get the honeybees in their hive down in the valley by the newly sprouted wheat field. The queen bee appears alive and well. Anna did an ace job getting her(the queen) into the wood box and honeycomb slides and then deftly slipped the remaining bees in beside and we quickly put the cover over the box to keep the bees near her where they can begin their process of building and producing.

Yeah! We have honeybees!

April 28th,2012.
Honeybees arrive from California! Anna met the distributor on I-35 and got the case of bees with a queen bee inside too! They are in the breezeway now as we are to let them out once the temp. is above 65 degrees and currently its chilly, grey 49 degrees. A bit of trepidation here but lots of excitement too. It will be nice to have some pure honey from our area. Anna,Dad and I think that the best place would be in a little gully where a natural stream runs to a nearby creek right by Helen's meadow in the NW corner. There is a cluster of trees there too which will be a shelter from the prairie winds. I have planted spring wheat and alfalfa in the nearest field so it will be free of any chemical drifts.  Dad got me a small package of white clover to seed nearby from Albert Lea Seed House. Anything to make those bees happy. Pictures will be coming soon!