And then there was one...

One of our hives is still alive.

See the girls coming in and out?

This time of year, they are all girls.

The boys don't do any work.

At all.

So, int eh late summer the girls get rid of them.

Who wants to take care of a bunch of boys

who don't do anything all winter?

Bees are so smart.

Last February we had a hive that survived.

until an unexpected cold freeze got them.

This year we are feeding the girls pollen

(it's for the babies the queen is starting to lay).

And sugar (for the grown-up girls).

And we put on a box of uneaten honey from the dead hive.

See the pollen strips?  See the granulated sugar?  

I was so pessimistic

I didn't wear a bee suit.

I had to photograph fast.

How many men does it take to open a bee hive?

And Mr. was the only one of us smart enough to wear a suit.

Bee Funeral

It was warm enough to check on the bees 

so we did.

One didn't make it.

IT's called a dead-out.

The saddest part was this frame of dead bees.

See the capped honey over there? 

Uneaten.  And there were more frames where that came from.

In the cluster of bees is the queen.

SHe is the one with the greed dot on her forehead.

See her there?

If you see me wearing black,

you'll know it's because

I'm in mourning.

I am a good mother!

We started last spring with two hives.

One survived.

That is a BIG DEAL.

News flash, for those of you who don't know it:

bees are in trouble. Worse, we don't exactly know why.

Our bee club was predicting 60% loss.

So, we count ourselves successful for keeping one alive.

This is a dangerous time for our bees.

Nothing is in bloom yet.

We are feeding them.

Yummy sugar water and...

(because our bees are spoiled pets)

pollen patties with Honey Bee Healthy (bee vitamins).

This is the bag of tools we use at the bee yard.

Mr. is reaching for a bee brush.

It's very soft.

In my limited experience, if you are GENTLE with your bees,

they will be gentle with you.

We name our queens.

They are pets after all!

Last year we started with Queen Elizabeth I and Marie Antoinette.

We thought if someone didn't make it, it would be Marie.

We were wrong.

Elizabeth was succeeded by Catherine the Great.

She wasn't so great.

But Marie Antoinette is doing well.

So far.

Maybe this year we'll have honey.