Finely time for some bees. Tracy went to bee school and graduated with the equipment and a hive full of bees (a colony).
The bees had to be picked up and moved at night. So on the afternoon of the big day we set up the stand and equipment in preparation for their arrival. Chose the banana patch because it's downwind from the house and provides some shelter from the wind and rain and plenty of sun with just a little shade.
As dusk descended, Tracy and Gabe drove up the hill and picked up the bees, drove them home in the trunk of the car and Gabe placed them on the stand in the dark. Next morning it was time to open them up and let them begin orienting in their new environment and get to work.
Adding a bit of smoke while opening up their front door. Smoke confuses the bees, causing them to slow down and move closer to the center of the hive, where the queen usually is.
Tracy couldn't resist opening up for a quick inspection
Tracy and Gabe Shalitmontagne watching the action. Gabe comes from Seattle having grown up in our old West Seattle neighborhood. He bought a one way ticket to Maui and is off on a Wwoof'ing adventure. After a short work/trade stay with us he's moving on to an organic farm here on Maui for the longer term. What's WWOOF you might ask?
We finished quickly with a minimum of interaction and left them to settle in.
A couple days later it was time to play "Find the Queen" and do a more in depth inspection.
Pulling out a frame. Notice brave Tracy - no hood, no gloves but lot's of love and no stings.
Again it became evident that we should not invade too much so we cut short the Queen search before we found her. Another reason we quit was the photographer (that's Neil) was the only person to get stung - one time on the right cheek (facial, not other). We were trying to photograph the frames so that we could take a close look at the photos in hopes of finding the Queen. Neil was standing up close with the camera, in their flight pattern, and got nailed.
It's been a couple of weeks now and the bees are very active and appear to be thriving - sweet, wild, local honey on the way!
