Last Harvest of the year!

My 85 year old mother, Marcella helped me harvest honey on Thursday, October 10, 2013.
We had a great time working together. We extracted 35 pounds of honey.  She is just getting into bees and she got six sting. She learned a valuable lesson about the importance of proper bee protection.

We had to get her some Benadryl  for the itchy skin. She is a real trooper. She never complained about her swollen and painful wrists. She is going to be a very good beekeeper.

Thanks for the help Mama. Great Job!!

 

2013 is flying by at Lightspeed!

I had some time this afternoon and checked to see the last time I posted on my blog?. It was October of 2012. Almost a year ago. I was surprised at how much time had passed and how quickly. We have been busy this year. I helped with the Clark Hill and the Aiken's new Beekeeping classes. In February we spoke to garden clubs, caught swarms, made lotion bars and lip balms. In March Rick and I went to the spring South Carolina State meeting in Rock Hill, SC We had a warm winter and a cool wet spring. It was beautiful weather. The bees started swarming early. I had so many swarms and only caught a few. I had a swarm go to a neighbors yard and got sprayed with RAID! That was traumatic. We were a part of Earth Day at the Medical College of Georgia as an Educational vendor. We hosted Girl Scout troops, home school groups and Garden Clubs, that came to Sasserfrass Hill to see and learn about the bees and the plants that feed them. We bought lots of plants and I had lots of friends and Master Gardeners give me plants this spring to help feed the girls. We got three nuc, from Allen Johnson. Queens of queens of the "Woodcliff Girls". I helped lots of new Beekeepers with their bees this year. I had three new beekeepers all named Amy! It has been so much fun helping and teaching new people about bees and why we must save them. I took my Journeyman Level test and practical, and pasted. At Clemson, South Carolina State Summer meeting in July. My "Girls" took third place in the Black Jar honey competition (taste only). It was very nice to win a ribbon on my first try.! We have lots more speaking engagements on the calender. My 85 year old mother, Marcella, is a big help at our events and I appreciate her very much. I will try to post more ofter but . . . I may get too buzzzzzy and forget . . . Bee Well, Deborah

One of the Home School Groups that came to Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm for a visit.

Fall has arrived on Sasserfrass Hill

We are having a buzzzzy fall on Sasserfrass Hill. We are checking each hive to make sure they will make it through the winter, or at least give them the best chance we can. The fall plants are blooming, Swamp Sunflowers, Asters, Golden Rod, Ragweed, Sasanquas,Tea Olives to name a few.The wonderful rain we have gotten has been a God send, providing lots of pollens and nectar for the bees.

We must check and make sure the bees have enough honey to eat all winter long. If they have no honey we must feed them sugar water. We must also check for Verroa mites, a nasty little parasite that loves to suck their blood. Mites are one of the biggest problem bees face.

We checked Michael Hagen's bees. They are doing very well. Michael is a first year beekeeper and is very excited about his new hobby.

We were happy to help Ye Sun check her bees and get them ready for fall. 

 We split two of Cliff's hives and they are doing great.

Beautifully rain.

We have been blessed with lots of rain this summer and fall. We have had many beautiful rainbows.

Jay had a beetle problem. We went through his hives and killed hundreds of hive beetles. I think we saved his hives.

Janice and Ken at Wild Birds Unlimited gave me this adorable bee for my garden. They sell Sasserfrass Hill honey in their Martinez store.

I took my journeyman classes over in Lexington, SC. They told me yesterday that I passed the test with a 85. I was so happy I passed. I was ready to make arrangements to retest in January. I am happy to be a journeyman level beekeeper.

Have a fabulous fall... Bee Happy.!!

  

We extracted 93 pounds of honey this week

We extracted 93 pounds of honey from two honey supers this week. The lime green hive and the pumpkin hive were ready. I had to bring the frames in a few at a time. They were so heavy I could not pick them up. I put the frames on the butcher block Island. Unfortunately, I put them on the end and the weight was too uneven and tipped over. I had to rush to extract the honey that was oozing all all over the floor.

When you open the tap on the extractor it is wonderful to see the results of my girls hard work.

A little worker bee makes less than 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her entire life. They work so hard. They work themselves to death. That is why they only live six weeks in the spring and summer.

God Bless my tiny pollinators.

Things are buzzzzing on Sasserfrass Hill

We are happy to report we are very busy on Sasserfrass Hill this month. We have been checking hives, extracting honey, installing queen cells, cleaning hives and replacing frames. We are checking our bees all around the area. We took a ride to Screven County to check the Woodcliff Girls, while we were in Sylvania we checked Mike Hagen's bees. We checked Cliff's bees and helped him extract his honey. He had five gallons of honey from two eight frame supers. We checked Mary Louise's two hives and her bees are thriving. We went over to Roy Road to check the bees at Tom's and added another honey super to each. 

Mr Gene gave us a big bag of his new wax capping's. One of my favorite things to do is process fresh wax. It took two days to process all the wax. It looked and smelled Divine after it was cleaned. My entire house smell sweet and yummy for days.
It has been exceptionally hot and dry in the C.S.R.A. We did get a short shower last night and I could hear the trees and plants singing in the rain. The nectar flow is almost over. But the lack of rain will hasten the process even faster. We are in a nine inch rain deficit and hope for several more afternoon showers to keep our plants alive. The bees will eat the stored honey if they don't have access to fresh nectar.

I bought a new wooden beetle trap, that attaches to the front of the hive. I am painting it with several coats of primer. I need more green paint so I can finish up and get it on the hive. I hope to catch lots of nasty little hive beetles. I will let you know how the trap works.

I hope you are staying cool... it is going to be a hot one!!
Bee Frosty,
Ms Deb

Beautiful Rain and our First Harvest of the year on Sasserfrass Hill

It has been a hot spring this year. We got 1 1/2 inches of rain from hurricane Beryl last week. It sprinkled a little this morning and a front cooled things down to a comfortable 70 degrees. I was going to check my hives on Monday and again this morning but the rain changed my plans.
I should have honey ready for harvest. I hope to check tomorrow and if it is capped off I will bring the frames inside, extract it and put the super back on the hive by the afternoon. 
Last week Mama helped me extracted one honey super. We got about 36 pounds of honey from ten frames.

This is one of the frames we extracted.

We hope for a big harvest this spring. I am excited to see if the girls have capped off the frames since I checked last week. 

                                                Liquid gold from the first harvest of the year.

 We bought jars and mama put them in the dishwasher, I ordered labels from Brushy Mountain on the 15th of  May and I am still waiting for them to arrive....not very efficent turn around time, I will look for a better source.
We have been busy checking some of my bees in another bee yard. All seems well with them.

I am off to squish hive beetles.
Bee Well.

Sacred Hearts Garden Festival

The Sacred Hearts Garden Festival was this weekend Friday, April 27 - Sunday, April 29th. Sasserfrass Hill bee Farm was invited to be a vendor. Mama worked with me on Friday and Betty Murry came up from Statesboro and helped me on Saturday and Sunday. We had a beautiful but HOT weekend.
I talked to lots of people about the bees and we sold honey, lotion bars and lip balm.

I was so happy to be vendor at the biggest Garden Festival in Augusta.
It was a blast.!!

Spring is very early on Sasserfrass Hill

We have had the warmest winter on record. Lots of warm days 80 degrees in February is scary. It makes me wonder what August will bring.???!! The bees are bringing in the pollen and nectar. My dogwoods, azaleas, Narcissus and Snowflakes are blooming and the tulips will be open in a few days. I bought $40 of bulbs last week and must get them in the ground. I have Dahlias, Gladiolus, and Jonquils to plant.

It has been very windy for the last few days, 15 to 25 mph winds are much to strong to open the hives. Other beekeepers have already pulled queen cells. I must check my hives but I have too wait until the weather is warm and not too windy.

I lost the pink and blue hives this winter. They both swarmed late in the season and were not able to build up their numbers before the cold set in. I put the empty hives into the freezer to kill and pest eggs that may be hiding inside. I hope to split a couple of my strong hives this spring. I will have a better idea after I get inside to check.

Rick and I went to the Georgia and South Carolina State Beekeepers meetings. We met lots of other beekeepers, bought supplies and listened to interesting speakers. Ted Dennard from Savannah Bee was my favorite. His business is making six figures every year. I hope to bee making money soon.??!!

I am off to the "Grow your Own" Fair at the Jewish Community Center. They will be selling chemical-free seedlings and experts to answer questions. I am sure to learn a lot.

I hope to buy plants the bees will like so they and we can have a delicious spring.

Talk to you soon.

Bee Well,

Deborah

Mild winter on Sasserfrass Hill

We all have been enjoying the mild temperatures this winter. We have only had about 40 chill hours. Which may not be good for the trees and bulbs that need cold to get them ready for spring. We also have lots of bad bugs that have not been killer by the cold.

The bees love the warm weather but they must thinking it should be cold now.?? The position of the sun is telling them we should be in a cluster, keeping the queen in the center and keeping warm by eating honey and vibrating their wings, which creates heat and keeps the cluster about 92 degrees.

I hope they will be okay with the warm weather and not freeze when the Mercury drops.

Bulbs have bloomed, trees are budding out, even azaleas are blooming, I just hope they don't all get killed when we do get the cold.

Talk to you all soon.

Bee Sweet,

Deborah

May your New Year Bee Healthy and Happy!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Thanks for Bee-lieving in Sasserfrass Hill, Thanks for Bee-lieving in me....

2011 was full of wonder and many incredible opportunities. I met interesting people and produced photographs of my sweet girls and told of their need, for us to get off the chemicals.

I learned so much in 2011. Thanks to every club, group and school that listened to our presentation, bought our honey and loved our lotion bars. We appreciate and Thank You.

December 2011 had very mild temperatures, our first freezing nights didn't come until January 2, 2012. The Farmer Almanic is calling for a mild and dry winter in Georgia. If you would like to help the bees, plant native drought tolerant plants the bees love such as echinacea, asters,and yarrow's.

Thanks to my sweet bees for all your hard work. I adore and appreciate the fruits of your labor. Thanks for sharing your bounty.

Thank you God for my Mother, Marcella. She had a stroke in July, she was in the hospital four days. She did not get the medication within three hours...that slowed her recovery. She is doing remarkably well. She is my number one fan. She washes my jars, labels, cleans wax and anything she can do to help. Thank you mama. I love you.

2012 will be a fantastic year for Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm. We expect even more blessings and opportunities.

The "Girls" and I plan to start our documentary, Our goal is to get the pesticide "Neonicatiod" off the market. Get it banned from our country NOW. It is poisoning every one's food supply.!!!

We hope every one's New Year is full of love, healthy and happiness!!

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Author Patricia Lanza visits Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm

Greetings Everyone,

We have had such a warm fall. I still have zinnias blooming and my Cherokee Rose is full of beautiful pink flowers. My sweet bees are so happy the weather is still warm and they are bringing in pollens for protein and the camellias are blooming providing nectar and all is right with their world.

Last week Sasserfrass Hill had a very special visitor. Patricia Lanza, Author of Lasagna Gardening which is a book on a new layering system for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! She was wonderful and I enjoyed her so much. She shared information on things I should do to take another step on my journey. She made me feel I was ready to move to bigger venues to reach more people with my message to help save the bees.

She encouraged me to publish some of my photographs in magazines. She reinforced my resolve to continue my quest and I needed her encouragement.

Thank you Pat. I am so happy I met you and I hope to see you again soon.

I checked several hives on Friday, the bees were doing great and are going into the winter with lots of honey. I hope I will come out of the winter with strong hives and healthy bees.

I am getting my Christmas decoration out of the attic this week and will start decorating Sasserfrass Hill for another wonderful holiday.

Eat more local honey.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Augusta Magazine came for a photo shoot

Greetings from Sasserfrass Hill,

We have been blessed with some beautiful fall days this week. It was 74 degrees today. I fed the bees Honey -B-Healthy with some antibiotics and it was a feeding frenzy. I want my bees to go into the winter strong and healthy.

I worked in my yards all day Monday and Tuesday morning, raking, bagging and blowing tons of leaves into the garden. I mulched them with my tractor mower in hopes it will help add organic matter to my hard clay soil. I watered flowers, dead headed plants, and used the blower on the drive way, carport, patio and the bee shed porch. I made flower arrangements and got dressed and ready for Laurie and Chris of Augusta Magazine, to come in the afternoon and take some photos of me in the bee yard. I am not very photogenic, and I hope the photo they choose will not make me look like a deer in head lights.

I will be in the January - February issue on the very last page of the magazine, called the "Last Word". It has a photo and they ask you five questions. I thought they would be questions about the bees, but there were only a couple of bees questions. I asked Laurie if the magazine could do an article on the bees in the spring. Laurie said she would love too and she would see what she could do.

We are making lotion bars this afternoon. We have several orders we need to deliver by the end of the week. Amaretto and Lemongrass are the flavors of the week.

Mama has been busy putting labels on the lotion bar tins, labeling honey and cleaning wax. She is a busy bee and we appreciate all she does on Sasserfrass Hill.

Eat more local raw honey everyone. It will help build up your immune system and keep you healthy this winter.

Bee Well,

Deborah

P.S. I don't know why the spacing is so crazzzy... It looks fine when I type it but when it goes to publish it put about five spaces between each paragraph....????

Fall is in the Air on Sasserfrass Hill

Hello Everyone,

We are as busy as bees on Sasserfrass Hill this fall. We are enjoying the cooler temperatures and so are the bees. This summer heat was brutal and many plants dried up before giving a drop of nectar to the bees. We hoping for an abundance of hardy fall plants.

We have several Garden Clubs coming to see the bees and we have really been working hard to make the yards worthy of the attention. It is a little intimidating to have master gardeners come and see my yard since I am not a master gardener or have I had a lot of time to get beds and plants put into place.

I am also speaking to several garden clubs this month. I spoke to the West Lake Garden Club on Tuesday and after the meeting a Girl Scout leader ask me to come speak to her girls about the importance of my tiny pollinators.

I am going to Lake Forest Elementary, they have a Garden Club for kids and I am very excited to talk to these little gardeners on Tuesday. I am speaking to the Lunchbox Series in Aiken on the 17 th and will have lots of photos and honey to sell.

I am also participating in the Quest Fall Holiday Festival the first weekend in November. So as you can see we are really as busy as bees. When I have a spare moment I am making lotion bars and lip balm to get enough to carry me through October.

I have several special orders of lotion bars and even sent an order off to Miami. Florida last week. My Niece Rhonda is in Guam and ordered honey, lotion bars and lip balm for her friends as gifts. Her friend Sadie enjoyed them enough to order more.

We put a mite treatment in the hives a couple of weeks ago and I need to check them one more time before it gets too cold. This year is flying by a light speed... I am trying to keep up.

Mama came over and helped me with a garden club and home school group last week. She is so nice and friendly, I think people buy more because she is so sweet.

I put a "Buy Local Honey!" sign on my car and have sold lots of honey from people inquiring about the sign.

Another one of my photographs was accepted by Bee Culture Magazine as a cover shot. I am very excited and hope to see my "girl" on the cover very soon.

God has bless us and we feel the need to give back and try to be a part in saving our tiny pollinators.

Thanks to everyone that has supported us and had faith in us. We are having a wonderful and thrilling time at Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm.

Come see us and Eat more Honey.

Ms Deb

Time for Fall Chores on Sasserfrass Hill

September is only a few days away and it is time to do your fall chores in the bee yard.

A friend of mine, Jane Waldrop is interested in getting bees. She asked if she could help me check some of the hives. She wants hands on experience so when she does get bees she will feel a little more comfortable. You can read all the books you can find on bees but the real test comes when you open the hive and have thousand of stinging insects in your face. Even with a veil it is a bit intimidating. We went through several hives and all was well.

We got to the peach hive and I knew things were not right. I had been watching it for days. I had hurt my back the week before so I could not check it as I should have. I kept thinking it would be O.K. until I my back was feeling better....but no. Those nasty wax moths moved in and had started to tunnel through he frames. They are such nasty pests. They can only make themselves at home if the hive is weak. I was sad to see all the damage. I put the frames into the freezer (I have a frig in the garage just for freezing frames). I felt better

knowing I was killing those awful pests, larva and the eggs.

The peach hive had no queen, no brood, (babies) and only a handful of bees. so I decided to combine them with another small hive. I put a sheet of newspaper on top of the green hive and put the peach hive on top. I poked several slits in the newspaper, so the bees could smell each other and get familiar with the queens pheromones. The next day I went out to check and the bees had eaten the paper away and was throwing it out the front of the hive. Everyone seemed to be happy. I successfully combined two weak hives. I was happy the technique had worked.

It will be fall before you know it. I also treated my bees with a new mite treatment called HopGuard. It is made from hops and is an all natural product. I am hopeful the Hopguard will work and the bees will go into the winter free from the awful parasite mites and have a pest free winter.

God Bless my bees...and all the tiny pollinators of the world.

Swarm goes into nuc

Late Sunday afternoon I looked into the bee yard and saw the sky full of bees. They were gathering on the fence just behind the hives. I went out and took some photos and video and thought I would let them stay till the next day since it was late and already getting dark.

It has been too hot to go into the hives and pull queen cells. When you don't pull the queen cells out this is what happens. But with 110 heat index the thought of putting on a bee suit is too much for me to endure.

The next day I got a nuc, (a small five frame hive) with four empty frames and a frame of honey. I started scooping from the fence. I would put mu hands onto the frames and the bees would just crawl off my gloves into the hive. I had scooped about half the swarm into the nuc, looking for the queen with every handful. I never saw her... but all of a sudden I heard a loud buzzing and all the bees took flight. The ones on the fence left and the bees in the nuc started pouring out as well. I was sad to see them go but I wished the love and light. I took a few photos of them in the top of the pecan tree.

I had an appointment and when I returned home they had left the tree. I took the nuc and put it on the the feeding table I have in my bee yard. I saw some bees but I thought it must bee the other hives robbing the frame of honey. I did not put the top on the hive because I wanted them to have easy access to the honey. Several days passed before I looked at the hive. I thought the robbers should have had time to clean the frame. When I looked into the hive to my amazement they bees were building cone on the empty frames. My girls had not flown the coop but had gone into the nuc. I was so excited... but also I am not sure what I need to do to move the bees to a new location. They can not stay on my feeding table.

I am going to my bee meeting tonight and I will ask several of the more experienced bee keepers what they would do.

The bees are amazing little creatures. I am so happy they did not leave Sasserfrass Hill but decided to stay. We bee happy.!!!

Ms Deb

Weather has been cooler and wetter

Last week we had two days of only 90 degrees, which was almost cool, com paired to the 110 degree heat index we had the week before. I worked in my yards. I planted some plants friends had given me. I cut my grass and my elderly neighbors grass. It was actually pleasant working outside.

I found a very small swarm of bees on my umbrella very late last Sunday evening. Experts say if it is a small swarm and you remove the queen, the worker bees will go back to the hive they came out of. I did find the queen and put her in a bug box along with several attendants. I have a friend that needs a queen. I think she will be a welcome addition to her hive. I hope she will be happy and live a very productive life across town.

My queen and her attendants have been in the bug box for a week now. I hope she will survive until my friend returns on Tuesday. Until then she is getting honey and water. I have never kept a queen for so long in a bug box. I am not sure how long you can keep a queen in a cage... We will see...

Good luck my tiny queen.

Ms Deb

We have had lots of rain

Today is July 8th and we have had more rain in the last few weeks than we have had all year. We were in a nine inch deficit until a few weeks ago. Afternoon showers has turned the grass green and the flowers are blooming again. We are very grateful.

Jennifer Berry from the University of Georgia Bee Lab, came down and spoke to our Clark Hill Bee Club. She said the forecast was for cooler and wetter July and August. At the time it had not rained in weeks and it was 101 degrees... I thought... from your lips to God's ears...I think he heard, because it has been raining since her predictions.

The bees have been festooning on the hives in the evenings. Which is equivalent to us sitting out on the porch trying to stay cool.

We are getting the old four frame, hand cranked extractor out and we will be extracting honey from some of our hives next week. The Augusta Chronicle Newspaper reported Luke Thompson called and want to bring a photographer out and do a story on extracting honey. It will be exciting and I am looking forward to seeing how much honey the girls on Sasserfrass Hill have produced so far this year. The girls work hard for the honey ... and I am sure it will be impressive to see the beautiful liquid gold pouring from the extractor.

We made a big batch of Lip Balm last week. We gave out over twenty samples. Everyone said they really liked them and think they are the best recipe so far. We also have to make a big batch of lotion bars and fill several orders. Hopefully we will be making lotion bars next week.

Things are buzzzy on Sasserfrass Hill so I will sign off and get to work.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

We checked six of our ten hives today

This morning Rick and I checked six of our hives. We put a queen cell into two separate hives on June 5th, and I am happy to report each has a new prolific queen. I was so happy to see my attempts at re queening was successful. All the hives were doing well and making honey.

I have several honey supers ready to be extracted. I guess I should be extracting this week.

I have an old Dadant stainless steel honey extractor. It was a gift from an old family friend whose husband had bees some thirty years ago. It is a four frame, hand crank model. I do fantasize about the twelve frame radial ...Mac Daddy model sometimes. . .but I am very grateful I have an old family heirloom.

It was really hot this morning with all of our protective gear on. We could only check six of the ten hives. With temperatures climbing to 98 degrees today, I was lucky to get six inspected.

We sell our honey at Wild Birds Unlimited on Washington Road, in Augusta, GA. I delivered the larger, pound and half jars of honey on Friday and they ask me to bring in some of my lotion bars and lip balm. Our products are made with all natural botanical oils, Shea, mango or cocoa butters and 100% pure beeswax. We use no chemicals, preservatives or petroleum in any of our products.

I will be happy and very fortunate if Wild Birds decides to carry Sasserfrass Hill lotion bars also.

The hot temperates are hard on us and our tiny pollinators. Make sure you drink plenty of water and keep a clean supply of water for the birds and the bees. They need our help and will appreciate our efforts.

Stay Cool,

Ms Deb

It's Hot, Hot, Hot on Sasserfrass Hill...

The weather forecast is 98 - 102 degrees every day this coming week. My hives are in the brutal afternoon sun. I put up the bees umbrella's this week... It has been so hot in the afternoon and evenings many of the bees sit out on their front porch.... much too hot to go inside. I am going to try to give them more shade with plantings and I want to use the bamboo from my backyard to build an arbor or pergola, some type of shade.

I have been doing a little research.
I hope to come up with an attrictive, inexpensive and clever way to give the bees a little afternoon shade.

We had a powerful storm Wednesday evening. Several huge old oaks fell and hit a transformer, the entire neighborhood lost electricity. Our power went out about 9pm Wednesday evening and did not come back on until 6am on Friday. I must admit, it was miserable Thursday night. Rick bought a generator and we had a few fans stirring the hot air around, it did help a little. It made me very grateful for air conditioning, ice cold water and all the modern conviences we take of granted.... I hate to admit it but I think I was a tiny bit whinny.... sorry but it was really hot....it was 85 degrees inside my house.

Rick and I are going to go through the hives, frame by frame, in the morning (weather permitting) to pull queen cells, check on the queen cells we put in on June 5th., and check to see if it is time to extract some honey.

We had rain three day in a row, the plants are singing and the grass looks green and happy. We are grateful.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Checked and Pulled Queen Cells

Hello Everyone,

Rick and I went through all ten hives Saturday and pulled lots of queen cells. I would have had swarms next week if we had not done our chores. It is a lot of work, you must look carefully at every frame making sure you don't miss a single cell or you will be looking at your bees in the top of a tree. That amonts to a loss of lots of bees, honey and $$$$ !!!

We got a call today from a man saying he had honeybees in a tree in his yard. He said the bees have been in the tree for at least three years. I went over to check and saw a very gentle healthy colony of bees. I am going to do a trap out and try to bring these girls to Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm. What is a trap out you ask??? You place an adapted funnel over the opening of the tree, using wire and duct tape. You must make sure the bees can get out, but can not get back into the tree. The funnel has wire at the end of the spout, to prevent the bees from returning home with their pay loads, of nectar, pollen or water. I will place an empty hive full of frames just outside the tree. So all the forging bees can not return to the tree, so hopefully they will find the new hive an acceptable new home.

I must find a queen to put into the hive. Hopefully the bees will accepted her and she will become the new queen of the colony. It will take several weeks for this transfer to happen... I will be patient and wait and see.

It is nasty hot with no rain in sight. Plants are drying up faster than normal... I am worried what August will bring to hot dry Georgia . . . Keep your bird bath full of cool clean water for the birds and the bees. They will appreciate it.

In this photograph the bees are outside trying to stay cool. The temperature inside the hive is currently too hot for the girls to be comfortable.

Stay Cool,

Deborah