Tuesday, May 29, 2012

scoot biking


VIDEO0015 a video by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Zachary really wanted to scoot to daycare, so he could practice. Then he informed me "I can go riding and keep up with Oliver (who also has a scoot bike)"

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Bee watching

DSC_0075 by m0nk3yphd
DSC_0075, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.
The Texas sage is in bloom, and our new girls are all covered in pollen, and drinking up the nectar. We really couldn't have hoped for better timing. And with all the blossoms and buzzing, Zachary was transfixed.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Burr comb nectar

DSC_0049 by m0nk3yphd
DSC_0049, a photo by m0nk3yphd on Flickr.

Sarah and Z tasting nectar from some burr comb.  The link shows a great example of comb similar to what we saw yesterday. This was drawn off of the queen cage that was hanging in the hive (to give the bees a few days to acclimate to the queen and release her).  When we went to check she had been released, and you can see eggs in the burr comb. We didn't spot the queen, but hopefully this weekend we'll manage to catch a glimpse (she is larger and also has a red dot of paint on her back, so here's hoping).  It is important that she gets established quickly. The worker bees have about a six week lifetime, so there need to be new workers being reared to take over responsibilities. Since the workers shift jobs based on age, it is important to have continuity of generations, otherwise the hive gets out of whack.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Get 'im young....


IMAG0157
Originally uploaded by m0nk3yphd

Well, at least someone here is ready for the bees coming on thursday....

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Wrangling the rope swing


IMAG0159
Originally uploaded by Niais

A few nights ago we had a run around in the backyard after work/school. Aunt Debbie complained about needing more pictures... so we have a few of one young man in his dad's plastic cowboy hat. Yeah, we're a classy establishment.