The Pollen Count Is High. Yay!

-Posted by Isaac

I just love this time of year.
And so do the kids-

(Look at the willows in the background nearing full glory!)

And the the other kids-

And I assume, judging by the hum in the willows, so do the bees.
Yesterday afternoon the tops of the willows were abuzz with the music of spring. It was the first day for these trees.

Loads of yellow pollen are being hauled into the hives.
Good food means more bees to come! These girls need to be ready to pollinate apples in three weeks.

The willows were preceded by the purple deadnettle.

The pollen from this awesome ground cover is blood red and seems to be just as well liked as willow pollen. 

The deadnettle is in ample supply this spring.
In the ditches:

And the fields. That is, until our farmer friends burn it down.
If we can just get a rain about every three days it will keep the sprayers and the Roundup at bay for awhile.

Speaking of rain and farmer friends, look at what what I did to Mr. Bigham's pasture this week:

Sorry Bighams. I'll fix it!

I was only delivering supers to the bee yards. Oops. Guess I misjudged the ground moisture.

Maybe we could use a little less rain.

Our home apiary has become a bustling holding yard with sixty five hives. These will all be moved into the apple orchards soon.

The cool thing about having this many bees around is that the minute some new spring pollen source becomes available, we know the good news.

Maizy braved the bees yesterday to come out and tell daddy about yet another miraculous spring surprise...

The daffodils!

Happy spring, everyone!