Bumblebees featured in Southern Gardening video

In my work with the Mississippi State University Extension Service Office of Agricultural Communications, I'm privileged to meet many experts in a wide variety of fields. The horticulture specialists and Master Gardeners are among the most enthusiastic.

Recently my colleagues on the other side of the lobby compiled video footage collected over several Southern Gardening shoots to create an episode on bumblebees. It's fun to watch them working and grooming themselves (the bumblebees, not my colleagues!).

Here is the link: http://msucares.com/news/SGTV/video/2012/020812.html.

Update on the Hive Painting Project at Heritage Academy

Mark talked to Cary today, to see when he could pick up the hive bodies. We knew they'd been on display last Monday night during an open house event, and we'd planned to attend . . . but we were sitting in a broken down pickup waiting on a tow truck in Alabama.

But I digress.

Apparently, the hives are so popular that the teachers at Heritage  want to keep them around a while longer as decorations in the hallways. There's another open house coming up, and we hope to make it to that one.

Mark's been contacted by two local newspapers about feature stories, so he's excited. We hope to be able to post pictures soon! I can't wait to see what the students have created.

Arizona Bees in the Winter

Robert and Danielle went on a hike and sent us fabulous photos of bees foraging in the desert. I think the first one is magazine cover worthy. Robert gets amazing shots without a fancy camera -- at one point in his life he wanted to be a wildlife photographer. He has the eye for it!

 

How Robert got so lucky to find Danielle, who is not freaked out by bugs, geckos, or snakes, is beyond me. We love her!

You can read more about our honey adventures in Arizona here, here, and see other bee photos Robert took here.

GRIT magazine's honey recipes

One of the tasks I keep avoiding is baking with honey. I know that sounds strange, but I'm not one to randomly substitute ingredients with baked goods as I'm keenly aware of the magical chemistry involved. Baking is very unlike cooking, a process which sees me throwing stuff in a pot without measuring as a matter of course.

So, hurray for GRIT magazine's page on Baking with Honey. If I try any of the recipes, I'll post about it.

Photo Collection of Diverse Bees

An amazing collection of photos of different kinds of bees can be found on Flickr, courtesy of Nico.

I dream of capturing images like these.

Thanks to Global Swarming Honeybees for the link!

A Warm Winter & A Project

I'm no meteorologist, but it's been a warm winter. In mid-January, the porch bees were busy flying in and out of both entrances.

It was good weather for a beekeeper's list of winter projects.

Mark worked outside in short-sleeves to assemble bee boxes.

And, being the OCD kind of guy he is, he had it down to a science. Our bees deserve perfectly square boxes!

I love it when he concentrates so hard he sticks his tongue out. Adorable.

Cary Haycox, the art teacher at Heritage Academy came by to check out our hives and talk about a project. About a week after this photo was taken, Mark delivered 65 deep supers to the art room. The art students in the upper grades at Heritage Academy are going to paint our hive bodies. We're supplying the paint, Mr. Haycox is supervising the process, and we hope to have 65 unique and creative homes for our bees when we make our splits. Mark got the idea from one of the beekeeping magazines.

After the guys rode down to Bee Hill without me, I made Mark take me so I could get some photos. Bees were *everywhere*!

The entrance reducers prevented the bees from flying in and out easily, so it almost seemed like summer time when they beard on the outside of the hives.

Opportunities to fly during the winter are good in that the bees need cleansing flights -- they won't soil their own nests, so to speak. But, the downside is that all of the extra flying = more energy burned = more food consumed. We left them a lot of honey, but Mark needs to go around and check and make sure they all still have enough.

Beekeepers in south Mississippi are talking about splitting hives earlier than normal due to the warm weather. We have a bunch of henbit blooming across the road, and pear trees are starting to bud. And it's not even February yet! Hold on bees! Wait until it's time!

Surprises and Turning 40

Remember this necklace?

Remember this birthday post?

My dear friend Jana, the giver of good gifts, sent me *the bee necklace* in gorgeous sterling silver. I never imagined I'd see it in person, much less have one of my very own. Keri Lewis, wearing a fancy NYC designer's numbered jewelry. Look out, world, here I come! I was so surprised!

Not only that, she sent a sweet blue and white bee-embellished creamer, and a tea infuser with a bee charm. She has a gift for finding the perfect gift.

She made turning 40 less traumatic.

As did my sister Kellie, who put together an amazing scrapbook filled with notes from friends and photos that made me want to cut my hair.

As did Mark & Sarah, who bought me an assortment of tasty treats and helpful tools from The Choppin' Blok (yeah, they really spell it that way), a fancy cooking shop in Ridgeland, MS.

As did my friend Angela, who set up a surprise dinner party with several couples from church.

Angela, C. & his imaginary friends, Batman and Robin

As did my mother-in-law, who sent me flowers at work.

As did my friend Amelia, who made chocolate cake and icing *from scratch* and her daughter decorated it with the perfect amount of sprinkles.

And for a final birthday surprise, my parents are sending me and Mark to Florida for my college reunion, and we'll be driving right past the Dadant beekeeping supply store . . .it will be no surprise if we stop.