Since I started keeping bees in 2015, I have tried to track the flowers that appear in our yard. We have a couple acres here in Virginia, and quite a few trees and other landscaping. Not to mention our very “pollinator friendly lawn” full what other people less bee-inclined might refer to as weeds (perish the thought). As I mentioned in my post on growing degree days, the bulbs come up rather early this year. The past week we saw our first flowers appear so I thought it would be a good time to share a little project I’ve been working on.
Continue readingFlower Blooms
To the bee a flower is the fountain of life
It seems to be a recurring spring theme. I get busy and stop posting. So here we are in July and I have a desire to catch up. At some point I will have to translate my beekeeping notes into a post for posterity’s sake. In the meantime I will simply post about my efforts to have a more pollinator friendly yard.
I haven’t seen a monarch butterfly in our area for years. This one arrived while I was looking at our first sunflower bloom of the year. Hopefully we will soon have some caterpillars on our milkweed plants (the only food monarch caterpillars eat). ©Erik Brown
A bee is a dandelion in her own cause
Dandelions in our yard on March 31, 2018. ©Erik Brown
March was colder than February here in Virginia. Our favorite weatherman said tonight that this is only the second year this has happened. The first time was last year, when we had a very warm February and a cold March. This year we had a cool February and a cooler March.
Needless to say, the flowers are off to a slow start this year, with the bees alternating between huddling for warmth and flying for joy. It seems a short post to welcome some spring and flowers into our world is in order. Continue reading
Live like bees in clover
The clover is blooming! While the bees may be a little frustrating of late, the flowers make me smile. The bees are doing okay, actually. Still, this is a good week for a clover post so here we go. Continue reading
A clover and one bee
Red Dead-nettle about to bloom in the bee yard on February 24, 2017. ©Erik Brown
Spring is in the air, though winter made a visit this week. The plants are gearing up for full bloom, with yellow daffodils and red quince bushes starting the show. The maple trees are in bloom as well, so there is nectar and pollen for the taking if the weather would warm up. I have been updating my bloom date log for 2017, and thought is was worth a quick mention as a new post. Continue reading
It’s not spring until you can step on twelve bees
As you can see from the frame covered in capped brood, the bees have been busy. The flowers are slowly appearing in a steady procession of color. Last year I carefully wrote down the bloom dates of many plants around our yard, so this seems a good time to start this up again. I created a new page for this, and have an update on my spring goals as well. Continue reading
Bees with eeb 