Since it is NOT triple digit temps in Texas now, Sherry and I did not have to get up before dawn to do our hive inspections and mite and small hive beetle treatments on Sunday morning!
A good smoker is super important to a beekeeper and my son Jesse gifted me with the very BEST smoking pellets that easily make the denim scraps, wadded newspaper and such smoke for a good 45 minutes!
It was a little after 9:00 and we are armed and ready!
Sherry always keeps her truck running with the AC on in case we need to escape to protection.
Alas, this hive was dead and that's always a somber thing to see.
Wax moth for sure and maybe small hive beetles?
Such a mess!
Lots of clean up to do with this 'dead' hive.
I guess it's part of the journey in beekeeping.
These two hives were healthy and we took the honey supers off and set them aside for the bees to feed on while we put the Apivar strips in to treat the Varroa mites.
You cannot have honey supers on during this kind of mite treatment so the honey frames will be food for the bees to recover. The treatment will make the honey supers not useable for future honey harvest so we have to take them off.
We didn't get to inspect and treat our third hive but we will go back and do that one next week!
It was a glorious day in the country!
Love the sky and clouds!
I watched Fellowship Church online and we had our coffee and reading/
A perfect Sunday morning.
In the afternoon Louis Dean saved sunflower seeds into a bottle so we can plant them where we want them next year! As along the fence line!
I have tried that for the last three years but maybe it will finally work.
Our friend, Rosey, arrived at 4:30 on Sunday afternoon just after Sherry came down.
Dean was away in Florida teaching a Karate seminar so it was just us girls and Louis Dean for Cocktails, Cookout, and Campfire!
Rosey brought the margaritas and restaurant chips plus her famous guacamole!
Pepper poppers are a staple at any get together!
Sherry grilled our burgers and we had such a good time visiting and enjoying being together!
Louis Dean had prepared a great campfire for us ....
We had a wonderful time!
Good food!
Good friends!
Good weather!
This makes good memories!
Rosey is our beekeeper friend from the Waco bee meetings.
Who knew how special a friend she would be to us and especially to me.
God has a way of bringing people into our lives that become such blessings.
I love Rosey like a sister - although it is more like a daughter since she is Summer's age,
Never miss an opportunity to make a new friend.
It could turn into a lasting relationship such as I have with Rosey.
She will always be a part of my life and I am grateful for her friendship,
At Sunday evening's end - we drove over to see the new old house Dean and Sherry are having moved down to their place.
This house was built in 1925 and is such a jewel!
It is amazing and I can hardly wait until it is here on their property!
I've enjoyed these calm country days and am grateful to Dean and Sherry for their hospitality in sharing this with us.
