They didn't go far

My daughter was housesitting for me when I went on a week's vacation at the beginning of August. She saw that the bees were swarming but she could not tell which hive it was or see where they ended up heading. She looked for them in the trees later but did not spot the swarm. When I returned from vacation it had been a week and I was sure they were long gone. 3 weeks later Gavin and I were in the hammock under the big fir tree in my backyard, and I spotted insects flying around high in the tree. Sure enough there was the lost swarm. Already building comb right there on the branch of the tree. They were much too high up for any of my ladders to reach. We decided to let them be and watch them for a while to see what happens.

Knotweed Honey

The honey this year was very dark. And very scarce. Only one hive had enough honey for harvest. We harvested about 13 pounds of honey from the 2011 new package hive #3. I did some research and the dark colored honey around here harvested in late august comes from Knotweed, not blackberry fruit like I had thought. It is delicious. Stronger flavored than last years very light (blackberry flower?) honey.