I went out to feed two of the nuke hives which are weak and don't have enough foragers. They probably have queens at this point, but they won't be laying for another five or six days.
But what really struck me as I examined the hives was that there was a bee on the side of one of the boxes that appeared to be a queen. I'm guessing she was either returning or getting ready to head out for her maiden flight. Later in the week we'll check all the hives to see whether they are queen right. And then we'll see where this wonderful 2017 bee season goes.
The early nectar flow has been great. We've had bees on our apple blossoms and on the red bud. I've also seen them on the dandelions and on some trees with white blossoms that I don't recognize.
The bee yard is still somewhat stirred up after the bear attack, but it's not a very nice day -- overcast and raining earlier. They don't like that either. So next visit I'll stoke up the smoker and use it. Several bees buzzed me all the way back to the house. They generally don't do that when it's bright and sunny.
But the bear situation seems to be resolved with the electric fence.
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