We started out in the spring with only one surviving hive (out of two). We made a nucleus hive out of the remaining strong hive which later swarmed. But the hive still had so many bees we ended up splitting. Right now we have three hives. Two are "queen right." We'll be checking the split next week to see if they have reared a queen who should be laying. If there isn't a queen in that hive, we can re-seed the hive with eggs from one of the queen-right hives. Hopefully all will go well and we'll have three good hives by the time we start preparing the girls for winter.
Yesterday, reading my Magnificat at daily Mass, I discovered another bee patron to join St. Anselm. St. Gobnait, St. Valentine, and St. Rita -- St. Bernard of Clairvaux. As Magnificat says:
For Bernard, "true knowledge of God conssisted in a personal, profound experience of Jesus Christ and of his love" (Pope Benedict XVI). Among the Doctors of the Church he is the Doctor Mellifluus, for in his mouth the constant praise of Jesus Christ "flowed like honey." He taught that Jesus alone is "honey in the mouth, song to the ear, jubilation in the heart."
"Bernard is the patron of bees and their keepers." He also authored the Memorare, one of my favorite prayers. So I'm asking St. Bernard to intercede for our little apiary along with all the other bee-loving saints!
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