A Tale of Two Swarms, part 2

Fast-forward to three days later...

Friday afternoon, I had a migraine (ocular, so not really painful, just can't see) so I went in and took a nap. An hour or so later I was awakened by, "Hon, we have a swarm."
me: "Are you sure?"
hubby: "Yes."
me: "The one we got Tuesday?'
hubby: "Nope."
me: "!@#$%"

It can't be easy, can it? Huge swarm, from our own carniolan hive, has wrapped its self around a t-post in tall grass... oh, and there's barbed wire in there too.

A Tale of Two Swarms, part 1

On the last day of school (the 18th) we were out celebrating with a trip to our favorite game store, Game Matrix, when we received a call from the swarm committee asking us if we wanted to go capture a swarm up near the Narrows. Our first swarm capture! Yes!

We ran home, grabbed our gear and headed out. The swarm was in a large bush/small tree in a front yard, only needed a stepping stool to get to it, but it was in among the twisted branches. The homeowner allowed us to do some pruning, but we really didn't want to hack away to much of the tree as it would have left a large hole.

Forgot to take a before pic, this is after we had gotten most of the swarm out of the tree.

Two mamas

Hannah came in to tell me we have chicks. Chicks on the homestead are always fun, so I went out to have a look.  Two little peepers skittering around followed by, not one, but two broody hens. While trying to figure out who the mama was, it dawned on me, they both were. The two broodies were sharing a nest box and when the chicks hatched both hens claimed them as their own.  So both the mamas walk together calling to them, they eat together, take dust baths together, and care for the chicks together. It's very sweet.

Apparently it takes a chicken village, too.

Quick hive visit

Clover wk 7 & Thistle wk 8

The blackberry bloom has begun.  Carniolan worker on the first bloom.