Monday, January 16, 2012

Winter Without The Bees

I want you to be caught up because I haven't written in my blog forever. My mom is going to interview me.
Mom: After you were stung, how was the rest of the summer with your bees?
Tessa: Pretty good, but I didn't want to get too close because I didn't want to get stung again.
Mom: Does that mean that you didn't visit the bees?
Tessa: No, I still visited them, but I stayed back a few feet.
Mom: Were these bees as nice as your first batch?
Tessa: No, they were more aggressive than the first batch.
Mom: Did you see them in your garden?
Tessa: Yes I saw quite a few. Different types.
Mom: So not all honeybees?
Tessa: No. There were bees from other hives and bumble bees and mostly honeybees.
Mom: Could some of them have been wild?
Tessa: Yes.
Mom: How did they survive the hurricane?
Tessa: They made walls and walls and walls of bees in the feeder hole and the main door.

Mom: Since your bees died last winter, how did you better prepare these bees for winter?
Tessa: We used a tarp, staple gun and straw bale. We stapled the bottom of the tarp to the base of the bee hive. Then we filled it with straw and stapled it to the roof of the hive.
Mom: How can the bees get out of there?
Tessa: We stapled it in the back instead of the front because the back is north and that's the way the way the snow and wind blow.
Mom: Ah. But you are not at home now to look after them. How did you prepare them for your absence?
Tessa: I went out and talked to them and said that we'd be back. I also said "Hang tight. You will be ok."
Mom: Do you worry about them?
Tessa: No.
Mom: Have you met beekeepers in Dallas?
Tessa: Yes, at the farmer's market. It seems like there are a lot of urban beekeepers around here.
Mom: Anything else you'd like to mention?
Tessa: No, only that we're doing good around here [Texas]. Talk to you later!