Spring and bees!

Spring is here! It is a time when gardeners dream about wheel barrows, dirt, rakes, seedlings and shovels and all things gardening! Oh, maybe that’s just me…

The little bees have gotten back to searching out nectar, nurturing babies and cleaning the hive. They will fly up to 2 miles away to search out nectar and water. Orange Blossom honey is one of my favorites and during the year I can usually get the orange blossom, wildflower and brazillian pepper honey from my hives. A lot depends on the weather. I love the different tastes from each flower and season. Even the colors of the honey are different! It still amazes me.

Another type of honey we can get from the hive is Saw Palmetto, but as many palmettos as we have around here they don’t seem to bloom that often. Hopefully this year will be much better than last. Last year was a rough one for me. I lost a queen and at least half my hive due to old age (queen) and my neighbor spraying insecticide. When you lose an older queen, the new one has to learn her ways and that can take a little while.

I made a point to go over and visit with the neighbors this year and talk to them about my hives in hopes they would spray their pesticides either before or after the blooms are blooming. They were very receptive and understood. They used to have someone that had some hives on their property and understand all about bees and how helpful they are. They also said they were using a very low grade pesticide this year and were grateful for my bees coming over and helping out! Their groves are filled with wonderful citrus trees. They have this amazing Lime tree over there that my neighbor told me her granddaughter gave to her. I offered to trade honey for some Limes any day of the week. I can start on my own little grove right here on the homestead. J I have actually already added 2 “Orlando” Tangelo trees this year, thanks to my niece who gave them to me for Christmas!  I can’t wait to taste them in a few years! One of the plants had one single little bloom on it and I am sure my girls did the work required, but I am not sure if I will actually get fruit this year or not. We have a few Key lime trees also, but only one produces so far.

I hope you enjoy what you read here and continue to come back. Feel free to comment any time and let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for reading!