The one that got away

Well, that didn't work. Plan C that is. Plan A was to reach the swarm and get them in a hive. Unfortunately, Plan A was not to work because the swarm was thirty-something feet high. So, Plan B: Fling a rock up to the branch and suspend a drawn-out frame with honey next to them from a rope or line. Unfortunately, the bees didn't think that was such a good idea. They ate the honey and stayed in their swarm formation. So... Plan C: attach a 5 gallon bucket to a telescoping limb lopper, stand on / in the bucket of the tractor fully extended (14 feet) and cut the branch allowing the swarm to fall neatly into the bucket. Good idea. Unfortunately, easier said than done. The swarm was thirty something feet high. The tractor was 14 feet extended. My adventurous husband was a little over 6 feet high with extended arms. And the telescoping limb lopper... about 12 feet with a five gallon bucket taped to it. Total length: 32 feet. Guess what? The swarm was juuuussssttt out of reach. So jumping (a little) in the tractor bucket to bonk the limb and "catch" a bunch of flying bees became Plan D. Believe it or not he got some. We put them in a hive hoping we got the queen. Well.... next morning.... no bees in the hive.... and a new swarm formed in the trees. Guess they didn't like being bonked out of a tree and dumped into a hive box.

Well the new branch was lower. Yeah! We could get it. So I started making a level area for the new hive and in a different location. It probably took me about 20 minutes. Getting the ground level but slightly inclined forward... About 1 minute before I was done I heard the familiar sound. Yes, you guessed it. The humming and buzzing of thousands of bees flying. My swarm was swarming! Ah!!! Try, as I could, I attempted to chase them. They flew high into the sky and went north. Within 5 minutes they were out of my view. I hope they found a safe, dry place to live. It was the first swarm that got away.

But good news prevails. At the same time as we were retrieving the swarm with the bucket (or at least attempting to retrieve it) another swarm settled next to this swarm. Just out of reach again but somehow the bonking technique got the queen. We got a bunch of bees, put them in the box, closed the lid, and walked away. They are happy and buzzing today.

Four swarms; three caught. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will put more honey supers on 2 or 3 of the hives. Next weekend (or perhaps the following) we will harvest the spring honey. I can hardly wait. My mouth is watering just thinking of that golden sweetness.

Today's Journey Joy: chasing swarms