The last couple mornings, I've woken up early enough to have a little time to spare so I've been drinking my coffee in the observation chair. Yesterday, the hive was so quiet first thing in the morning I got a little shivery, realizing what a potentially bad thing silent hive would be.
I pressed my ear to the side--literally--and reassuringly, heard them humming along. Then I spent several minutes intently watching a bee drink water, from very close up, which why I jumped a foot when the hummingbird chose that moment to kimakaze my head. Vroom!

Yesterday we opened the hive for our neighbor, who is really interested in getting some bees for herself. Originally we had thought we might put our hive in her pasture, where our shared garden is, and where the bees would be in full sun. But when Neil surprised us with an early bee delivery and we were rushing around to set up the hive, we decided we really wanted them close to the house where we could get to know them. I think K. was a little disappointed; she loves bees, says she always has. I still think her place would be an excellent spot for a hive, so maybe if Beedicca grows enough to split we'll set up a new box over there.
It hasn't quite been a week since we last visited, but the new bars already had comb, and the bees seem just incredibly numerous--every bar we pull up is jam packed with bees. We added two more bars. Watching the workers fly in and out today, I observed many of them coming back so laden with pollen they seemed to arrive home exhausted. They would scrabble for a foothold on the side below the door, and sometimes slip and fall to the ground, where they would rest a minute or two until they recovered enough to fly back up into the door. It has me thinking they might appreciate a little more textured surface on the hive near the door, or even a landing strip--Neil's assertions about anthropomorphizing aside.
I'm thinking of making a couple minor design changes to the hive, like some sort of landing strip, and adding some structure to the roof so we can anchor it good and solid in case of a bad storm. What to do with your hive if a hurricane threatens? Something to think about!
There is a bumper crop of dewberry blossoms this year, the star jasmine is starting to bloom, and the neighborhood citrus trees fill the air with that sweetest of scents. Probably a good time to be a bee.