a few flowers

Took some photos from the cellphone of flowers in the yard this evening. God sure made some amazing plants...

Izzies

About to be fed... Thus the happy countenances.

drew's bees...

Hi folks :)

Just wanted to throw some photos your way of the bees. One of my boys (11 yrs old) built a TBH (with some help from Daddy). He hived the bees on his own although I had to help a bit with the queen and got stung for the privilege. ;)


He had a crowd of his friends/fam watching him...


I checked my hive next to Drew's. Saw eggs, brood and capped brood. All looking groovy. I pulled out a frame without gloves/veil for first time. So, posting that pic for posterity's sake. :)


The family has become quite familiar/attached/intrigued with the bees. Here's a common scene...

still burnin...

I pray my "light" will still be burning 100 years from now.

Braces off!

Bees are flyin...

The first warm day since Monday when we first hived the bees. They're going through a mason jar of syrup daily and looks like comb building has finally begun. They're cleaning out the hive (no more dead bees or sawdust), fanning, bringing in pollen, etc. Saw a couple drones flying--they kinda remind me of big ol' bombers.

-John

Our first bees!

Quite the experience today with the family receiving our bees and installing them in our TBH. I thought I would share some photos :)

Bees in the package. Not something you get in the post every day!


Putting on the silly hat. The girls giggled pretty good.



My two boys helping me carry the hive out to it's location.



The three girls ran back into the house and watched from safe height and distance, hehe. :) Momma is lurking in there somewhere as well.



Getting ready to drop the girls in their home. I was as nervous as my first date!



After the boys backed off a bit, I carefully dropped them in and set up the queen and food. They all spread out calmly and fanned away.



At the entrance fanning.



The boys were braver than I and helped throughout the process with no suit or gloves (they did wrap their heads a bit!).



Dusk approaches. All is quiet. Bees are humming. Chickens are roosting behind...


Psalm 19:7-10

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

sweet!

bee boxes

The Mason bees are hatching left and right from the boxes next to my window. Spring is finally here (I think)!

The boys and I have been getting the bee hive ready for the arrival of about 5,000 new members of the Schwartz family (lots of girls). Drew is helping (above) paint the beeboxes.

We're going with an unconventional dark-green to help it blend in with the landscape and not raise any eyebrows with the neighbors. Of course, if they swarm in June or July, well... they'll know we have bees then I guess. :)

-John

prepare yourself

Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?

3 Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

4 “ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?

6 To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

7 When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;

9 When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;

10 When I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;

11 When I said,

‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves must stop!’

12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,

13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?

14 It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.

15 From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the upraised arm is broken.

16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?

17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?

18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

19 “ Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,

20 That you may take it to its territory,
That you may know the paths to its home?

21 Do you know it, because you were born then,
Or because the number of your days is great?

22 “Have you entered the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,

23 Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?

24 By what way is light diffused,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

25 “Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,

26 To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,
A wilderness in which there is no man;

27 To satisfy the desolate waste,
And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?

28 Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29 From whose womb comes the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?

30 The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is frozen.

31 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
Or loose the belt of Orion?

32 Can you bring out Mazzaroth^[a] in its season?
Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?

33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?

34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?

35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?

36 Who has put wisdom in the mind?^[b]
Or who has given understanding to the heart?

37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

38 When the dust hardens in clumps,
And the clods cling together?

39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

40 When they crouch in their dens,
Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?

41 Who provides food for the raven,
When its young ones cry to God,
And wander about for lack of food?