The Mia sized version of the Boudreaux sized blog. This is mostly a BACK UP BLOG and a smaller version for smaller screens if the main blog is too hard to navigate. For complete posts, giveaways, corrected grammar and punctuation, the "rest of the story" and any additional posts that might not make it over here for some reason, please check the BOUDREAUX SIZED BLOG :-).

IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, PLEASE USE the main blog.


Saturday, June 19, 2010

Sunday Stills - Go Low, Looking High

This first picture ties in with all the rest, but you'll probably have to look twice to see the connection. I probably wouldn't have even included it...except for that one small thing.





Looking up at Stella's re-swarmed bees. I had to use my flash to compensate for the bright background.



Stella's been watching those bees like a hawk, hoping for the best (that they'd stay put), but planning for the worst (that they'd re-swarm). Here she's readying the nuc box we hoped to get them in. They are in the cherry tree behind me. Our super farm sitter and good friend Barbara had come out to help me give Hank the Skank a bath. Little did she know what all she'd get into this afternoon. The pictures are great! Thanks :-).



The plan was to knock the branch swiftly on top of our trusty cardboard box and then pour the cluster of bees into the waiting nuc box. When the bees fell into the box, I almost dropped it they were so heavy.



So far, so good.



In they go.



Here I'm looking closely at the ground to make sure the queen didn't fall outside the box. As long as she landed in the box, everyone else will follow her.



Looks like she was in there. What a nice, orderly bunch of bees. We ended up chickening out (that five frame box was overflowing with bees and we wanted to be able to feed them) so went ahead and set them up in a full 10 frame box. Stella's got the sugar bar open for business and hopefully they'll stick around.



This might end up being one of my all time favorite pictures. Stella watching to make sure every last one of her bees was accounted for.



And something about it just begged to be converted to black and white.

So did you figure out what made the top picture fit with the rest?

For more Sunday Stills...

26 comments:

Gayle said...

I would say it was the bee flying to (or from) the sunflower. Nice sunflower, too.

chloephotography said...

i really like the B&W converted photograph

Peruby said...

Yes, I figured it out. The bee!

The b&w makes the photo timeless. There isn't anything in the photo that gives away the fact that that photo was made in this century.

Very nice.

Regular Guy said...

I thought I had something on my screen until I bigified the picture. Like that picture. Nice job.

Christine said...

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's a bee!

You girls are stark raving mad. I LOVE the photo of Stella.

Beth said...

Neat photos and story!

Ed said...

Great shots, you are the bees knees..:-)

Sydney said...

Theres one teeny tiny bee there.

If you are interested in a horse hair piece as stated on my blog please e-mail me sydney@bitlesshorseblog.com with the length and thickness of hair and I can tell you what I can do with it if you do not have something specific in mind. If you type in horse hair in the search on my blog or FAQ you will see more examples.

dibear said...

Love the sunflower. I'll stay clear of the bees. :)

Shirley said...

The bee, the bee! We had bee swarms here last year; I hope there aren't any this year.

Michelle said...

Love the story! And I'm really glad you included the first photo, it was actually my favorite of the bunch.

Brenda said...

I really liked the first shot too. Yes, after I saw the bees, I had to go look for the bee in the first photo. I love the pic of Stella sitting and watching.

theegggather said...

The bee. Great pics and I love the b & w.

Alice said...

Feeding the hungry bees.....a great bee-attitude:_)
Snapshot of Stella the Bee Steward is precious no matter the medium.

Oregon Equestrian said...

The final B&W photo is really special.

Ann said...

Stella was very brave, not wearing any of the protective clothes and sitting there like a target.

The sunflower is nice. I like that.

lisa said...

Way cool. Our bees are doing great, my husband just loves it. I am even getting to love them. I don't even use a suit or anything. But I always just take the pictures. I couldn't believe how docile they really are.

Judy Johnson said...

I loved all of them and your writing!

gtyyup said...

Yep, the lil' bee...totally cool photos!! You're definitely a MUCH braver person than me!! Love the photo of Stella too...nice!

CTG Ponies said...

The bee, for sure. Love the shots. The one of Stella is great!

Linda said...

I just like the sunflower...bees...Yikes!

flowerweaver said...

Love the photo of Stella best. She is such a cool neighbor and friend. Glad you captured the swarm. This must be a record year for increasing your bees.

DayPhoto said...

I see the little bee flying into the sunflower!!! Great shots again.

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/

myeyesview said...

I love the composition in the first image

I'm gonna tell Mom! said...

My bees swarmed this morning but they are out of reach! I had imagined if/when they swarmed that I would be able to retrieve them like you, but it was not to be this time. Great pictures. Bonnie Jo

thecrazysheeplady said...

Keep an eye on them. They may relocate somewhere better. Stella lectured hers and they did ;-).