Today I was going to open the hive in the mid afternoon but a thunderstorm started rolling in so I donned the white suit of cracked open the hive. There was a lot of comb being built on the hive mat again so I had a close look and lo-and-behold, there was queenie strolling around on the hive mat. What a fluke! She crawled onto my hive tool and I put her on top of a frame and she dove down into safety. After that sighting it was impossible to find her again.
I did see a lot of activity. There was only one frame at the far end of the box that didn't have a lot happened. I removed it as we were taught at the course that beginners should leave one frame out to ensure that you don't squish your bees when placing the frames back into the hive.
The honey stores have increased significantly, the frames are really heavy when filled with honey. There are also lots of cells containing brightly coloured pollen, cheerful shades of yellow, orange and brown. And perhaps the most exciting discovery of all was the frame containing pearly white larvae. I found it hard to contain my excitement. Sam was standing at the fence and asked to see them so I took a frame over to him and an angry been went for him getting stuck in his hair and delivered a sting to his scalp, ouch. I quickly checked the last frame, smoked them and put the lid back on and raced down to the house to check on Sam. He'd managed to remove the sting and had a thumping headache. It is a very painful place to be stung. I gave him an antihistamine, a couple of pain killers and a cold flannel for his head. We didn't get anything else done but the thunder storm arrived and with it some odd rain / hail. In the house I could hear the odd tap on the tin roof like a pebble being dropped on it. I took Hoby up to have a game of ball in the paddock. Tallulah came over for a back scratch so I sat on the ground and as I did an ice cube fell out of the sky in front of me with a thump. Just one. It was the size of the ice cubes that come out of our freezer. I went over and picked it up and marvelled at its beauty. Then enormous rain drops fell, few and far between, I could side-step them if I was quick enough, they were huge and heavy and the sky was the colour of concrete. Hoby and I retreated to the house with the ice cube sized hail stone to show Sam. The strange spattering of rain and hail carried on for about 5 minutes before the cloud suddenly burst and rain, normal rain, fell from the heavens. It was so nice and soothing and given the sweltering hot morning we'd had the drop in temperature was a relief. The animals seemed to like the rain, even the goats stayed out in it for a while. There was one flash of lightning to accompany the almost continuous rumble of thunder we'd had all afternoon. And then it was over and the birds started to sing again and I made a batch of corn fritters with beetroot chutney for afternoon tea.
The animals are doing good. Ella and Tarka had their hooves trimmed a couple of days ago. The farrier commented on how good they're looking, they are probably are the slimmest they've ever been at this time of the year. It has taken a lot of restraint on my part as I have a beautiful grass laden paddock up at El Ranchero that I'm dying to let them loose in, all of the animals actually but I seem to have a family of fatties that gain weight at the sheer sight of grass. Sheamus is back to his old self, full of smiles and laughs, Sam captured this fabulous photo of Shamey in full giggle. He really is happiness personified or should that be 'pigified' or 'porcinified'?.
Tallulah is growing at a rapid rate in both size and personality, oh, and attitude. She bosses Sheamus around now and Shamey had developed quite a soft spot for her. He loves her snuggling with him at night, if we lock her away in her sty he sleeps outside the gate until we give in and let her out. We only lock her away for her own safety when we're going out because she can get out of Shamey's enclosure as she pleases due to the slats on the gate being spaced at Tallulah sized intervals, I would hate her to wander up the driveway and out onto the shared driveway.
The chooks are doing well, one little baby has been taken, possibly by the hawk, or a ferret or the disgusting cat from next door. I hope it didn't suffer. Mother hen is guarding her remaining three with extra vigilance.
Lucifer and Mabel the goats are making a transformation from timid little creatures into willing members of the herd. They love Tarka to pieces and are never far from his side. They've ventured very close to the action lately, it is lovely that they feel safe and comfortable around us now and actually come to us when called. Only Mabel calls back when I yell out to her, Lucifer is the quiet one. They've both started playing in the evenings, kicking their heels up and playing the 'wild goats' game. I love watching them play, it brings a smile to my face even when everything seems to be getting on top of me. As much work as all these animals are, the rewards are tenfold. To see them happy and content reminds me that my best is enough and the perfection that I'm always aiming for (and seeming never achieving) can be put to one side for now.
Off to see the Christmas lights tonight in town. Franklin Road in Ponsonby and also a house in Karaka which we've heard a lot about.
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