I have been preoccupied lately with a population explosion of bees. Along with my bee-buddy Norm, I have expanded my bee hobby/business to 8 hives in 4 locations. The experience has literally been a stinging success – 6 and counting. The lower photo shows a queen bee marked with a blue dot indicating she was born in 2010. At peak performance, each queen can lay up to 2000 bees a day making for fast growth in a hive. The honey is starting to accumulate as the bees work the orchard blossoms. We will have lots of honey for sale in the fall. (shameless sales-pitch). Have a great long weekend.