The Bees have survived!!

 I purchased my package of bees from Nature's Nectar in Stillwater owned by Jim Kloek. I thought I better check Jim's blog to find out what I should be doing with my bees in March and I found out it was time to put a pollen patty on. I still wasn't sure if my bees had made it through the winter but decided I better check on them while it was light out and relatively "warm."

Bees buzzing on the inner cover!

I was so darn excited to see that they made it through the winter! They must be low on honey though because they are up on the inner cover. Tomorrow I will need to add some sugar syrup for them. We feed them sugar syrup until they are able to gather nectar from flowers.  How amazing is it that the bees are able to clump together in the winter and keep the temperature in their hive box between 93 and 95 degrees. It is important to keep enough honey on the colony so that they have enough food and energy to make it through the winter. Amazing huh?

Speaking of amazing. Back in the 1980's I sold real estate for Edina Realty. Their was a particular realtor in the office that I admired so much. She was (is) a top seller, a mentor to new realtors, and a great supporter of our Stillwater community. You may have heard of her... Linda Besk! I recently ran into Linda and we reconnected through Facebook. She has a fabulous garden that will be on the Family Means Garden Tour July 13th and July 14th. Stop by and see Linda's amazing garden and support Family Means.

Linda wrote to me today and told me she liked my Honey Girl Garden blog. She told me that her mom passed away several years ago. She shared with me that  she still gets teary eyed every time she separates her mom's Siberian Iris. Linda sent me a picture of her sweet mom at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens-Madison Wisconsin.

Linda's mom at her winter retreat-Olbrich Botanical Garden

I am learning that our parents and grandparents live on through us. It may be in a special recipe that you make on the holidays. It might be in a special place they liked to visit. It might be in a tradition that you carry out every year.  Or it might be in your own backyard!