Lazer Creek Apiary

Wipe Out

Last week, Dorchester County, SC decided to combat mosquitoes with an aerial application of pesticide. One apiary alone lost 46 hives in just a few hours. To an outsider, that may look like an equable loss, given the severe impacts of the Zika virus, but to a beekeeper it represents the loss of yearsContinue reading “Wipe Out”

Division feeder

Last week, we installed a division feeder in my English hive. When I checked the hive yesterday, the feeder was empty. Some must have evaporated as the ladders don’t quite reach the bottom, but the bees drank a gallon of nectar. It was easy to remove the cap and ladder to check and refill theContinue reading “Division feeder”

Meet Maggie

Maggie – August 4, 2016 Meet Maggie, the four-legged (as opposed to the two-legged and four-winged) queen of Magnolia Hill Farm, from whence her name is derived. We’re still working on the hierarchy of the different queens, but most of the time I still consider myself to be at the top of the list. WeContinue reading “Meet Maggie”

Secure storage

Shipping container delivery One of the biggest inconveniences we’ve encountered over the last few months has been a result of not having anywhere to safely store tools and supplies when we are not at the farm — or even overnight while we’re sleeping! Since moving the RV to the farm, we’ve used it as storageContinue reading “Secure storage”

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" William Shakespeare

Hummingbird As soon as we arrived at the farm on Friday, the hummingbirds started chattering and darting around the almost empty feeder. We originally thought there was one pair nesting close to our RV, but there are far more than that. We so enjoyed watching their antics just a few steps away from our porchContinue reading “"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" William Shakespeare”

Lavender and figs

Fig jam We had planned to take it easy last night, but the fig tree had other ideas! We arrived home shortly after 4:00 p.m. after driving through a thunderstorm only to find our sub-division bone dry and a fig tree weighed down with beautiful, ripe figs. We picked 15 pounds of figs in aboutContinue reading “Lavender and figs”

Just jamming…

Figs – July 2016 Just like last year, I am back to trying to beat the mocking bird to the ripe figs by picking figs early morning and late afternoon. He gets one or two, especially the ones at the top of the tree, but I don’t mind so long as I have enough toContinue reading “Just jamming…”