Author Archives: Mark

Although we had four swarms take up residence in our bait hives last year, I’ve never actually seen a swarm of bees.  That had to change sometime… Our friend Eva spotted this swarm not far from our apiary this evening, … Continue reading →

Mount Jefferson is a volcano in the Cascades, the second highest mountain in Oregon.  It last erupted about 40,000 years ago and is thought to be extinct.  What then was going on this morning? In a semi-annual phenomenon of geometry, … Continue reading →

The mean hive (#3) has settled down a bit, despite being queenless now.  I think they were planning to swarm imminently when we inspected on Sunday and were very irked at being interrupted. Our goals at this point are to … Continue reading →

It’s certainly an early spring compared to last year, but it seems like most of our hives are “ahead of the curve” so to speak, and we’re already playing catch-up to head off their swarming instincts.  In the diagrams below, … Continue reading →

Twelve days ago, on the first 60+ day of the year, I inspected three of our hives.  Today, at 63.4 degrees, I convinced Elizabeth to take off work early to examine the remaining two.  The very good news is that … Continue reading →

With a high of 61.1º, today was the warmest of the year so far.  Here in the Willamette Valley, where it can reach the upper 50s in midwinter, it can be hard to determine when we actually start turning toward … Continue reading →

I’ve seen many sunsets from Marys Peak and a few sunrises, but never both on the same day.  With the return of inversion weather (45-50 and clear up high, 35-40 and foggy in the valley), I set out at 5:30 … Continue reading →

Has anyone else noticed that climate change is disappearing from our collective discourse?  It has been pushed aside to make room for ballooning debt, fiscal cliffs, endless discussion of unemployment and economic recovery, marriage equality, and any number of presently-hotter … Continue reading →