Eureka!

OMG blogosphere...O-M-G!

Just yesterday I was telling you about my bee adventure, right?  Well, yesterday afternoon I noticed a lot of honey bees hanging out in our bird bath.  I watched them for a bit and tried to see where they were flying with no luck.  During my required reading today I learned the different dances that the worker bees do and that the round means they are close to the hive.  Granted, I'm a total novice but I swear they were doing some sort of round jig away from the water and then across the street.  So, I took Little Bird in the stroller with camera in hand and went on a bee-finding adventure.

Les filles and Monsieur Yellow Jacket

I seriously tried thinking like a bee and where I would like to live, and then I saw it.  The dead tree in the yard across the street.  The recent storm had rent the tree in two and the hollow core was exposed.  I was giddy (yes, I really was) when we walked toward the dead tree and I saw all the bees (they are now known as Les filles) headed straight for a knot just below the large hollow.  Tons of them!  I found the hive!

I am so freakin' excited.  I had planned on trying to bait a hive based on the bees in the bird bath, but now I'm certain I'm doing it.  Mr. Peanutbutter doesn't share my excitation and isn't really chomping at the bit to help me build a top bar hive.  So, over the next week I'm going to try to crank out a rudimentary hive to lure a swarm because I'm thinking that the hive is huge and may be enticed to split off.