Friday Farm Fotos: Broody hens and a Big Bee Welcoming Committee

Lily gets filled in on the latest hen house gossip.

Some of you may remember back a couple of years ago when Dad helped us get started in beekeeping with two hives of our very own...  sadly, one hive didn't make it through the first year, and then last spring we were heartbroken when we found out the second hive- which had been the stronger of the two- was gone as well.

Last Saturday, Hubby was working in his little shop behind the barn and since it was 80 degrees that afternoon, he had his doors wide open to help keep cool. He started noticing honey bees flying inside the door and gathering around our beekeeping supply box and the empty hives in the corner. He finally called for me to come and help him try to get the bees out of his building, and I told him I thought they might be looking for a home.

Hubby was a little skeptical at first, but he went along with my idea to set out one of the hive boxes and see what happened... we watched closely the rest of the evening and even Sunday morning but didn't see much activity. But once we arrived back home from church Sunday morning we looked up the hill and couldn't believe our eyes- the sky was black with a swarm of bees trying to get into the hive. An hour later, they had all but moved in and started cleaning house! They were literally throwing the old comb and dead bees out the front of the hive... and I told Hubby it looked like we were back in the honey bee business!

We have no idea where these bees came from, but we are very glad to have some again. I am feeding them sugar water every day to help them get off to a good start, and I hope they like it here so much they decide to stay around for a long time. (If you want to see a short video from a couple of years ago of me "feeding" sugar water to a honey bee, click here.)

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It's that time of year again.....

Right now I have five (yes, five) broody silkie hens on the nest...
and you know what that means- chicks will be coming soon.

*SQUEEEEAL*

Sometimes when I look at these determined little hens, I can't help but wonder-

what on earth do they think about while they sit on those eggs for hours on end?

Sometimes they are shy and don't want to face the world, so they just turn their fuzzy bottom to it.

Either that or they're just mooning my camera.

And sometimes they let you know what they think of your camera (and you) 

with a swift peck on the hand.

Maybe we should be asking the Daddy what he thinks about all those babies on the way....

I don't know about you, but he looks a little bewildered to me.

Like he's wondering how he's going to pay for all those diapers.....

Happy Friday, everyone!