An Apiary in Hull?
After I retired I attended a bee-keeping school and got my first hive the following spring. My apiary is located at the old family home which is four towns away. I live in a condominium on the ocean overlooking the Boston Islands and the Boston skyline. Needless to say, the view is beautiful and the sunsets are breathtaking.
During “bee season” I visit my hives at least five days a week and can sit and watch them for hours. Family even joke that I have every bee named and can’t understand why I don’t spend more time looking at my view at home.
A few weeks ago I was on one of my decks in Hull replanting some herbs. There is nothing like fresh herbs at your fingertips. In fact I was planting French tarragon for one of my favorite herbal vinegar recipes.
TARRAGON VINEGAR
1 cup fresh tarragon washed and bru
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups plain ole vinegar
Pack into a clean glass jar/bottle {non metal cover}
Make sure the vinegar covers the tarragon – avoids possibility of mold.
Place in a dark place 2-5 weeks. Shake and taste intermittently.
When you like it, strain through a cheesecloth or coffee filter {do not use a metal strainer}.
On your next salad sprinkle a little and a little olive oil. YUM!
Anyway, where was I? Oh, I happen to be digging with a small old child-size hand spade. It has a hollow wooden handle and I keep it hung on a nail on my garden deck.
As I was digging, a Mason bee kept flying around me and seemed to be quite interested in what I was doing. I was thrilled this great pollinator was so interested in my deck garden and my project.
You may be thinking, “what’s the difference between a Mason bee and a honey bee?” Well, Mason bees are solitary bees. They are native to the U.S. and although they help pollinate vegetables, they pollinate our native plants. There are about 4,000 species of solitary bees in the U.S. Honeybees are colony bees and are not native to the U.S.
I finished planting and hung the spade on the nail. It was then I observed my Mason bee friend land on the spade and climb into the wooden handle. She wasn’t interested in my project, she just wanted to finish her project! I thought, oh yey, I have a beehive in Hull!
I pulled up a chair and watched her come and go. Unlike honeybees who carry pollen behind their knees, Mason bees bring pollen (protein for their babies) into the hive on their abdomens.
I keep checking in on the hive. The handle is now sealed off. There are probably five cells each with pollen and nectar (bee bread) and sealed off with mud.
So I have a beehive in Hull and I anticipate baby bees in six to eight weeks. And they too will go to work pollinating.
Gail Franzen
Hull, Massachusetts
It sounds like a lovely life where the hardest decision of your day is whether to enjoy the beautiful ocean views or stare at the symphony of bees at your old family home!. Thank you for sharing your story of bees and for taking me to your corner of the world! Thanks also for the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Flickr stream. Its wonderful to get a close up view of our many varied friends!!