Opening Up Bee Glad...

I went out and opened up Bee Glad... (a langstroth hive) very quickly to look at the state of the hive. The bees were in the top box (out of three) and in need of some food. I left a pollen pattie for them and shut up the hive without incident. I did bring a "hobo bee"for the cats to play with however.

Mackenzie the Beekeeper

On the evening of June 1st, one of our cats, Mackenzie ran off. Today, we discovered that Mackenzie was found dead by a neighbor a few days afterwards.

Mackenzie was unlike any cat I've ever met. In some ways, his relations to humans were more dog-like than feline. He loved jumping into people's arms, wrapping his paws around their neck, and snuggling. When I worked at home, he was my shadow, sitting next to me at the computer, or at the dining room table. He found a new passion this spring: beekeeping. He loved to follow me outside and into Beelandia, not to annoy or antagonize the bees, but to sit on my lap in front of a hive and watch the bees' comings and goings. Even his first sting didn't deter Mackenzie from joining me in the bee yard. (He happened to step on a bee while running to sit with me!)

I do regret not getting a photo of "Mac" helping me at work with the bees. I will miss him.

(This photo was taken by our son, Gareth.)