Buzz Buzz

Our bee proposal was approved! The school should be host to a top bar hive before the month's end.

I am so excited about this opportunity for our students (and I) to learn more about these incredible creatures.

I've been looking into Mason Bees, too, which is another exciting prospect. They may not make honey, but they do a heck of a lot of pollinating. This site has beautiful bee boxes and considers the Mason Bee to be a garden "pet." How about that?

Our garden is looking a little overgrown in parts thanks to the hairy vetch and winter wheat cover crops while the veggie beds are a bit spartan. I need to get the tomato starts that I've been nurturing for weeks in the ground. I'm glad I procrastinated long enough to avoid the near-freezing temps of last weekend. We actually had the wood stove going a week ago, yet today was in the mid-80s.

Over the last two weeks I have awoken every morning to our barred-rock chicken having flown the coop and happily munching  sprouting prairie grasses and eying the remaining nubs of lettuce that she missed two weeks ago. After I leap out of bed and herd her back into the coop whilst in my bathrobe and wielding a broom, she stays in the run the rest of the day. Two questions: How is she getting out? and, Why does she only get out once a day? That's pretty weird to me. They have clean straw in the coop and plenty of food and fresh water. Does she just like to stretch her wings first thing in the morning? Any theories are welcome.

I hope this finds you, and your garden, enjoying spring!