Bad news bears :-(

April 26, 2017

It’s been quite a day. Gone is the bucolic quality of the bee yard, reality has set in…I have bears! After getting over the shock (and boo hooing on my neighbors shoulder) I got busy. I already had many of the supplies needed for the electric fence, but a trip across the canyon was never the less required.

Got the fence up and wired with the help of my friend and neighbor, Wayne Kopp. I am so lucky and grateful to have such a helpful friend! Tomorrow I’ll get a new battery for my solar charger and with a little sunshine get the fence up and zappy! I don’t know what to think about tonight, though. I am told that I should expect another visit. I put a light out in the bee yard. Hope all goes well tonight.

Here’s a close up of one of the frames. You can see the bear claw marks. Lots of dead and dying bees. I put the hives back together again as quickly as possible. I saw one queen, though I wasn’t really looking. It’s been wet, rainy and cold the past few days, so the bees are already stressed. Have no idea what to expect. Will feed again tomorrow. Thankfully tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warm! Yahoo!