It's spring and people are enjoying more outdoor activities (most observing "social distancing" due to the Corona virus). It's the time of year, that we as beekeepers expect to start getting phone calls and messages about bees and bee swarms "in the bushes right outside the front door". Occasionally, it's true - someone has a bee swarm in the bushes. More often, the bees in the bushes are there just to collect the sweet pollen and nectar from the Holly bushes that the homeowner planted.

Just the other day, our fantastic neighbors gave me a call. They were thrilled to share something with us and asked us to come over. I suspected that there was something going on (very likely something about my bees), since I had just been in one of my stronger hives. We got together and walked next door and was greeted enthusiastically and was ushered directly to the front of the house.  Ahhh... the sweet smell that was wafting from the holly bushes was unmistakable. The buzz of the bees visiting the bushes was just as unmistakable as there were hundreds of bees visiting every little flower.

It was a nice visit with the neighbors, just chatting about bees, and life in general, all while encompassed by an envelope of the smells and sounds of spring!