Spring has been a very busy time with school appearances, field trip classrooms and transitioning the homestead from winter into summer mode. The planning and preparation for four summer camps has also taken a big chunk of time.
First the bees. I added four more hives to my bee yard and they have adapted well. With the warm weather in early spring the trees and flowers came early and there was an abundance of nectar and food for the old colonies as well as the new ones. I also captured a swarm that literally landed 20 feet from the bee yard. I ended up with so many bees that the lower hive body had all ten frames covered with cells, brood and nectar within a week. I had placed honey supers on my two original hives, using a queen excluder to ensure the queen wouldn’t be able to lay any eggs in those frames. But with my bees showing a reluctance of moving through the grid, I have since removed it and hopefully have thereby encouraged them to spread out and bring honey up instead of swarming because of being crowded below in the deep supers. We shall see!
Secondly, I am very excited about the up-coming summer camps! Two new venues present great potential for the exploration of new habitats and environments. The first camp, June 28 – July 2, will be held at the Tabor House,
http://www.taborhouseinn.com, right on the shores of Maquam Bay. The natural setting will have us explore the many ways we can observe and record nature. We will keep journals and learn to use cameras. Various activities through-out the week will allow us to learn to use all of our senses in enjoying the great outdoors. On Tuesday an art teacher will come and make a guest appearance. One day will be dedicated to learning about water and the many ways it interacts with and affects our environment. The Science Dept. of Bellows Free Academy, St.Albans,
http://www.bfasta.net/homepages/tfugere/bfascience/, has been generous enough to allow us to use their professional Stream Table with which we will be able to simulate various water forms and phenomena. Waterscopes, pitfall traps, web capturing, soot prints and so much more! It promises to be an exciting and interesting week. Registration forms can be found under links on the website and make sure to send it it early since space is limited and classes tend to fill up quite rapidly. More on the Isle La Motte and Fairfield camps in a later writing. For now, back to the planning table! See you at the Tabor House Inn!
Posted by
MrK@exordium-adventure.com on 2010-06-16
