Cinco de Mayo

Saturday May 5th was a perfect day here on the Little Homestead. I started the day by making a pot of coffee and a big batch of pumpkin doughnuts.  We cleaned the kitchen, made ice tea, washed and hung a large load of laundry on the line.  In the meanwhile, Walt proceeded to organize and clean out both sides of the carriage house (garage).  I was out in the kitchen garden transplanting lettuce, I thought I heard a buzzing from the apiary. Normally, I shouldn't hear them. I got up to check it out and hive #1 (named Aster Hive) was swarming. I called Walt and he started preparing to capture the swarm. We watched them alight on a nearby shrub. As soon as they settled down, Walt transfered them to a hive body. We waited to see if they would stay. Soon some bees started "fanning", which told us they had accepted the hive. Then a chicken started the "egg song" announcing to the world that she had just laid an egg. A warm perfect spring day: clothes drying on the line, a basket of just collected eggs, a new colony of bees, and in the kitchen garden, asparagus, rhubarb, lettuce and spinach almost ready to pick.  The day ended with the "Super Moon" rising and bullfrogs singing in our pond.