The Bee vacuum at work on the bucket of bees

Swarming in the backyard

Here are my new candles...the pillars are three inches in diameter and 8-12 inches tall. The biggest weigh about two pounds...

Except for the Buddha, who is over three pounds. The pillars have a twisted double wick, and they seem to burn forever. We haven't finished one yet.

These bees were in an upside-down flower pot in Wylie, Texas. There are draining holes at the top of the bucket they use to get in. They have been in here since last year and are quite a strong colony. They need to be put into a hive soon as they have almost outgrown their present home.

Huge colony on the side of a tree in South Dallas. It's about 20 feet up, the most challenging removal so far. I had to cut the comb off piece by piece and place it in the wood frames with rubber bands. I concentrated on cutting just the brood parts of the comb off as the honey would drip down too much and inevitably drown the bees. It went surprisingly well. Then I hauled my brand new trusty bee-vac up into the tree with me to suck up the remaining bees. A bird hiding in a near-by hollow got startled with the noise of the vacuum and flew out at me right in my face. It was un-nerving to say the least...