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Ray and Sally in Silver Lake called the Bee Rescue Hotline about a hive of bees in one of their backyard trees. The bees had only swarmed there 4 or 5 days ago, but they had already drawn three small combs, started collecting honey, and had a decent amount of new brood going. Impressive!
I'm not good at identifying trees, but this one has the kind of fast-growing branches that feel like they can snap off without too much effort. And despite not being superstitious, I wasn't all that excited about being up on a ladder on Friday the 13th. But that's bee fever for you.
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I borrowed a small kitchen knife from Ray and Sally to remove the very new combs from the branch.
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Meanwhile, Sally modeled her new Backwards Beekeepers t-shirt for Ray.
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Once I got the box down to the ground, the bees had already found the entrance and were exploring.
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I gave the box a quick duct tape job and got them on the move so they wouldn't overheat. Yes, in January.
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Here are the bees in their new home, sitting atop the hive I'll join them with if they decide to stick around.
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