I was out watering the garden today and when I walked over to the hose cart to turn on the water. I discovered this ... a prelude to invasion... :) 

Here are some photos I got of the girls today. This is my fourth year as a bee keeper and I just couldn't be happier with them. Both hives are very active, and I can just waste many hours sitting outside watching them... Beats having a boring aquarium...

While I do all the vegetable gardening, my wife works the flowers and the flowering shrubs. And she does have a green thumb, as you can readily tell from these pictures... Beautiful work she does...

One of the favorite things I plant in the raised beds each year is the leafy greens mix. This is lettuce, spinach, arugula and mustard greens ... All thriving beneath a garden cloth tunnel in my garden. It's literally a garden buffet line. I start at one end and eat my way down... ;)

I love to use this for sandwiches and salads. It's the best! And even better, I can replant it in late summer for a thriving fall crap

Our security cameras often pick up wildlife - from deer to birds to the occasional bear ... And here ... a whimsical bird!

It's a beautiful day to install bees and to sit out by the hives. Enjoying sunshine and lemon ginger honey tea while watching them do their thing. Love this time of year!!

I love how the fruit trees don't all bloom all at once.... The blooming schedule in Spring is staggered, so there are always beautiful blossoms in different places and at different times. The protracted magic of the season...

I love this time of year where the cherry blossoms begin to fall .... And drift to the ground to accumulate like soft, pink snow...

So things are getting exciting here. We got the first pip on one of our incubated chicken eggs this morning! Today is day 20. The chick pips out a little chunk of shell so it can breathe (on side of egg near top of picture). From there, the chick will rest for up to 24 hours before resuming her exit plan from the egg. This is always suck a fun, magical time!

Got new chicks, I think they will be beautiful hens, and, hopefully, good layers!