Greetings and good news. The weather is holding and as we used to say, "The Lord willing and the creek don't rise," the honeybees will be here on April 20th.

The game plan is to have packages at the Barn where we had classes on Saturday morning starting at 8:30 and we will demonstrate installing a package at 9. Then you are off to your own apiaries with your bees and a running start with them.

Check your location to be sure it is where you want to put your bees. The boxes need to be level from side to side so the bees build comb straight and a slight incline to the front to help any excess moisture in the hive to roll out the front entrance. Check your equipment to see that you are ready for the bees. You will only need the hive stand, the bottom board, a hive body, frames with foundation, inner cover and a top cover.

What ever feeder you are using should be ready as the bees may have used the majority of syrup in their transit can. You should use plain white sugar mixed thinly to about the consistency of canned pear or pineapple syrup.

Feel free to bring your veil so you can watch from a close perspective during the installation demonstration.

When you take them home, put them into your hive box as soon as you can as they don't have much protection in the shipping cage. Some people like to put the cage in an open top cardboard box for the journey home and some people put the bees right into their hive since the queen is in a queen cage and can't be hurt by the frames jostling during transit.

If you cannot make the Saturday times at the Barn, I will be at home distributing bees after the demonstration. If that is the case, please e-mail so that I can get the bees ready for your pickup. 625 Ridge Road, Moscow

Please don't tear the cages open and please return them as they are worth about $20 and by reusing them is how I keep the cost of the packages low. As a note, there will always be a few bees that will not leave the package cage.

Now is the time to start enjoying your bees after sitting through class and waiting for April 20th to slowly arrive! If you have any questions, Combconnection, Rod and I are ready to help.