TonTon is afraid. He is very afraid. There is a Minty looking at his blue ball. And he is hoping he will not be commanded to share. Sharing toys is nice Ton. 
The terror of having to share! Maybe with all three of the lambies! 
Poor Ton, being picked on by those iddy biddy wee lambs. This might be another postcard pic.
Cats in a curve. Mary’s cat always looks slightly bad tempered doesn’t he.
Water play. Hosing out the pigsty has already turned into a game of who can get the wettest!
I discovered something very unsettling yesterday afternoon. An entire hive, my biggest strongest hive, is now almost completely empty of bees.
The very few that are left in the bottom of the hive, are in a heap, sluggish and dying. There is no evidence of moth or disease. The hive smells sweet and is full of honey and brood, with room at the top to grow. I looked at them on Monday and they were heaving with bees coming and going really well. Is this CCD? The bees just gone for no reason. They have not swarmed, because even when they swarm, the nurse bees stay with the brood. It is never left to die like this.
The fields have not been worked around our house yet, so we cannot blame spray. The adjacent hives are just as vigorous as ever. 
I have read some articles on this but never thought this would happen to my bees. What a terrible blow. I need to have a think about this and work out what to do next.
However up we get. We will do some research and work out what to do with a hive full of honey and no bees. I can think about that on the run. Today is Retirement Home day. The Old Codger calls it Dog Medicine Day. Today we take the basket of chickens (who are growing feathers and not really looking their best) and Minty and TonTon to the Old Folks Home for an official visit. Signs have gone up around the home inviting any one who is interested.
I have bought Ton a few new softer toys for retrieving. So he can play with the old folks, without balls bouncing all over the place. The camera battery is charging and the slide show is finished. I am going to set up stations around the hall, so the ladies and gentlemen can move from the Lamb to the Chickens to the Dog Play to the Slideshow of Farm Life taken from the blog photos. They can pause where they want to be the longest. We do not have very many animals to take today but it is a beginning.
Good morning! I hope to have some photos of today – for you tomorrow, which I will post before I jump in the car, that will take me to the bus, that will take me on the two hour journey to the airport, to catch two planes across to California to cook a family dinner. I will show you how my Mum made pavlova!
Have a great day. We will have an unusually busy day. But there will be lots of smiles today!
It is after dawn and I can hear Kupa honking out there! What a peacock!
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
74 responses to “The Lambs find TonTon and Sad Bee News.”
When do you ever rest? I’m so sorry about your bees. I hope you can salvage something from the disaster.
Those folk at the retirement home must adore your visits.
Have a great time in California.
Vx
Morning viv! I go to bed early you know!! c
Hi Celi. I was going to say what a fun post after seeing your fabulous photos. Especially love the piggy one but then I read about the bees. Oh no! Hope you find out what the problem is soon.
Fingers crossed.
Regards Florence x
Evidently some of the best bee people in the world are flummoxed by this syndrome.. it is not good at all.. c
Good morning! I’m so sorry to hear about the bees.
You are such a good person to take your ‘pets’ to the nursing home to give those wonderful old people a jog of their memories……I’m sure it’ll be a happy day for them. And I think TonTon is being a very patient, good boy with the curious lambies!
He is good, especially if i am standing right there!! Good morning Grammom.. c
How distressing to hear about your bees Celi!
🙂 Mandy
Not much to do now, but try and feed the ones that are left, I will look in there again on monday when i get back .. .. c
Poor TonTon. My oldest dog had that same look when we brought a puppy home. Have a safe trip.
Long suffering!! morning greg.. c
Entertaining as always but very sorry about the bees and hope you figure it out!
sorry to hear about your lost keets too.. c
Love the pigs and hope you find out what happened to the bees. Maybe you can find out something to benefit all bees.
That pig shot was a gift!! morning Miss T.. c
I agree with the others on the pig shot. What a gem. So sorry to hear about the bees and I hope you determine soon the reason for their demise. Those old folks are going to love you even more than they already do. What a treasure you are, C.
I’m sorry about your bees. I was hoping it was the pesticides that made them abandon hives. I hope in your case, it’s just that they moved the queen someone else nearby. Um, the TonTon shots confused me. Who is the shepherd, and who is the sheep?
Yes, TonTon has an identity crisis! Morning Bill! c
That sounds like a robsenaale rate, but it is going to depend on the availability of other food sources if it warms up and the bees can bring in lots of nectar they will probably consume less syrup if it stays cool and rainy the syrup will be their only available food source and they will use it faster. If the queen is able to lay a lot of eggs they will use a lot of food feeding the brood. Anyway, don’t worry too much about it if they use it fast or slow. Just keep feeding until they have drawn out enough comb to establish a good sized brood nest and maybe even then depending on the weather and the availability of other food. You don’t want them to starve at any time.However, syrup can grow mold, ferment and generally get nasty if it is on the hive too long this could be an issue if you are using a hive top feeder that holds a lot of syrup. An upside down (over the hole in the inner cover) quart jar with some holes in the lid is a good cheap way of feeding smaller amts of syrup and it gives you a good excuse to check on your hive every day. I staple hardware cloth (like the kind the package bee cage was made of) over the inner cover hole so that I can feed like that without disturbing the bees at all.
Ton Ton has the same look that the wee cousins get when one wants to play with the other’s Most Favored Thing…
Sorry about the bees – that’s hard. If you want a smile – and have a spare second – check out my post this morning…there are soap bubbles involved. 😀
Thank you and I shall zoom over immediately! c
Have a good day today, C! I’m sure TonTon will have a grand time.
Sorry to hear about the bees, it is rare for them to abandon ‘ship’ like that… try not to worry about it too much on your trip!
I learned a lot here today, Celi, and wish I hadn’t. I mistakenly thought that CCD was a fungus-related problem. I know better now. So sorry to read that you’ve lost a hive. What a blow!
You could easily publish a picture book of the farmy through Tonton’s eyes. With one look, he told us how he felt about the lambs.
Have a safe trip, Celi, and a wonderful visit with your family. 🙂
Been away for a couple of days so have enjoyed the big ‘catch-up’ with your farmy goings-on! I’m so sorry about your bees, that is such a blow. I hope you love your trip although I do understand about the problem of trying to write a list of chores when they’re automatic to the Chore Mistress. I’ve just had the same problem writing one for my dad and I have far fewer beasties than you!
Christine
Bad news about the bees:(
What beautiful, full of love days ahead of you! 🙂