SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!!

Yes -- indeed -- it's a Gomer Pyle moment in the Backyard of Bird. Or -- I suppose you could also say -- "Just when you least expect it, *IT* happens."

*IT* is happening right now in the Bird Back 40 -- right underneath our very noses -- and to be honest boys and girls: I'm not really sure what to make of it nor what I should do next.

Ideas anyone? Buehler? Please leave them below in the circular file.

I had intended to prepare a special post this weekend -- with some special news indeed: The Hello Kitty Hive was back in action. Although Venus and I had come to a decision earlier this spring to not purchase another colony of bees -- a good gardening friend by the name of Garry Erck had another idea.

Garry -- an experienced beekeeper himself -- had taken an interest in our Hello Kitty Hive and the many challenges we faced last season -- our first as beekeepers. He exulted at the good news that came from the installation of a new queen. He communicated his sorrow when our hive "flew the coop" (Colony Collapse Disorder) last October.

Garry's plan this year was to capture at least five wild colonies -- also called swarms -- which are apparently in big numbers where he lives in the El Dorado County foothills. I say "big numbers" because Garry became so proficient at capturing swarms this spring and summer that he's wound up with nine colonies -- about four more than he really wanted.

Garry -- knowing of our misfortune -- had promised as early as April that he would try to secure a new colony for us. As time passed -- and I watched him blog about capture after capture -- I knew that at some point Garry would come calling in the direction of the Natomas Gardening Birds.

Sure enough -- the good news came in the form of an email about three weeks ago. "How would you like a new colony," Garry asked. Although Venus and I had made a decision to sit the summer out -- we also missed our bees very much. Not a weekend went by without one of us in front of the hive -- lamenting our loss -- or thinking about the colony we had tended the summer before.

So -- when the chance to get another colony landed on our front doorstep? We jumped at it!

That's right -- a new life for the Hello Kitty Hive! A new colony of bees! Would we have better luck this time? We were both certainly willing to give it a try! After all -- we do have that all important first year of experience now. So why not try, try again?

But -- Mother Nature it seems -- had other plans.

Venus and I started preparing the Hello Kitty Hive for the new colony on Tuesday night. We pulled the weeds around it -- wiped the outside down a bit with a damp cloth and also opened up the hive to make sure that no spiders had taken up residence inside (Black Widow spiders love bee hives -- FYI).

While we had the top open -- we both thought it prudent to remove yet one more frame of delicious -- Hello Kitty Hive -- honey. After all -- the previous colony had left us with ten packed frames? Why not take one or two and enjoy nature's bounty? The new colony can have the other eight frames we reasoned. Surely -- they wouldn't miss two?

Apparently not.

Proud readers: This is the sight that greeted us when Venus and I arrived home after work on Wednesday evening. That's right. Your eyes are not deceiving you. That is the Hello Kitty Hive. And yes -- it's covered with BEES.

Did Garry arrive early and surprise us with our new colony perhaps?

Uh -- no...

As I indicated earlier -- Mother Nature had "other plans." Those plans include a wild swarm of bees that discovered our hive -- discovered the open top -- discovered the eight remaining frames of honey and moved right on in and made themselves comfortable inside their brand new -- Hello Kitty Hive.

"No," we both thought. "This can't be." I reasoned that the bees all over the sides and in the frames of the hive must -- in fact -- be "robber bees." I had heard about them. Robber bees are bees from a strong hive -- that will sometimes attack a weak hive -- to get at the honey.

That must be it I reasoned: Robber Bees...

But as I took a closer look at the hive -- I noticed the clusters of honeybees on either side of the hive. That isn't normal behavior for "robber bees." No -- they go right on inside and help themselves to the honey on the frames. However -- it is normal behavior for bees to "cluster" around a new queen. It is the "bee way" of protecting the new leader from attack.

A new queen had discovered the Hello Kitty Hive. At least -- I think it's a new queen. To be brutally honest -- I'm not quite sure myself. But I do know that robber bees will leave and return to their own hives when the sun goes down. They don't stick around at night.

But these bees did. So did the clusters. As of this morning? They were swarming wildly above the open hive. You can actually see a few of them if you look closely enough at the photos.

"No," I thought -- still not believing my eyes. "This just can't be right," I reasoned. After all -- nary a bee had shown interest in the hive -- or the honey inside -- since the last colony left in October. This isn't due to a lack of bees in the Bird Back 40. We get swarms of them from other colonies that have discovered the pollinators in the vast backyard. Honeybees -- Mason Bees -- Carpenter Bees -- you name it and we have them.

So -- why now? At this very moment in time? Three days before Garry Erck was going to gift me with a new colony? Bees suddenly show up? A new queen? An actual wild swarm? I needed help. And when Bill Bird needs help -- he turns to his unfortunate mentor: Farmer Fred Hoffman.

Surely -- Fred would have an answer. Surely -- the guru of Northern California gardening could figure this one out for me. Right? Like so many times in the past?

Not this time. His response? "I only know who to call to get rid of swarms. 451-BEES."

Not that I want to get rid of a swarm mind you. I'd just like to really know what I have here. It appears that I will wait until Saturday -- when the more experienced beekeeper eye of Mr. Erck pays me a visit to tell me exactly what I have.

But as for now -- I give you -- the Hello Kitty Hive 2010 Edition.

The "Rinky Dink" Seed Starting Effort

I suppose you could also call this "starting seeds on the cheap," because it is that and more. Venus and I took the time to start more varieties of tomato and pepper seeds on Saturday, because demand for what is growing in nearby greenhouses is growing.

I started to get a tad worried when the brother-in-law called up from his Serrano neighborhood in El Dorado County and attempted to "reserve" six of our tomato plants. How nice of him. Not only did he want some of our heirloom starter plants for his gardening efforts, he also wanted to give some away to his neighbors.

Wait a minute. Does that sound right? He wants OUR tomato plant starter to give to HIS neighbors? The brother-in-law is known for his rather outlandish requests after consuming a quart or four of Canadian Mist Whiskey (which we refer too as "Canadian Moose Piss"), but his request for plants isn't the first and I don't think it will be the last either. In short, the backyard garden is back in a big way, and everyone wants those hard-to-find heirloom varieties.

I can't blame them. There's simply nothing quite like the taste of vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes. Once you bite into a Brandywine or an Azoychka, you're hooked.

Venus and I don't have a greenhouse yet (it's on the list of "things to do'), but we did convert and old wine rack into a seed starting rack -- complete with hooks to hold grow lights and space for heating pad to keep the babies warm. This is about as "frugal" as frugal can get, so experienced growers will be anything but "impressed." However -- as cheap as this setup is -- it does work.

Venus and I prefer to invest a few bucks in the Jiffy seed starting kits that are starting to appear by the millions in places like your big box stores (Walmart and Home Depot), and even in the smaller locations such as grocery stores or your independent hardware retailers. You can buy "big" like we did for large scale starting efforts. Or, if you don't have the room, you can buy the small package which looks very much like a carton of a dozen eggs.

These kits come complete with two trays and compressed peat moss pellets. All you need to do is add warm water, and those compressed peat moss pellets grow and expand like nobody's business. They have a somewhat erie resemblance to the pods featured in the now-famous movie "Alien," once they fully expand. However, I guarantee you that nothing is going to pop up and attach itself to your face.

After adding the appropriate amount of water (about a gallon) -- the pods are ready for planting. Venus and I planted three complete rows of green, red and yellow peppers. We then planted half rows of various heirloom tomato varieties, including Red Reif Heart, Pink Ping Pong, Green Zebra, Arkansas Traveler and a cherry variety we purchased at Lockhart Seed. It immediately drew Venus' attention, because the packet of seeds promised cherry tomatoes that are "very high in brix content."

That's important for an event that Venus and I will attend later this year with about three to four hundred other tomato nerds. An event that promises a payday of $2,500 or more! And for this event, you need tomato varieties that are high in brix content (the brix meter was developed to measure the sugar content in wine and table grapes, but does have other uses).

Venus and I used chopsticks to poke holes in each pod, drop in some seed, then use the chopstick to cover the seed. It's that simple. After labeling each row, we moved the pods inside the house to a bedroom converted for "seed starting purposes." If this looks "Mickey Mouse," I promise you that it is. But I promise you, this works. The seeds have everything they need to sprout and grow. The covered seed pods create a "rainforest effect," which is essential to starting seeds indoors. The heating pad ensures strong root growth and thick stems, and the light source is more than enough. In fact, the light might even be overkill.

As I've stated before -- you can put these seed starting kits on a windowsill and they'll be just fine.

From previous experience I know that the tomatoes will germinate first. The peppers usually need a bit more time. Peppers, unlike tomatoes, require HEAT to really get going, so these seedlings will be rather unhappy at first. But, by the time of plantout at the end of April, I'm expecting starter plants in the one to two foot range.

At some point, Venus and I will also transplant the pods into larger cups, but that's another project for another day.

Here's hoping we have enough to satisfy growing "demand." Stay tuned!