The trees are starting to put out their leaves, which means the pollinators will be out soon.

Time to put up the mason bee hive we picked up a while back.

We decided to place it near the crab apple trees, since that’s where the most flowers are soon going to be. That meant attaching it to one of the spruce trees.

Which… the box isn’t really set up for.

Under the disc that covers an opening into the butterfly space, there is just this to hang it with. Which might work in some areas, but I can see this falling in the wind, so easily.

I figured I’d try bungee cords, instead.

I had to find a tree small enough that my pair of cords could reach around both the width of the tree, and the depth of the hive.

I also turned it away from the apple trees, so it won’t have the north winds blowing right into the openings. This tree is also surrounded by other trees, providing shade and shelter as well. The next thing I want to do is provide a water source; just a shallow dish with some smooth rocks for the bees and butterflies to land on. I already have appropriate rocks. I just need to find an appropriate container and the right place to set it. Between watering the bird bath and the bee dish, there should also be enough mud available for the bees to use in the hive.

We’ve never had anything like this before, so we shall see how it works out. In the future, we plan to plant bee and butterfly gardens – well away from the house, since my husband is allergic to stings. (Most of the local bee species don’t sting, so it’s more honey bees, wasps and hornets that are of concern.) One of my brothers even has milkweed on his property, so I hope to get some growing here, too. If it does work out, I plan to get more of these, in different styles.

Also in future plans are setting up bat houses and maybe even purple martin houses – both do a great job of eating mosquitoes!

The Re-Farmer