We have arrived at the last week of August! I already miss Summer!
The corn is starting to dent…maybe (just maybe) only one more irrigation then the corn will be left to dry. Â Harvest should occur in October.
The snakes are starting to hole up for the winter…we are seeing fewer and fewer every day.
The Hummingbirds are still here, although I’m having a terrible time keeping the honey bees off the feeders.
This sugar water is like some sort of drug to them, even crawling clear in PAST the bee guard then drowning.
Any suggestions on how to stop the bees from eating at the feeders would be greatly appreciated.
A huge storm blew in late yesterday evening complete with flood watches and warning out for today and tomorrow, then in will gradually leave just in time for the third and last cutting of the old hay field and to pull the beans.
 Magic thoughts for at least two weeks (possibly three) of warm drying weather would be greatly appreciated. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I picked the cannas and the datura as my daily view for today…my tribute to a tiny tropical garden in western Colorado. 🙂
I guess there really isn’t much going on here — which I’m loving. I hope your day is just as nice.
Your friend, Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
Hi There, I’ve had bees in past on the hummingbird feeders –and never did find anything to deter them… Good Luck!!!!!! Right now, our bees are still enjoying the Roses. But–they don’t hurt them like the Japanese Beetles do.
Your Cannas are beautiful… I don’t have any of them –but love them..
Beautiful sky photos.. SO dramatic!!!!!
Yes, it’s almost September… mercy me…
Hugs,
Betsy
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Linda, people with hives put out sugar water for their bees this time of year so they can build up their honey stores for the winter. I’ll bet if you put sugar water in a small chick waterer and left it up somewhere for them, they would find that easier to use and stay away from the hummer’s feeders. They could just land on the edge and sip. Are there hives nearby, or are these wild bees?
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I just read that lavender, mint or citronella keeps ants and bees away. Also instead of 4 to 1 of solution use 5-1 and it is strong enoughfor birds, too weak for the bees. one more thing is the bees like the color yellow and this gal had a yellow bowl with sweet solution and they went to it and left the hummingbird feeder. Don’t know if these work. We have hummingbird feeders has been awhile since put them up. I do not recall having problem with bees getting in. I am sure it is flustrating to see the bees drown.
Hope your next few weeks go good so you can get work done before winter. Sharon Drake Aug. 25,2013
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Sure hope you do get that dry weather. Here too if possible! Love your photos, beautiful skies, wonderful gardens, and honey bees! I haven’t seen a honey bee so far this year. Lots of wasps and bumblebees, but not one single honey bee.
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Really nice photos
Don’t know that I like any of these ideas for bees
There are 4 ways to answer the question of how to keep bees away from hummingbird feeder.
1. *Keep bees from hummingbird feeder by buying a feeder with bee guards*. Some Hummingbird feeders come equipped with plastic mesh bee guards. Unfortunately, a lot of these Hummingbird feeders will also be prone to dripping which will undermine the effectiveness of the bee guards. 2.
H Pocklington wrote: Try Vicks Vapo-rub or one of the products used to get bees out of supers (Fischers Bee-Quick, etc). Birds do not have a good sense of smell.
J Albrecht, of Montana, suggested: One reason the bees are taking from the feeder: they need water. I have found that as soon as I start the sprinklers in the yard and out by the bee hives, the bees stop coming around the house looking for water. We have 4-5 hummingbird feeders every year, feeding about 40 birds. We do not have any problem with the bees on the feeders.
J. Fischer, of New York, provided these insights: I’ve fixed this problem multiple times. The photo in your newsletter reveals two problems, both most easily solved with the purchase of a better-quality hummingbird feeder.
The photo shows bees lined up at the seam between the reservoir and the base of the feeder. This indicates that sugar syrup is leaking there or was sloshed there when the reservoir was screwed into the base.
If it is leaking, one or the other may have a crack and need to be glued.
If it is not leaking, wiping off the rim of the reservoir and the threaded part of the base when refilling should remove the residue.
The bees around the “flower” indicate a badly-designed hummingbird feeder. The tubes down to the nectar should be much longer than a bee’s proboscis. The bees are showing us that this feeder has such short tube depths that bees can feed where only the hummingbirds should feed.
The flowers can be replaced with “Par-A-Sol – BEEPROOFFT” retrofit flowers, but it is often cheaper to buy a new feeder that is bee-proof, such as the “HummZinger” or the Backyard Nature Products “Hummerfest.”
Hummingbirds have tongues that twice as long as their beaks, so this means that any hummingbird can easily handle a 1-inch tube depth. Nectar an inch below the top of the tube would be far beyond the reach of any bee. 3. *To keep bees from hummingbird feeder try giving the insects their own feeder. *Personally, I would rather go back to thumping them with a rolled up newspaper before I conceded and tried this trick, but it’s a technique used effectively by lots of people, so I thought it appropriate to mention here. You will need two Hummingbird feeders, one for the bees and wasps and one for the Hummingbirds. Bees and wasps are more attracted to higher concentrations of sugar, so in their feeder use a nectar ratio of 1 part sugar to 3 parts water. In the Hummingbirds feeder, instead of using the standard 1 to 4 ratio, use a ratio of 1 part sugar to 5 parts water. This ratio although not as sweet as the 1 to 4, will still be good enough for the Hummingbirds , but not nearly as attractive to the bees and wasps as the feeder with the 1 to 3 ratio. Give the bees and wasps a few hours to attach themselves to their feeder then move it away from the Hummingbird feeder and hope they follow. 4. *How to keep bees away from hummingbird feeder**…Buy a basin or saucer-type Hummingbird feeder. *These type feeders are pretty much drip proof, so they’re not as likely to attract insects in the first place. Also, the nectar level will be lower and out of reach to the insects, but not out of reach to the Hummingbirds with their long tongues.
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http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/uninvitedbees.php
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I love your sky photos — the storm clouds are very dramatic and the sunset is beautiful. I also like your little tropical garden — very beautiful. You certainly have our magic thoughts for good weather over the next few weeks.
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i hope you get several days of dry weather for harvest and baling.
as for the bees, i’ve seen some folks put out a shallow plate or platter of sugar water. the bees will sometimes go straight to it and leave the hummingbird feeders alone.
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I know what you mean about not wanting summer to end. Sometimes I wish I were a snake or a bear and could just sleep through the winter.
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Did my comment go through? Problems…
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Hi Linda, I love your farm views an your yard! We call the white (datura) a moon flower in OK, I plant each yr a double datura- I have a hard time finding them here, mine is blooming and it’s purple, I’ll take a pic this evening an post pic of both of mine, what is dent in corn? Am a city girl that loves country!!
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I haven’t seen a honey bee in a very long time. Sad to see them drowning themselves. Great sky and flower shots.
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Hopefully, there’ll be many more warm days ahead. Not ready for the cold just yet.
Like your cannas: anytime you can have a bit of the tropical in Colorado is a good thing. Have a good week ahead.
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Corn looks good. Still under irrigation here. No sweet corn. Just corn for the feedlot. I have seen LOTS of snakes in the yard this year! UGH! Thank goodness no rattlers. Just gardener snakes. That’s ok, they eat bugs and stuff. But still – they scare the , well they scare me! ha! 🙂 Thinking dry weather for you to finish up your farming! 🙂 Enjoy your day.
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We are having a hot dry spell. A hot dry spell would be nice but it’s too early. Crops aren’t ripe enough yet for the nice dry weather so this could cut the grades a bit. I can understand why you’re wishing for the end of the season as you are incredibly busy during the growing period.
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Love all your photos! Prayers for a drying time, now. Gotta get that corn at the right moisture level!
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The corn looks great! Will be awhile before mine is ready, I’m sure. The sunflower fields are now blooming…a beautiful sight!
Will hope the rain stays away for you until all your harvesting is done. We’ll take it here!
No answer for you about the bees at the feeder, I have that problem, too. But looks like you got lots of answers in the comments…I will have to try them, also.
Your flowers are gorgeous, as are your pictures. Blessings!
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Sounds like you’re plenty busy. Love all the photos! Dent corn here has been brown for a month or so. Will say a little prayer for you all. ♥
I was going to suggest putting some sort of smaller mesh on the feeders; but sounds like you have some easier suggestions up above.
Have a wonderful week!
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Such a beautiful series of the pictures! have a nice week..
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Better to have bees than yellow jackets – they’ve been swarming my feeder in the afternoons.
Hubby came back from his walk yesterday and said that Fall must be coming – the Canada Geese are flocking up…
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4 o’clock Sunday was beautiful in your tropical” garden! I haven’t put out humming bird feeders for years and years…my pictures were from the flowers in back of our RV and our neighbor’s. I’ve heard people talk about bees and ants getting into them. Sending magicial thoughts for the weather you want and need!
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