When Melanie and I were driving along the river-bottom road near Morton, Minnesota, we came across a couple of men in space suits.  OK, they weren't really space suits, but they looked like spacesuits.  We were curious, so we pulled up next to them and I said, "Hi there.  Whuddya doing?"  Pretty cheeky, right? And kind of corny too, since it seemed pretty obvious they were doing something with beehives, and also, it was none of my business.

Fortunately, these men weren't as scary as they looked, and educated us on the ways of bees.  Since it's autumn, it seems it's time for the bees to move from the north, here in Minnesota, south to Texas to make honey.

Imagine that.  I had no idea that bees worked a circuit.  After Texas, they'll be heading on to California to make California honey.  What in the world?

We also learned that the hybrid crops farmers plant now do not provide the kind of nourishment for bees that the old fashioned crops did.  The bee keeper explained it was probably a type of mite that has been wiping out the bee population, as reported in the news fairly recently.  We also learned that bee keepers are nice, and smart, and get to travel to different states.  Turns out there is a lot more to this business than I had ever imagined.