Welcome Margaret, nice to have you in the group!

I know what you mean about the hubby's! I am going to use bamboo tubes for the mason bees and I think that a 1" hole for the bumbles. I would only use low VOC paint because bees are very sensitive to smells and chemicals. I have heard of milk paint which is very stable and doesn't off gas.

Again, it's me. So you can find a likely spot, dig in with a stick to make a little cavern and push in some dryer lint. Or you can lay some terra cotta pots (2) on the ground. Put the lint in the one in back and then put the other in front of it and tape it together. The bee will crawl through the drainage hole into the chamber created by the second terra cotta pot. It will be dark and have a nice little nest in it. I would avoid using wool though for nest material (catches on legs).

Magaret, I am looking in my yard for crevices close to the ground (somewhat sunny) that a mouse might make a home in. Last year, the bumble bee queen made a nest in a rock wall near my garden. The lint has to be there because the queen needs to lay the eggs in something and she is all alone at this point. When her eggs hatch and the bees are old enough, then they will start to take care of her as she lays new eggs. But in the beginning, she has to do everything for herself.

Margaret, Bumble bees like to live in nests that have been abandoned by mice. They like the soft nesting that mice usually have in their nests. So if you see a likely hole near the ground with a large enough cavity for a small bee colony then you shove the dryer lint in there for the queen bumbler. She may like it, she may not. I have seen boxes and other ideas for housing bumble bees on line and they see easy to make. I have a rock wall in my yard that they seem to like.

Margaret - if you would like to come and look we can set up a date. You would need several people to help you move it, and a way to transport. I believe if you take the wood skirt apart, then you could tip the hot tub liner on it's side to possibly fit in a large pickup. I don't really know though! I've seen new hot tubs being delivered in trucks so maybe you could call a spa place.

Margaret:
So nice to have you with Colorado Springs Urban Homesteading! We are having some difficulty with the scheduling of the potluck right now. I assume we will see you at the Transition Town potluck this Sunday? If so we can chat then. :)

Hello Miss Oliver, missed you at the last meeting and would like to schedule a 1-on-1 to understand your business and see how I am able to bring you referrals. What date and time would work for you?

Hello Margaret, I wanted to let you know that even though I cannot make this group I would be willing to carpool for the next meeting.

Thanks for the message. I am such an animal lover. It has been hard for me to leave the country and come back to city life.