When your forklift dies at midnight

The truck all loaded up as the sun sets!

What's new on the farm:

Well, one of the hardest weeks of the year is finally over.

When all is said and done, our driver will cover 5000 km (3100 miles) hauling our bees between Vancouver Island and Saskatoon in two trips.

Our Vancouver Island crew added plenty more kilometres themselves. All the bees had to be moved from the outyards to the loading yard. There were 3:50 am wake-ups to move bees before sunrise, and 8 pm shifts to move more after sunset. They had to handcart the hives from the grass onto the truck. Hundreds of pounds, moved by hand. Exhaustion is putting it mildly.

Then came the real drama.

The driver was scheduled to arrive on Monday night for loading. On Friday morning, Andrew called me: “The forklift isn’t working.”

My heart sank. This is our special rough-terrain forklift, the only one that can safely load hives on grass and uneven ground. Regular forklifts won’t work, and we couldn’t easily rent a replacement on short notice.

We called our trusted mechanic right away. He came out right away. His team ended up working on the forklift on Friday and Saturday. They fixed everything they could, but there was one part that gave us extra trouble: a fuel filter.

Finding the right one turned into a nightmare. Nothing matched the old part. After trying three different filters with no luck, we had to wait until Monday to contact the manufacturer.

On Monday, we were calling and calling with no answer. Then we realized… it was Memorial Day weekend, and they were US-based. We weren't going to get help!

We were running out of time. The bees had to move soon, or we’d lose our spot in the driver’s schedule. We would have to wait two weeks to move them again. And Vancouver Island was getting too dry. The main nectar sources were going away and the bees couldn't stay here for any longer.

With nothing to lose, we asked the mechanic to try any compatible parts he could find. He searched everywhere and finally located the right ones at a local construction company’s parts room (for their asphalt rollers!). He installed it, we tested it, and we were back in business.

But we had lost a lot of time.

Andrew and the crew worked flat out to catch up. The driver arrived late Monday afternoon, and they started loading just in time.

At almost midnight, I got a text from Andrew: “Forklift died again.”

This time, the alternator had failed. He couldn't use the lights, so he was loading hives in the dark, stacking them carefully so they wouldn’t shift on the long drive. Before they finished, the battery completely died.

With no other choice, they charged the battery for a few hours, got a bit of sleep, and finished early the next morning just in time for the ferry.

After the first load left, there was no rest. Andrew had to get the forklift fixed again for the second load. Thankfully, the mechanic got it running properly, and the rest of the week went much smoother.

On this side in Saskatoon, we received the first load on Wednesday evening. Unloading went fine without any mechanical issues. The driver immediately turned around and headed back for the second load.

The bees arrived right on time here in Saskatoon. The dandelions are in full bloom, and the caraganas started flowering the same day they got here. Perfect timing for their first food sources in Saskatchewan!

Now our Saskatoon crew will be busy spreading the hives out to different farm yards so they have enough forage. More early mornings ahead as we move them to their summer locations.

And just like that… we start the next phase of the bee season!