Ordered the bees this AM...
Yep, the books & sources are right - It is late for ordering. They've already sold out for the 1st two weeks of April.
I ordered 2 packages of Bees with Italian (marked) Queens from C F Koehnen & Sons, Inc
Crazy shipping costs, but that's to be expected - and it sure beats the costs of driving there and back to pick them up!!!... Wish there were some local apiaries.
They will be shipped on April 16th & should have them April 17th. That means installation will happen on April 18th.
Time to get the derriere in gear!
One woman's adventures in beekeeping... Silver Caster & Webmistress by day... Kinda crazy woman by night!
Monday, March 4, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Oh, the Joys of Building
Why haven't I updated the website this weekend?
Well, I decided to take a couple of days off -- Eee, Gads! -- and work on building the bee hives.
I received my order back in early January from Mann Lake Ltd -- although they're a bit more expensive, I decided to go with these folks since they're Employee-owned... Something I personally appreciate!
WOW! Amazing what can fit into 4 boxes -- they only weighed 140-pounds in total. Yup, I finally opened up all those boxes to make sure everything was inside. YAY, all the stuff was there! -- Knew immediately this would keep me bee-zy for awhile... Yes, that's the sterling silver casting equipment in the background...
"Now why didn't I order these hives pre-assembled?", was my 1st thought upon seeing all these parts... Then I remembered -- I actually like a challenge!
Here's the outer boxes I assembled today -- They're Medium-Supers.
I ordered 10 of them to allow for future expansion, but only got 4 done so far -- Figure that's all I need to start 2 hives anyway:
Those were actually pretty darned easy to put together -- holes pre-drilled, had ordered the right nails, the hammer and my muscles worked pretty well...
Then came putting together the frames...
Uh-Oh!! How many nails do I use? Where do I put them? Should I use glue like the all the books say? I don't really want to as it adds chemicals into the hive...
I wasted a couple of hours searching & re-searching my books and the internet, and then all over YouTube....
Then I remember watching Fat Bee Man several months ago... I LOVE this guys attitude and decided to do as he does when assembling the frames...
Well, I don't have a pneumatic nailer (or a table-saw), but my arms were still up to swingin' -- I really need to get a different, smaller hammer for driving these tiny nails though... I hit myself a few times! :)
Well, I decided to take a couple of days off -- Eee, Gads! -- and work on building the bee hives.
I received my order back in early January from Mann Lake Ltd -- although they're a bit more expensive, I decided to go with these folks since they're Employee-owned... Something I personally appreciate!
WOW! Amazing what can fit into 4 boxes -- they only weighed 140-pounds in total. Yup, I finally opened up all those boxes to make sure everything was inside. YAY, all the stuff was there! -- Knew immediately this would keep me bee-zy for awhile... Yes, that's the sterling silver casting equipment in the background...
"Now why didn't I order these hives pre-assembled?", was my 1st thought upon seeing all these parts... Then I remembered -- I actually like a challenge!
Here's the outer boxes I assembled today -- They're Medium-Supers.
I ordered 10 of them to allow for future expansion, but only got 4 done so far -- Figure that's all I need to start 2 hives anyway:
Those were actually pretty darned easy to put together -- holes pre-drilled, had ordered the right nails, the hammer and my muscles worked pretty well...
Then came putting together the frames...
Uh-Oh!! How many nails do I use? Where do I put them? Should I use glue like the all the books say? I don't really want to as it adds chemicals into the hive...
I wasted a couple of hours searching & re-searching my books and the internet, and then all over YouTube....
Then I remember watching Fat Bee Man several months ago... I LOVE this guys attitude and decided to do as he does when assembling the frames...
Well, I don't have a pneumatic nailer (or a table-saw), but my arms were still up to swingin' -- I really need to get a different, smaller hammer for driving these tiny nails though... I hit myself a few times! :)
Boy is there a lot to learn...
These past months I've learned there's A LOT to learn about beekeeping...
What kind of hive do I want -- Longstroth or Top-Bar? What's the differences? What size boxes do I want? How many hives do I want? How many box frames do I think I can lift by myself? Do I want to chemically treat if there are problems?
I've decided I want to go as 'organic' as possible...
See, ultimately there's really no such thing as 'organic honey' I've come to learn... Pesticides are used everywhere & unless you're controlling all of your bees movements, it's impossible to know if they're bringing 'non-organic' pollen into the hive...
Anyway, I've decided I'm going to use the Langstroth hive, but will be using all 8-frame, Medium-Supers so all parts are inter-changeable -- and much lighter when full of honey! Hey, I ain't no spring chicken anymore!
I've also decided to not white-wash paint the hive bodies, and will be using a 'frameless' system which allows bees to create their own comb, 'naturally'... If what I saw in that old speaker is any indication, and from what I've been reading, they really don't need beeswax foundation to build.
A site I've found really helpful is Michael Bush's :
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm
What kind of hive do I want -- Longstroth or Top-Bar? What's the differences? What size boxes do I want? How many hives do I want? How many box frames do I think I can lift by myself? Do I want to chemically treat if there are problems?
I've decided I want to go as 'organic' as possible...
See, ultimately there's really no such thing as 'organic honey' I've come to learn... Pesticides are used everywhere & unless you're controlling all of your bees movements, it's impossible to know if they're bringing 'non-organic' pollen into the hive...
Anyway, I've decided I'm going to use the Langstroth hive, but will be using all 8-frame, Medium-Supers so all parts are inter-changeable -- and much lighter when full of honey! Hey, I ain't no spring chicken anymore!
I've also decided to not white-wash paint the hive bodies, and will be using a 'frameless' system which allows bees to create their own comb, 'naturally'... If what I saw in that old speaker is any indication, and from what I've been reading, they really don't need beeswax foundation to build.
A site I've found really helpful is Michael Bush's :
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm
In the Bee-ginning...
I've always been a bit scared of bees...
When I was 10, my (knock on wood) only trip in an ambulance was because I had stepped in a nest of ground bees, and ended up with the hive on my head - stinging my scalp, face & everywhere they could.
Traumatic memories of my mother frantically trying to pick them off my head with a towel comes to mind... Then a memory of a burly fireman holding me in his arms transporting me to the ambulance. -- I wonder if that's why I was drawn to my now ex-husband?!? LOL!
Anyway, that was over 35 years ago now...
This past year (November 25, 2012 to be exact), I found in my parent's yard an old speaker that once had an active hive in it... My father had moved it the year before to an 'out of the way' area after realizing he'd waited too long to take it to the dump. Well, seeing it wasn't active anymore, I decided to tear it apart to see what was inside & was absolutely AMAZED at the beeswax that was left. It's natural free-form, golden beauty entranced me...
Here are a few pictures...
The decision that I wanted to try bee-keeping took a-hold.
Am I afraid of being stung again? Well, not really -- I am a bit worried about a swarm of them attacking me again, but, I figure lightening won't strike twice... and I don't plan on 'stepping' on the hive, either! :)
When I was 10, my (knock on wood) only trip in an ambulance was because I had stepped in a nest of ground bees, and ended up with the hive on my head - stinging my scalp, face & everywhere they could.
Traumatic memories of my mother frantically trying to pick them off my head with a towel comes to mind... Then a memory of a burly fireman holding me in his arms transporting me to the ambulance. -- I wonder if that's why I was drawn to my now ex-husband?!? LOL!
Anyway, that was over 35 years ago now...
This past year (November 25, 2012 to be exact), I found in my parent's yard an old speaker that once had an active hive in it... My father had moved it the year before to an 'out of the way' area after realizing he'd waited too long to take it to the dump. Well, seeing it wasn't active anymore, I decided to tear it apart to see what was inside & was absolutely AMAZED at the beeswax that was left. It's natural free-form, golden beauty entranced me...
Here are a few pictures...
The decision that I wanted to try bee-keeping took a-hold.
Am I afraid of being stung again? Well, not really -- I am a bit worried about a swarm of them attacking me again, but, I figure lightening won't strike twice... and I don't plan on 'stepping' on the hive, either! :)
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