And we’re off…!

Smoker

It’s been a while since my last post.  Thanks to good weather I’ve had little time to spare so I haven’t been posting as much as I’d like.  At my last post news was not good.  We lost a lot of hives this year.  While we were still in winter mode awaiting spring, it suddenly jumped right to summer with May delivering day after day of high 90’s and little rain.  Blooms were good, but the dry weather did little in the way of nectar for the bees.  The pollen was great though, and the hives built up quickly.  I did my queen rearing a month late due to weather, but still got 8 new queens to add to my surviving 4.  I split several hives to receive them.  I also spent time with all the failed hives cleaning up frames and boxes, painting them and doing repairs as needed.  We also added some new equipment this year. Continue reading “And we’re off…!”

A rough start to 2018

Winter 2017 Survival

We’ve had a few warm days lately which gave a chance to check on the bees at home and the farm.  When things warm up, the bees come out for a stretch and a much needed bathroom break.  This also allows them to move around in the hive to find food if needed.  At a glance, I knew I had trouble with a few hives, so I decided to open each one up to see what was going on.  When I started opening the hives, I found  Continue reading “A rough start to 2018”

The good and bad of winter

Hives weathering the winter snow.

We’ve had a few extended cold spells here recently.  The snow has stuck this year longer than most years.  This isn’t a problem for the bees if everything goes well.  In winter, they consume honey to get the energy needed to generate heat.  When it gets very cold like we’ve had, down in the single digit temperatures, the bees form a tight ball with the queen protected in the center.  The colder it gets, the tighter Continue reading “The good and bad of winter”

Lip Moisturizer

Lip Moisturizer
Filled tubes of lip moisturizer

 

Hi there! I know it’s been a while since I’ve been on here but now that the bee season has slowed down I have more time to finally work on those candles and more.

We’ve been melting down and cleaning wax to make Continue reading “Lip Moisturizer”

Finally into thirds

7-8-2017 All into thirds.

All the hives at the farm are finally up into their third box.  They still need to build the wax combs, then fill all the boxes with Continue reading “Finally into thirds”

Home hives are building up

5-8-17 Home hives

The hives at home are building up nicely.  The hives with a 4th box are already producing excess honey.  We’ve had good weather this spring and are hoping to get a good harvest from a few of these.  Others will be used to supplement the building hives at the farm.

Spring swarm still building comb

5-7-17 Swarm building comb

Our first swarm is still building comb, and fast!  Here are a few frames of beautiful white comb.  As bees walk on the comb over time, the pollen on their feet stain the wax it’s usual yellow color.  This wax hasn’t Continue reading “Spring swarm still building comb”

Second swarm of 2017

4-23-17 Second swarm of 2017.

Today I found another swarm, near the same location as the first.  This swarm was large, not quite as big as a basketball.  I’m still trying to figure out where these are coming from.  All the hives here at home have marked queens, and they were still in place when checked after the first swarm was found.  Both swarms have unmarked queens.  I have a guess which hive they are from, but it’s still a mystery.

Swarm comb!

4-23-17 Swarm building comb

My first swarm has been building comb for just a few days and have built out 3 and a half frames already!  It’s amazing how fast these gals can build when they’re in this mindset.