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tonybeeguy

idabean, thisbud, how's it going in your parts?

tonybeeguy
16 years ago

Just wondering how all is going for you all this year? It seems to be average so far around here this year. Last year was a boomer.

Comments (5)

  • Marie Tulin
    16 years ago

    Thanks for checking in, Tony. I did post a couple of weeks ago, I think, and maybe you responded. Not too many others, so it didn't stay on top very long.

    We installed a third super, a honey super. I did it "all by myself" with the smoker, managed to pry off the top of the second one which was covered in propolis, and replace it with the new super, without killing any bees. I was pretty proud. My husband is really into them, so I intend to get him a veil and gloves soon.

    It's like a Los Angeles freeway at the hive. More bees zooming in and out than the eye can see. During the very hot nights recently bees covered about a third of the front of the bottom super.

    My flowers are buzzing with honeybees (and hummers, hummermoths, swallowtails, tiny wasps) With the hive, I feel as though my little garden is Eden. I want for nothing.

    It is nearly time to peek inside the second super and see what the queen and cohorts are doing. Oh yes, I watched a bumble bee try for many minutes to get into the hive from the bottom. It would go in, and come out very quickly. Did not seem to get the point and was very persistent.

    S0, I don't know what "average" or "boomer" year looks like in bee terms, but I do know from one package of bees, I'm up to honey super and the bees are active, and I am very glad I took up this hobby

  • tonybeeguy
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Sounds like you're doing all the right things. It's picking up around here. My best hive last year seems like it doesn't want to give up the number one spot, but I have a couple of new hives this year that are trying to be competitive. Most are doing well although I have one weak hive that wax moths have gotten into. I cleaned it up but may have to requeen it or combine with another hive.Good luck and keep me posted. I'll do the same. Tony

  • thisbud4u
    16 years ago

    Tony, my biggest headache this year has been a family of !@#$%^&* kingfisher birds who have been eating my bees at a furious rate. I put sticky rat traps on top of my hives and captured one bird, smooshing it to death with a brick. When my shocked bee-friends tell me how cruel I am, I remind them that they kill gophers and think it's necessary if you want to have a farm.

    My bee-friends say I'm crazy because I have put queen excluders on my hives, but not where they are "supposed" to go (just above the brood chamber) but rather between the third and fourth supers. With those blasted birds eating the bees, the poor queen has had to raise new brood constantly just to keep the numbers of bees from collapsing, so I'm letting her make brood in the supers--just not the very top one. I know this is "weird" but I'm going with my gut instinct here.

    Despite my better judgment, I'm a religious-type person, and I always pray before working on the bees. Every time I do this, I get a joyful feeling, as if I know I'm doing something good by taking care of bees. Maybe I should tell you the story of how I got into beekeeping: One day about two years ago, I went waltzing back to my little nursery where I grow my cuttings and nurse young plants for the farm. I blithely grabbed my watering hose and started watering my nursery plants, only to realize that I'd just walked past a gigantic swarm of bees that had attached itself to a Myoporum bush next to the path leading to my nursery. I called a bee-friend, and he brought over a hive body, and proceeded to put the swarm in the box. He and his assistant then left, but lent me a spare bee suit so I could take the hive box over to a better location when the bees had settled down. No sooner had they left than the bees departed the hive and went back to the bush. I swear to God I heard a Divine command, saying "Put the bees in the box, put the bees in the box." So, I put on the suit and did what I was told. This time the bees stayed there, and for about fifteen minutes I felt like Hercules. I couldn't believe I'd done that all by myself, but for some reason, I felt not fear but joy. After that day, I was totally hooked. What is it about these little fuzzy insects that makes them so lovable?

  • Marie Tulin
    16 years ago

    I often hear a Divine Voice in the garden...more often a Divine Silence.

  • tonybeeguy
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Honey bees are just beautiful little creatures. I love to watch them up close, and I've been trying to get some good pictures of them foraging on different flowers but it isn't easy. It's hard to catch them just right and they won't seem to pose. I got hooked a few years ago when a friend offered to split any honey with me if I let him put 2 hives in my backyard. We go through over 120 lbs a year so it seemed like the perfect offer. In fact I think it's the best way to get started; by helping a beekeeper with his or her hives. That way you get to experience it and decide if you Really want to give it a try before making a commitment in time and money. Well, I got stung bad (by the beekeeping bug)and loved it, so last year my plan was to get 2 hives of my own, but a few people offered use of their land, and I ended up ordering 5 packages.Meanwhile I made a hooked hive tool from a lawnmower blade and built a smoker from cans and metal from the landfill and stuff I had around the house and read everything about bees that I could get my hands on. Yes, I was bitten bad. From there it was a snowball. I built 4 deep hive bodies and 4 medium supers and enough extras like screens, slatted racks,inner and outer covers and bee escape boards for all of my hives plus some extra to barter for the anticipated use of an extractor. I extracted just over 400 lbs of surplus honey, kept 150, gave some away, came up with a name, ordered jars and labels and started selling by word of mouth. So this year my goal was 10 hives which I've made, and I built a bee vac, did my first cut-out and retrived a colony from a tree that fell. I'm meeting some very nice people and learning new things every day. My life consists of doing odd jobs, playing in a couple of bands and keeping bees. There's no clock to punch, I get to spend lots of time outdoors, and get to play lots of music. The drawbacks are no pension and not having the security of knowing exactly where next month's mortgage money will come from, but so far a gig or job has always come up when I needed it. I feel like I'm leading the good life away from the rat race and the trap of consumerism that so many people fall into. That's my story thus far. happy beekeeping!

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:432460}}

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