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    don’t wash your hive tool

    This here is a scrap piece of metal I found in my 'bee bag' that holds my various beekeeping tools. It's a good thing it was there, because I somehow ended up out at the hives without my trusty hive tool.

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    first honey harvest

    Since I had a super full of crazy curvy comb - that can happen when you don't use foundation - I couldn't just pop my honey frames in an extractor and give them a spin. First, I had to cut the comb from the frames. I used the wires in the frames as a guide, so it all came out in strips.

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    bee lifeguard

    I was filling my backyard pool today (thanks Bianca!) and decided to do a bit of skimming. I guess this gal was thirsty - or maybe got too hot? - she showed up on the skimmer. Then I started noticing that there was more than one bee in the pool.... hmmm....

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    bee escape

    Setting up the bee escape and waiting for a few days allows the beekeeper to come back and take the box of honey without having to shake out the bees and piss them off. Or use a bee brush on the frames, which I can't do anyway since the comb is not actually in the individual frames. It's kind of meandering through the honey super. So I need a bee escape. And I need to go check it soon, since it's been on there for a bit. Here's a pic of the escape:

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    a taste of honey

    I've filtered my first half-cup of honey through this old food mill that belonged to my Grandma - see the honeycomb in the cone - and now I just want to look at it! I've tasted it, but that's all. It's a very light yellow - here's the comparison to Ken's:

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    uncaged

    . She’s out!! I set up the ob hive today so friends could have a look at the bees, and I noticed that the queen is out of her cage. Didn’t take long – everybody loves candy. She’s the one with the white dot in the picture. Hooray! Now we’ll have eggs and larvae to watch too. .

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    new momma for the girls

    Many thanks to Ken for helping me yesterday with my queen and observation hive! The hive is a bit of a beast - it's so much easier with two people and more experience (Ken's, not mine). Anyway, here's the queen cage with queen and attendants - same one we saw yesterday, only in this pic Ken is uncorking the end. You'll notice the white bit - that's the 'candy' that the bees will need to chew through in order to free the queen. The cork is a precaution - there's so much candy there that Ken also made a wee hole through it to get them started.

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    she’s here!

    I received a phone call this morning from a lady at Canada Post - they had a buzzing package for me. The queen bee and her attendants have arrived already! I was very thankful she decided to call me to pick it up, rather than sent it out with a letter carrier. It's been so hot, and she was worried that the bees might overheat, as was I. Not worried anymore, I've got my queen! Let's take a look:

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    2 more stings

    In spite of the sweat-inducing oven of a coverall you see me wearing, I did manage to get 2 more stings yesterday at the beeyard. Right through the coverall. So I ask myself again, 'why do I wear this?' Hmmm.