Today turned out to be pretty exciting after all. Around 10:30 I received a phone call from Michelle, Ken’s wife, asking if I wanted to come help capture a swarm. I would say I didn’t do much ‘helping’ – but it was amazing to be there. Here you see Steven sizing up the situation. He’s … Read more
Somebody got stung on Monday when we were out inspecting the bees. The bee had crawled up her sleeve and found it a bit too claustrophobic and threatening, so she ended up with a sting. No big deal, that’s what the pennies in my pocket are for. .
This pic is a bit blurry, but it captures the moment. These bees are connected to each other by their legs, forming a chain that bridges the gap between the two frames. This was after I had completed the inspection and was putting the frames back into their proper places, I noticed the gap at … Read more
It was nice to have friends along on our trip out to the beeyard yesterday! My girls have been very interested in the bees, and I think this has rubbed off on their friends. We all went out for the inspection, and they were able to see the queen, workers, honey, pollen, brood, and eggs. … Read more
The populations of the hives seem to be expanding – I think I’ve got bees now that were eggs when I bought the frames. The time it takes for the worker bees to develop, from egg to worker, is about 21 days, so that makes sense. The visit today went well. The mistake I corrected … Read more
Some people have to learn the hard way. I didn’t think I was one of those people, but apparently this time I am. In the beekeeping course I took, the concept of ‘bee space’ was drilled into us. It’s important to keep a certain small distance between the frames in the hive in order to … Read more
A sunny afternoon finally came on a day when I could go to the beeyard. It’s been about two weeks since I installed the bees, and I’ve been itching to go inspect them for about a week. Nothing tastes better than honey and comb, warm and drippy, straight from the hive. My girls thought so … Read more