5 Years under the Belt

Today is the fifth anniversary of us getting into beekeeping.  The big issue this coming year is repopulating the apiary.  Last Summer, Fall, & Winter were hard on the bees.  We lost all the established hives.  Only a tiny Fall swarm survived.  She is now in a full hive and brooding up.  We have one package that has been hived and one more due to arrive next weekend.  I am setting out swarm traps and hoping the annual wild swarm that always passes through the yard does so again.

5 years of wear

As it is the main flow is about to start.  The Black Locust is in bloom which means the Yellow Poplars are next.  The flow will hit us while the three hives have a low population.  It will help the bees establish themselves but i doubt any surplus honey will be made this year.  Fortunately we have enough from last year to get us through this one.

We could very well go back into Winter with less hives than last Fall.  I fondly think back to two years ago when for a brief time I had ten colonies in the apiary.

Good luck to all you Beeks this year.  May your bees be many and your Honey flow.

____________________☼____________________

Fourth Anniversary

We've completed four years worth of beekeeping today.  This last year has seen the biggest leaps in the practice here at the Creek:
*The yard has increased from two hives up to ten (currently seven). 
*We continue to make all our queens
*A Queen Castle is now in use to create & store additional queens
*We combined several weak hives last Fall for Winter management
*All nucs (two) were over-Wintered successfully
*The yard has been moved entirely to the side yard
*All stands are anchored into the ground
*Apistan has been replace by more natural formic acid for mite control
*Most woodenware continues to be made in the garage

Last November there was a Anaphylaxis scare when a sting caused me to get emergency treatment.  Since then i have been stung again with no complications.  Proving the earlier sensitivity was only temporary.

As we go into our fifth year i hope to successfully over-Winter a Queen castle and start producing nucs for sale.  The honey harvest is, as usual, up to the bees.  I can only pile on the boxes hoping they will fill them.  The flow looks great right now so fingers are crossed.

This blog will suffer some though.  I don't have the time to post a full blown article every time i go near the bees.  From now on I will TRY to keep the Chronicles updated as to the status of the hives. In-depth articles will only be posted if i feel it is warranted; such as major inspections, discovery, or innovation. 

I thank all who visit & comment here and look forward to a productive fifth year.

*_____________________________☼______________________________*

Happy Anniversary! 3 years

May 5th of 2008 is the day we acquired our first 2 hives, Mary & Myrina.  2 old souls just needing a place to be.  How they have changed our lives.  We plant more for the bees now than we do for the vegetable garden.  The neighbor was bitten by the bee bug and now has 4 hives of her own.  Every January is spent planning for the coming bee year.  In March & April I'm too busy with the bees to do anything else.  I've met countless people who graciously lend their advice and support.  All in all it's been great.

I had hope to celebrate by taking the wife to town for a couple chocolate shakes.  Instead, on a whim, i put the veil on and looked into the 3 nucs.  It turns out All 3 now have laying queens.  One i knew about, the other 2 are new.  So to celebrate I got to mark 2 new queens.  Just as I finished that up the neighbor pulled up with the bee packages we had ordered; she got 2 and I 1. 

Going into the fourth year will be 3 hives and 3 nucs.  Although I might make a forth nuc out of frames from all 3 nucs.  Then make Nuc #3 a full hive; they're comb building fiends.  A guy at work has a bee tree of Survivors.  He said I can set up swarm traps at his place any time.

Should make for a busy forth year.

* ____________________________________________________________*

Second Aniversary

Today marks our second anniversary of Beekeeping.  2 years ago we woke up to our first full day with bees in the yard.  The previous evening at Sundown my Wife & I drove to a farm 15 miles away, packed Mary & Myrina onto the back of our truck and drove them back to our awaiting yard.

I only had the 'Beekeeping for Dummies' book for reference.  I didn't know any beeks and knew nothing of clubs or online forums.  Saying I was a bee-haver would be generous.  Yet ignorance was bliss and we eventually harvested 75#'s of the best honey ever!

The first winter was mild & spring brought some surprises.  We got to watch the bees swarm a few times & I began to realize Mary was having troubles.  Also 2009 was the worst honey year on record here due to the rain.  Mary continued her downward spiral as I desperately searched for answers.  There would be no honey yield in '09 but in October I found the Piedmont Beekeepers Association & the online forums.  The many great people in the association and on the forums answered my questions and helped me better understand what my role as a beekeeper really is.

The Winter of  2010 was then the hardest winter in decades.  Many colonies in the area died as a result.  Mary's number came up too.  Yet We were able to save her hive by bringing it in the house.  Still though Mary's & Myrina's populations were greatly reduced.

Now into Spring.  I've completed the local Beginners Bee Course.  Plus we've bought a package of bees and I'm trying to hive a wild colony in the woods.  We might end the year with 4 colonies but only Myrina has enough bees to make honey.  We'll see.

Meanwhile there's new contacts to make both at the club & online.  I have so much to learn and do before next winter.  All of it will be posted here as it happens.

Our appreciation goes to many for the support we have received.  The great information, good conversations, or even moral support offered by many of you.

Thank you.