New Colony Coming Soon

Next week I'll order a package of bees through the Piedmont Beekeepers Association who is presenting the Beginners class. They will come from Georgia with a marked queen. Delivery date is currently near the end of April.

This will be the first time I start a hive with a package. When I got my first 2 hives they were already established (unknown how many years old) and filled with wax, brood, pollen, & nectar (and nosema, varroa, & waxmoth in Mary). So I've never seen a colony start from the beginning. The best part is all the new wooden ware. With Mary & Myrina I had to start replacing parts piece-meal from day One. Neither of them has ever had all new parts.

Things I must do first:

1. Build & paint all wooden ware
2. Select hive location & build stand
3. Add Chronolog to Blog
4. Read up on installing packages
   
5. Pray it won't be raining when they show up.

Bee'ginners Bee School

Tonight was the first class of the 'Beekeeping for Beginners' course presented by the Piedmont Beekeepers Association in Lynchburg, Virginia. About time! About time, because I've had bees for Two years and am finally attending a class. About Time, also because the first two classes were postponed due to bad Winter storms. The class was packed with soon to be new beekeepers. Which is a very good sign. People mentioned many different reasons for enrolling:

1. Lack of pollinators
2. Bees need a helping hand
3. I want honey
4. My garden needs bees
5. Parent & child shared activity
6. I have bees and don't know what to do with them
   
7. I saw a demonstration and decided to start
8. My wife saw a demonstration and decided that I was going to start

Or this one,

My relative who kept bees in the States moved to a Caribbean island where he was attacked and almost killed by Africanized bees.

I have no idea how that last one works but I'm glad they came all the same. #'s 6 & 8 apply mostly to me. I can't wait to finish this bee class & bee smart.