Update on the bee hives

I've been very happy that I started with 2 hives as everyone suggested. Being a new beekeeper, there is really no other way to understand what a strong hive and a weak hive look like.

I have one of each. And the difference between them is huge.

The hive that I call the West Hive (because it was on the west stand) is doing really well. Okay, that might be an understatement. It's going crazy. Meanwhile the East Hive is hardly doing anything. And Until recently, I learned all of that just by watching the entrances and checking the bottom box by holding a mirror under.

When I started noticing the East Hive falling so far behind, my friend Pam Kelley suggested I switch the positions of the hives. That will sometimes help even out the populations by tricking the stronger hive's bees into calling the weaker hive their home.

Jeremy helped me make the switch one sunny day a few weeks ago. And it did help the population of the original East Hive. But eventually it dwindled again.

So, after reading and talking with my bee friend more, I was certain there was no queen or even, perhaps, a laying worker bee (which is a real problem). So I called Wolf Creek Bees to order a new queen.

But John at Wolf Creek convinced me that something else might be happening. I needed to investigate a little more closely before I introduced a new queen. That was not a pleasant prospect for me. But I did it - with help from my wonderful and brave husband/co-farmer Brent. We opened up the hive and pulled out the combs.

Here I am looking really closely at the cells.

It was fascinating. John explained what I should look for to determine whether there was a laying worker - the eggs would be on the sides of the cells and there may be more than one egg in the cells. So, as you can see, I looked really closely. And, strangely, there were no eggs to be found.

John also mentioned that they might be growing a new queen. I'm still puzzled about that. How could they if the queen wasn't laying? But, guess what, that's exactly what they are doing!

Comb with queen cells - those peanut shaped things sticking out.

We found queen cells on a comb near the center of the box. And one of the cells was capped (closed up). That was all I needed to see. So we carefully put things back together. Then I quickly went inside to start reading. And I learned that a queen would hatch about a week after the cell was capped and then go on a mating flight a week later. So, maybe, this little hive will pull through.

It's already been 2 weeks since we opened that hive. I'm watching carefully for signs that the workers are bringing in pollen for brood. But I'm not seeing anything yet. 

The West Hive is obviously thriving. When I took off the feeders near the end of May, I could see with my mirror that comb was already built in the bottom box. So Brent quickly constructed new boxes with windows for me and we added one to the bottom. That was box 3. A week later we could see comb in the new box with the window. It's amazing. Since then, we added another box making that hive 4 boxes tall!

It's growing crazy-fast. The bees coming and going get so crowded at the entrance that they knock each other off the landing board. The number of bees living in there must be incredible. If you listen carefully near the screened bottom, you can actually hear the whoosh of air moving in the hive. It's a very healthy and happy sound.

We might get to harvest a little honey from that hive this year :-)

Bees, bees, bees…and asparagus

A close-up of the bees in their "package"

Well, I'm a beekeeper now. The bees finally arrived on Saturday after a freezing Friday night. The post office called me at 6:18 a.m. and I showed up to get them at 7:15. I had no idea what to expect - except what I had seen on the numerous videos I had watched to learn what the heck I was supposed to do to get them into the hives.

I had taken the day off on Friday because the USPS tracking said my 4 packages (2 for each hive) were expected to arrive that day. So I spent the day making sugar syrups for the new bees to live on until the flowers start blooming. Then I "prepped" the hives by putting beeswax on the top bars and set them up on their benches in the apiary. The post office called Friday at around 3:45 to say they wouldn't be coming until Saturday. And I was a little relieved.

They arrived early in the morning and it was still cold. So I waited until 4:00 p.m. to install them (because the videos said they would be ready to settle down in the late afternoon). But, having watched them for a few days now, I think I should have waited until even later - or installed them in the morning when it was cold.

I didn't do a very good job getting the first batch of bees into their hive. But it helped me learn a lot that was helpful for the second batch. For instance, that can of food, it's hard to get out. You should do that first - to both boxes.

Getting the food can out of the box was incredibly hard.

After the can finally came out, I pulled out the queen cage and saw that she was alive. Her little cage has 2 corks - one in each end. After removing one of those, I placed her cage into the hive. Then it was time to dump in the bees. First, I hit the box on the ground to make bees fall onto the floor of the package. Next, I began shaking them out of the opening, pouring them over the queen cage. And I repeated that a couple of times.

Dumping the bees into their home - and banging the sides to get them to fall.

At that point bees are starting to come out of the box and fly around. It was hard to be focused with all that buzzing. But it seemed like I was about done and I replaced the bars in the top box and started to put the sugar syrup feeder on top. Then I turned and noticed the second box. Darn. So I kinda botched the first install. With all those bees flying out of the hive now, I had to try to get that stubborn can out of the second box. Needless to say, a lot of the first group had to find their own way back into the hive because I didn't get things closed up quickly - at all.

Like I said, I learned a lot. The second hive got a lot more bees into it and I was a lot less nervous. But I did get one bee sting when I installed that second hive. And I learned that with a lot of disoriented bees around, it's smart to stay on your feet. I got stung on my knee when I knelt down and crushed one of the little ladies accidentally.

It's been 3 days now. And, upon checking this evening, it looks like all the bees that were hanging onto the outside of the hive have found their way in. And bees are busily coming and going at the hive entrance - like they work there or something :-)

Whew! that was a big job. My next task is to retrieve that queen cage - maybe on Thursday or Friday.

Asparagus in their cinderblock raised beds.

Meanwhile, Brent spent the day building some super-cool raised beds for the asparagus crowns I bought a couple of weeks ago. He also made 2 trips back to Shawnee to pick up the pulverized topsoil that fills the beds - and shoveled it into the beds. It's really no wonder we are sore and achy on Monday.

The asparagus beds span the entire south side of the house. We planted 50 crowns in over 50 feet of raised beds. It will take a year, but we should have plenty. And the fronds from the spears we don't harvest will make a pretty screen for the ground level windows.

It's all slowly (and sometimes suddenly) coming together…

…and we have BEES!

Taxes, blueberries and apiary prep

Last week we picked up our blueberry bushes and got an area ready for the bees that will come this week.

The blueberry hedge (in the making)

My picture of the blueberry bushes is a little underwhelming. It was a lot of work! Since blueberries don't grow very well here in Kansas, there were some pretty particular instructions for planting - and all of it was hard. Each of the 6 plants required a hole 20" around by 15" deep. That didn't sound like much until I tried digging one and realized I had to do 5 more :-P

Each of those holes needed to be filled with 1.8 cu. ft. of Canadian peat moss. I purchased 3.8 cu. ft. bales which were a little too heavy for me. But I moved them anyway. The peat moss had to be mixed with water until it was the consistency of mud. That was fun, but time-consuming. And, finally, after 2 days' work, the blueberries were in the ground.

It's hard to see in the photo, but they are planted at the top of a retaining wall on the west side of the house. This will allow me to water them easily as it is close to the spigot and the gray water outlet. The placement will also provide good drainage.

Apiary for our new bees.

Yesterday, I spent the entire day clearing an area for our beehives. Our bees will leave their birthplace in North Carolina on Wednesday. We should be ready when they arrive at the post office later this week.

Meanwhile, Brent was fixing a very important fixture that had started leaking - the kitchen faucet. Amazingly, we have already had some equipment failures in our new home. We are chalking it up to the hardness of the water here. The faucet malfunction was a major disruption, but he got it fixed and we have running water in the kitchen again :-)

Saturday, we met with our tax guy Tom. I'm not sure why taxes are so stressful, but they are. Brent and I spent all day on Saturday collecting the papers in preparation for the meeting. Glad to have that in the works. We were a little late getting that process started.

Kick spindle full of fun.

After all that paper organizing, Brent and I each found our own ways to relax. I decided to spend some time spinning yarn in our quiet house. Brent spent some time at the local bar and grill watching the basketball tournament. That was the perfect way to decompress.

Overall, a good and productive week. The upcoming week looks to be an exciting one, too. I will embark on a new hobby - beekeeping!

Busy, busy… beehive

Our week was so full that we were only able to squeeze one super-quick visit to the farm on Memorial Day. But it was a productive one. Brent installed my beehive!

Beehive number 1 - ready for bees!

This year we will keep our fingers crossed that a scout from a swarm will find its way to our farm. The beehive is a Warré hive. I painted only the exterior of the hive to seal and protect it from the weather. Otherwise, all the wood inside is bare.

In order to make the hive more attractive to bees, beeswax has been rubbed on the bars. It has a lovely fragrance that apparently encourages the bees to begin building their comb right where you put it.

While we were installing the hive we saw that the rough-in crew has made more progress on the exterior siding and installed the front door.

West side with siding partially installed

Northeast corner showing shake and lap siding over garage doors.

If you click on the photo above, you may notice in the larger photo that there is some detail in the siding. We have shake in the peaks above the lap siding. Those shakes will be painted a different color than the lap siding to add some detail.

I heard yesterday that the crew is finishing up the siding. So there will no longer be a need for the Skytrak that has been rented since the installation of the SIPs panels. 

Next, the septic system and installation of our cisterns for rainwater collection and storage. Interior work will continue as well, including meeting with the electrician.

Busy, busy!

Happy Mother's Day

I got a great present. Brent built a Warré beehive for me :-)

My first beehive. It's made of lumber salvaged from the old house on our farm.

Overall, it was a beautiful day. I spent it working on potting up all my native seedlings and moving more of the tropical plants outdoors for the summer.

Happy Mother's day to all!