winterizing the hive
The weather has officially turned, not only are the nights in the 30s and 40s, now many of the days are seeing these lows. We have darkness at 4:00pm and snow could fall any day. We have had several fires in our living room fireplace, and I am burning candles in most of the rooms in our house. Pumpkin Spice is back on all the menus, the leaves changing, there was apple and pumpkin picking and fall sweater weather photo shoots. Fall is a whole vibe for many people. It’s kind of crazy., but I get it.
wild honey
It’s been a little over a week since Amanda told me about this feral beehive. Her sister-in-law, Adriana called her one day, saying she had a neighbor who had a beehive on their land that they needed “gone by Saturday”. Amanda continued, “They're going to throw it on their weekly brushfire.” With Saturday only a couple of days away, Amanda paid a visit to the reluctant landlords of these endangered bees.
the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few
On Thursday October 5, 2023, there was little wind and sunshine at the time of inspection. The temperature high was 67 degrees Fahrenheit. I executed a queen that day, to save her subjects.
to treat or not to treat: checking hives for mites
The next thing on my mind regarding wintering is mite count. Beekeepers love to talk about mite counts. The first time I treated the girls I did it without getting a mite count. It’s not the worst thing to do, it’s better than not treating at all. But, how do you know if a treatment is successful if you don’t track the counts, before and after treatment. There are more than one very effective ways of checking for mites in a hive. The method I used is called, alcohol washing.
the nine lives of a hive
Beekeeping with husband, dealing with swarms, and requeening while looking inside myself.
special delivery for the new beekeeper
Beekeeping for a beginner is like being a first time parent. Lots of trial by error and maybe a little intuition with lots of going along and crossing fingers you didn’t mess that up too bad. You can read the books, and listen to the lectures but real life experience is that you learn the most from.