Lots of News and Lots of Pictures

Hello again everyone.  A lot has happened since my last post.  I have completed the Carroll County Beekeeping Association Short Course.  Here is the proof.

I learned a lot about keeping bees in Central Maryland.  Although the last day of classroom was all about everything that can kill my bees, I remain resolute.  The good news is that with proper management, things that stress bees can be overcome.  This includes Integrated Pest Management such as my screened bottom boards, hive beetle traps, and miticides.  I think Oxcalic acid will be my miticide of choice.  A little more of an investment but will save my bees in the long run.  A good article on it can be found here.

The capstone for the Short Course is a field day at Bear Branch Nature center.  Unfortunately it was too cold to actually get into the apiary to look at live bees.  Ronan did get a chance to practice lighting our smoker though.  He did a good job and got it lit on the first try.  Good start for the young beekeeper. 

Inside there were several tables set up with information and hands on stuff.  I had some good conversations about feeders and Ronan got quizzed by our Mentor's wife.  I think he fared pretty well.  He also got to try out an extractor.  We won't have honey for a while but at least he knows how to use it. 

After we got home, there was a package waiting for me from Jen.  She told me to go ahead and open it.  It is a beautiful leather diary with some high quality paper for me to keep track of my apiary visits and document the visits to my hives.  I can't wait to use it.  I feel like I need to take a Penmanship course prior to using it though.

The other exciting news is that my bees will be here sooner than expected.  I was originally scheduled to get my bees around April 10.  The March shipment was a week early and there is every reason to believe that the April one will be as well.  That means I could have them in less than two weeks.  I am also purchasing a Nuc from my mentor and he seems to think they will be ready to go any day now.  Because of that I have finally got my hive boxes set up in the back yard and are just waiting for bees.

Before long, those entrances will be buzzing.  I can't wait.  Jen plans on planting wildflowers all in the back.  The top picture shows the lilac bushes along the fence (which are budding) and the second picture shows the apple trees.  Hopefully my bees will have plenty of food. 

Beautiful weather means a new video outside

Quick update everyone.  I took advantage of the great weather to do my smoker tutorial.  It was successful and I hope everyone finds it useful.  I did learn that I can't say tutorial without it coming out like "tour"torial. I wasn't going to do another take because of that though.  Unfortunately I didn't see any bees taking a cleansing flight although the temperature was warm enough.  I did get a chance to smell the farmers laying down fresh manure though.  Let's just say the smoker did it's job and masked the scent.  You can find the video here.  I have also been putting the eyelets in my frames and crosswired one of them.  I will do a video on that next.  See you next time.

Latest Unboxing

Hello everyone.  Sorry for the delay.  It has been a good few couple of weeks.  A lot has happened in regards to beekeeping.  First thing is that I got all of my hive components painted.  My wife Jen selected the color and I think it looks fantastic. This first picture is an in progress shot

It doesn't do the color justice. I just wanted to show the progress a little.  This next picture has all the pieces ready to go.  They are stacked that way just so I ensure they didn't stick together.  It does a better job of showing the color.  They are a pale almost robin egg blue in person.

The next big news is that we got another shipment from Brushy Mountain Bee Farm.

It had a surprise for Ronan in it.  It was his "Wee Bee" Suit.  It is a perfect fit and he is very excited.

It also contained another hood for me, that zips to my current jacket.  That enables me to have the separate veil for any visitors to use.  This is both of us suited up.

Also in the package were eyelets and crosswire for my frames.  This is a vital component if I ever intend to use an extractor.  It will keep the honeycomb from blowing out. The video of the unboxing can be found here.  I apologize in advance for the poor framing.  I am still trying to figure this all out.  Hopefully by the time I am working with the bees I will have it down and will provide some great videos.

We are excited to get started. I purchased my first package of bees last night and I will pick them up on April 9th or 10th (weather allowing).  Then we are up and running.