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July News and Updates
On the 4th of July, the author experienced symptoms related to Covid-19, prompting a hospital visit. They also shared experiences regarding skin cancer scares and the bees in their colonies. Additionally, they provided updates on their greenhouse, lavender bed, and soil monitoring. The author is optimistic about the progress of their projects, despite facing challenges.
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The Longest Week: Retrieving the 2nd Boone County swarm
In the lead-up to Memorial Day, the writer shares their busy week relocating a bee swarm, likening it to the enduring efforts of D-Day. They detail each day’s tasks, from painting the hive box to finally moving the bees to their new home. Despite the challenges, the rewarding outcome made it all worthwhile.
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Homing the Boone County Swarm
5/4/2024 – Busy day: Captured and relocated swarm from Columbia tree with friend Brian. Moved swarm trap to permanent hive after morning church meeting. Bees eager to leave trap, but with tools from Linda, made progress. Surprised by amount of drawn-out comb. Checked on wild swarm, found them on frames in the morning.
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Spring activities?
As warm weather arrives, the beekeeper observes the survival of their colonies and prepares for the hazardous time when flowers may be scarce. A late-season swarm has thrived, and the bees are active despite the lack of flowers. Plans for colony expansion and creating artificial splits are underway, along with building swarm boxes.
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Wiring the frames…
On 10/20/2023, the process of making frames was demonstrated, except for wiring them. Wires are essential for support, regardless of using strips or a full frame of foundation. Although wiring the frame seems simple, challenges like breaking and forgetting to staple occur. Ultimately, about 28 out of 40 frames were successfully wired.
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Working on frame tops…
September 1, 2023 I decided this would be a good day to work on frame tops. Of all the pieces of a frame the top takes the most amount of work. First the frame needs to be cut to a length of 14 5/16 inches and then to a width of 1 1/2 inches. After…
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Working on frame sides…
The project of building frames, hive boxes, and swarm traps has progressed slowly. With the aim of constructing 60 more frames for 3 additional hives, the process involves cutting and tapering the frame sides. Using scrap wood and a taper jig, the task is underway, yielding imperfect but functional results.
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Sunshine hive update…
8/12/2023 Between the two weeks of very high temperatures followed by what seemed two weeks of monsoonal like rain, it has been hard to check up on the bees. Last week between storms, we went down to the apiary to observe bee activity from the three hives. The hives that contain the swarms we trapped…
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Plans for the honey harvest…
The author recently attended a Serving Heroes National Conference and visited a container store to purchase equipment for honey harvesting. They acquired a container to hold honey frames and plan to use additional tools like a honey gate and strainer. However, they decided against a centrifugal honey extractor due to budget constraints.
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Plans for Year 2…
The bee season is ongoing, but planning for next year is in progress. The goal is to expand to 6 hives and 8 swarm boxes, requiring new frames, tops, bottoms, side pieces, and stands. Progress has begun with some frame parts already cut. Additionally, a new backstop for a metal sign has been created from…