keljonma's Front Porch - Settling in and adjusting

[keljonma]

Since yesterday was so hazy I did not work with the bees. We had a huge storm last night, but the day appears to be clearing up. Temps were at 71 by 6:30 this morning, and forecast calls for 85 and more rain today. In fact, it looks like tomorrow will be the only sunny day until Monday.

I have cleaned the container I'll be putting honey frames in to carry them up to the house.

The extractor belongs to our friend who helped when our bees swarmed. Tonight I'll be taking the thing apart and will be cleaning it so it is ready to go. I checked out the extractor box today and saw friend also lent us his electric capping knife and a small capping catcher tray.

I have to get a couple more concrete blocks for the #2 hive for the hive to stand on - right now it is still sitting on the table that goes to the extractor.

Our next Beek meeting is August 21 - the club's annual picnic and a demonstration about honey harvesting - comb and extractor. I don't know his schedule yet for that day, but I think TR has to work that week-end. So I will just have to wait until Saturday to see his schedule before I start thinking of making something for the picnic. The Beek Assoc purchases/provides hot dogs, hamburgers, buns, beverages, condiments, so the members just brings side dishes and desserts. Usually the picnic is held at Alan's farm, as he has a huge picnic pavilion near a small lake on his place; but this year we are meeting at a park in the township. There are always lots of games for kids and adults, and fishing for the whole family. And a fun time is usually had by all.

 

[lorihadams]

That sounds fun.....hubby was saying that several of his coworkers were complaining that they had lots of blooms on their garden veggies but no actual fruit. He said....no bees=no food!

Now he's thinking of doing bees next year.....gonna have to do some research this winter

 

[Farmfresh]

Same here. Our squash plants are LOADED with blooms ... so far NO fruit!!! WE NEED MORE BEEKS!!!!

 

[keljonma]

Well I did it - last Saturday...

I finally set up the new hive stand for the #2 hive, moved the deep super and added the new super, and fed them some HBH sugar syrup. I briefly checked for the Queen - did not see her, but saw some brood cells, so am hopeful. The new super is a deep 10 frame box (paraffin coated) with Rite-Cell foundation. We used real beeswax foundation on our original hive, so I rubbed beeswax on the Rite-Cell and pressed some beeswax foundation along the top bars of each frame. Then I sprayed both sides of each frame with the HBH sugar syrup. I hope the girls take to the new foundation okay. After that I left Hive #2 alone for the day.

I took Hive #1 down to the hive stand and checked each super. This hive is the 8 frame medium supers hive we set up in April. I did not see the new Queen (born since the swarm), but the queen cell was gone (now the space is a regular cell that is empty. There were eggs and larva and brood cells in the lower levels of the hive. There is a lot of pollen and honey in the brood supers. This hive will survive winter on the amount of honey and pollen they have there. It took about 45 minutes to 1 hour for me to take the entire hive apart and inspect.

The honey supers are getting full but are not completely capped. However, I did harvest just 1 medium frame (!!) of completely capped honey.

The #1 Hive Ladies were NOT happy with me!! I got stung 3 times on the top of my right hand as I was closing up the last of the hive. Today I am still a bit swollen but no other problems.

I ended up using my bread knife, since we harvested only the one frame. I used the bread knife to remove the capping beeswax. I used the hand crank metal extractor friend loaned us. I put the honey through 2 filters - one coarse and one very fine.

We ended up with a bit more than 1 quart of beautiful amber wildflower honey from that one frame!! It is wonderful stuff!

 

[keljonma]

Weather has been in the 60s and 70s at night and 80s and 90s during the day. We had 2 days of hard rain, but did not get rain for the entire day either time.

The cockscomb and flamingo feather flowers have finally started blooming in the garden this past week-end, but not much else has flowered recently....unless you count the thistle. The French tarragon has seem to stopped yellowing...I didn't make any changes, so I don't know what happened for it to start to look healthier, but I am glad it is looking better. The chamomile flower buds have started forming in the container on the back porch. The Easter lily bloomed and we have 2 beautiful white flowers now.

In the garden we have some squash - although I can't tell yet whether they are acorn, buttercup or pie pumpkin yet.


There are lots of yellow jackets this year; they seem to be just everywhere! I really hate them.

I saw a couple yellow jackets flew on to the hive stand of Hive #1 this week-end looking for a honey bee to take home (carry out for yellow jacket youngsters). Three or four girls of the hive wasted no time in ganging up on each of the yellow jackets and dispatching them. In 1 hour I swatted 4 yellow jackets hanging around Hive #1 near my observer's chair and the worktable behind the hive. (I keep a fly swatter in my bee tool kit for this purpose.)

At Hive #2 there were more; I swatted a few and the girls of the hive took care of some as well. So I think both hives are doing well against yellow jackets.

My Hive #2 observations were puzzling me. These girls didn't seem to be doing well to my mind. Then I thought - this is because this was the swarm from the original hive. DUH! I looked back to my beek journal from starting the first hive. These girls in Hive #2 are where they were in mid to late May...I will probably have to feed this hive more than I have been when the nectar starts slowing down.


The fair ended yesterday. Last night we could hear the goats complaining as they were being carted away or walked home. Very early this morning, TR and I saw the tilt-a-wheel and the other rides being driven away... probably off to the Lake County fair, which I think starts this week. The last fair in our area is the Geauga County fair - the oldest and largest fair in our neck of the woods.


TR is off on Wednesday and this coming week-end. We have stuff to do (harvesting buckwheat, weeding, etc), but not sure what our plans are other than that. Maybe I will try to harvest some more honey.

Have fun!

 

[Javamama]

We are very crispy and brown down here. Though we have gotten alot of rain this summer, it just doesn't compete with the heat. I have never had snapdragons die before, but they are re-seeding, so fall should have some color. We are cutting everything back this week It has just been too hot.
Very nice on the bees and honey!

 

[PamsPride]

Your quart of honey sounds so delicious!! I really want to get my hives up and going in the spring! I got my milk goats this year so my bees are next year!
I will need you to come over and show me what to do with the bees!!

It has been raining here just about every other day, mostly in the middle of the night.

 

[keljonma]

Your quart of honey sounds so delicious!! I really want to get my hives up and going in the spring! I got my milk goats this year so my bees are next year!
I will need you to come over and show me what to do with the bees!!

It has been raining here just about every other day, mostly in the middle of the night.

I would love to come help! Let me know when you are ready.

 

[TanksHill]

Your hives sound amazing and so interesting.

I wanted to tell you about something I saw last week. I had taken my kids to the local movie theater. We were walking through the parking lot and the landscape crews were there. As we walked past the median at the end of our row I noticed a few bees buzzing. They were hovering over one of those in ground green sprinkler boxes. I actually took a minute to show the kids and told the landscape guys I walked past. But when I passed their cutting pile I notice I was to late. There were two large chunks of honey comb on the ground!! I couldn't believe it. If I was going instead of coming I would have probably picked it up and brought it home. Would that have been a bad idea?? Besides what could I have done with it when I got it here??

Oh, I also had a friend who told me her squash had lots of flowers but no veggies. I asked her if she had bees. She said no. I told her that was why. I have a ton of bees, and lots of squash!!!

Sorry for rambling. Have a great day!

gina

 

[keljonma]

Gina, it sounds like the bees had a hive somewhere near the area you saw the honeycomb. The bees near the comb could have been from the hive where the comb was built, or could have been robber bees taking advantage of the situation.

The tricky part about taking the comb home would have been that you had no guarantee that there were pesticides, fertilizers or other harmful/poisonous chemicals sprayed near or on the hive. Beeswax is very absorbent when it comes to that kind of stuff, and the honey could have been affected.

But taking it home would have given you a great science project at the very least.... magnification of each cell ... made so precisely by the wax glands underneath the honey bee. Each cell is made up of tiny pieces of wax no larger than a zinnia seed.