TOWN BEES

Quilting Bee Shirts

2012-01-21T19:00:00.019-05:00

I was with my quilt bee group today and we meet a couple of blocks from a Habitat for Humanity Store. Melanie and I hadn't been in a couple of months so it seemed the right thing to do while we're there - stop in and see what they have. They were painting the inside of the store today so it was a little messy but they had a special - fill up your little basket with clothes for 5 bucks. Melanie got 3 shirts and I got 9 (all cotton) for $5 total - what a deal!
Some of these shirts will go in my Kaffe Fassett "shirt-stripe boxes" quilt.
Stay tuned!

FYI - not all Habitat stores have clothes. This particular one has clothes, shoes, linens, books, furniture, electronics and the usual building supplies. You never know what you'll find.

Score 1 for Lily

2012-01-18T20:33:00.000-05:00

Don't read any further if you're a squirrel lover . . . . .

Score - 1 for Lily
The first score for the year! Yep, don't hardly believe it myself but Lily got one of those pesky squirrels this morning. She has so many, many more to go - they're like deer - a car might hit one but there's twenty-five more on the other side of the road.

The Talking Centipede

2012-01-10T18:11:00.000-05:00

The Talking Centipede

A single guy decided life would be more fun if he had a pet.
So he went to the pet store and told the owner that he wanted to buy an unusual pet.

After some discussion, he finally bought a talking centipede, (100-legged bug),
which came in a little white box to use for his house.
He took the box back home, found a good spot for the box,
and decided he would start off by taking his new pet to church with him.

So he asked the centipede in the box, "Would you like to go to church with me today?
We will have a good time."
But there was no answer from his new pet.
This bothered him a bit, but he waited a few minutes
and then asked again, "How about going to church with me
and receive blessings?"
But again, there was no answer from his new friend and pet.
So he waited a few minutes more, thinking about the situation.
The guy decided to invite the centipede one last time.
This time he put his face up against the centipede's house and shouted,

"Hey, in there! Would you like to go to church with me
and learn about God?"

This time, a little voice came out of the box,
"I heard you the first time! I'm putting my shoes on!"

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T19:00:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I wish all of you the best for the new year - friends and family to hang out with, good health and a healthy attitude, taking time to do some things you've wanted to for years, and once in a while give yourself a break and a pat on the back. Lily's wish for the new year would be to catch one of those pesky squirrels.

Cheetah - The Tarzan Chimp

2011-12-28T12:08:00.000-05:00

Cheetah, a chimpanzee who starred alongside Tarzan in the franchise films of the early 1930s, died Saturday. He was thought to be 80 years old.

Cheetah was said to have performed in "Tarzan the Ape Man" (1932) and "Tarzan and His Mate" (1934), classic films about a man reared in the jungle starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan.

Around 1960, after living on Weissmuller's estate, Cheetah retired to Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, Fla. While at the sanctuary, Cheetah enjoyed watching sports on television, listening to nondenominational Christian music, and occasionally throwing poop when he was feeling disgruntled.

Surprise Inside

2011-12-24T22:39:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas

Pound Cake

2011-12-20T21:49:00.000-05:00

This is one of the mini pound cakes I made today with my fresh eggs. This recipe makes 4 small loaf size cakes and 1 medium loaf.
I've used this recipe for years - if it sits for a day or so, it's even better, freezes well and good flavor. These make great gifts.
Lily and I did a taste test - you know, just to be sure it was okay.

Cold Oven Pound Cake
2 sticks butter (room temperature)
3 c. sugar
1/2 c. Crisco shortening (room temperature)
5 eggs (room temperature)
3 c. sifted cake flour (I used regular all purpose flour)
1 c. milk (room temperature)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1 tsp. lemon flavoring
Cream butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add flour and milk alternately. Add baking powder to last of flour. Add flavorings. Pour into greased and floured tube pan. Put in COLD OVEN. Bake at 350 for 1 hr and 15 min.
Remove from oven. Let stand 10 min in pan. Turn out on serving plate. Cover with cake cover. Covering it while it's still warm helps bring out the flavor.

The Lottery

2011-12-13T11:48:00.000-05:00

No, no, no - not that kind of lottery. I'm getting eggs (well, only one a day for the past couple of days) and I feel like I won the lottery. It has been months. I'm thinking August/Sept since those girls had any kind of action.

Elly May, named after the one and only Elly May Clampett of The Beverly Hillbillies, is the provider!

I'll be making some pound cakes soon - they're the best when you have real eggs!

Turkey Day Thinking

2011-12-02T18:30:00.000-05:00

FYI - neither one of those folks is me but we're related!

And I did some serious thinking too.

Last Bee Check

2011-11-22T20:34:00.000-05:00

Warm again today with rain coming tonight so I did a final check of the hives. Took a super off Hive #4 and moved 3 full frames from Nuc #1 to Nuc #3. I looked in all the hives - just in the top super to see if they were full of honey. All six hives looked good and hopefully will have enough food to last the winter.

PEGGY

2011-11-18T22:50:00.005-05:00

I've been having some computer problems and have been dealing with a somewhat similar peggee! I'd stomp my foot if it would help - well, I have and it didn't help!
Hope to be up and running soon.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's . . . .

2011-10-31T18:23:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween

NC State Fair

2011-10-27T21:21:00.002-04:00

Construction Dude

The Vine Lady

Charleston

2011-10-20T21:04:00.003-04:00

I was in Charleston last weekend with Baby Boy. We had a great time - walked a lot, took a carriage ride around the town, had some wonderful food, and played in the park.

Garden Beds

2011-10-10T22:23:00.003-04:00

I've been working in the garden trying to get a little ahead for next year. I always wait until spring and then my beds aren't ready and I'm behind before I get started. I got two loads of leaf mulch a couple of weeks ago - buy 1, get 1 free - now that was a deal.

I've replaced the rotted boards. I use treated 4x8's and the big box store will cut them in half so three 4x8's will make one bed. I've added leaf mulch to some of the beds and will add more. I also want to plant a cover crop on the beds.

Moved some of the strawberry plants to a new bed. And generally trying to clean up a little - the mosquitos and hot weather about did me in this summer. The mosquitos are still around but at least it's not so hot.

And we're supposed to have some rain the next day or so.

Bee Checkup

2011-09-30T22:19:00.000-04:00

Thursday afternoon, Mr. Ellis and Jess (my favorite beekeepers) came over and we opened all the hives. Our fall inspection - we might do one more in 3-4 weeks but everything looked really good. All the hives had lots of brood and bees. Couple of minor changes - put a super on #6 from #4 - they had 3 supers and two brood boxes so moved the top super over to #6 and that gives them more food for the winter. Also in #4, we took 4 frames with brood from the Swarm Hive and put in the second brood box. There were several frames that had nothing on them. Nuc #3, Nuc #1 and Nuc #4 - no changes were made. In the Swarm Hive, we took off the top brood box - they were working but only 4 frames had any honey or brood so they were moved to #6.

It was great to have help and made quick work of checking the hives. The bees are bringing in lots of pollen - goldenrod and aster. I don't know what else but they are really busy.

Little Chicks

2011-09-19T20:38:00.000-04:00

Steven and Sara have little baby chicks at the river.

Hurricane Irene

2011-09-10T22:10:00.000-04:00

I was fortunate and had no damage from Hurricane Irene but some of my neighbors at the river were not so lucky.
Lots of big trees down but nobody was injured - nothing that can't be repaired or replaced.
Lots of firewood for Steven.

Checking Bees

2011-09-02T20:55:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I opened all the hives and checked to see how much food they have after the hot, hot summer we've had and the earthquake and Hurricane Irene - we've had lots of different weather lately.

All the hives have plenty of food but I did move some frames around and took a super off the Swarm Hive and put on Nuc #4. Some of the hives have empty frames and I'll rearrange those before cold weather. They're still bringing in some pollen.

A Pillow for Baby Boy

2011-08-22T20:42:00.000-04:00

A friend gave me a small piece of fabric - kinda crazy looking fabric - a cat in a submarine with a polka dot octopus! I made the cutest pillow for Baby Boy and he just loves it!

Hive #5

2011-08-07T19:44:00.000-04:00

I checked Hive #5 today and they were lost to wax moths. When I checked 7/25/11 they did not have a queen and even though I put 3 frames with good brood in the hive, it just wasn't enough.
The weather has been so hot and we haven't had much rain. We did get 2 inches this weekend so that will help everything and today is a little cooler.

Honey Production 2011

2011-07-29T21:59:00.000-04:00

It has been a great year for honey at my house - 72 pints, 22 half pints and 6 quarts with comb.

Checking Bees and Hot Weather

2011-07-25T16:10:00.000-04:00

We're in a record breaking heat wave - 5 days of temps over 100 - trust me, it feels like it's more.
I haven't checked the bees so this morning I thought the heat was reasonable - better than the last couple of days.
Hive #5 is struggling - I did not see any indication of a queen and I saw the queen on 6/16/11. Don't know what has happened. Moved 3 frames with brood from #6 and Nuc #3. Not sure if they will make a queen but it's worth trying.
Nuc #3, Nuc #4 and #6 all looked good - lots of bees and even saw some pollen being brought in.
The bees were a little testy and I was very, very hot by the time I finished. Did not check the bigger hives - I'll save that for cooler weather.

Service Flag Quilt

2011-07-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

One of my favorite quilts - this quilt was featured in the October 2005 issue of McCall's Quilting.

Service flags were first displayed during World War I - originally designed by WWI Army Captain Robert L. Queissner, 5th Ohio Infantry, in honor if his two sons who served in the war - they came to symbolize the hopes of every family who has a loved one in active duty.

Each blue star on a Service Flag represents a family member serving in the Armed Forces.

www.bluestarmothers.org

The Beeyard - July, 2011

2011-07-01T20:50:00.001-04:00

Late this afternoon, I put away the empty supers from extracting honey last week. I checked Hive#4 and they still had some space. Added super to Nuc #5 with 7 empty frames and 3 full frames of honey from Nuc #4.

Nuc #4 needed some space.

I'll probably do some more rearranging later next week. I need to check #6 for a queen. I could do some more extracting and take more honey - we'll see.

Extracting Honey

2011-06-27T11:45:00.009-04:00

Sunday was honey extracting day!

I started with the Swarm Hive and had to use a ladder for getting the top two supers off - don't want to do that again. There were 6 supers and two deeps on this hive. But in looking thru the hive I found all the supers were not completely full - so I took a total of 3 supers (30 frames) off this hive. I moved the bottom super between the deeps - it had some brood and I was concerned about the queen moving up. That left two supers with honey for the bees.

That was a good start for the morning and the bees were calm and not so horribly hot.

So the extracting went good and I decided to take the honey from from Nuc #1 and Hive #4 - this was mid-afternoon. The bees were testy and it was VERY HOT! No stings but just irritated bees - not the best plan but it's done - the morning is definitely better. The other hives will be left alone - they need what they have for this hot summer and the winter months to come.

Hive #4 - took off 1 super with 9 frames.

Nuc #1 - took 4 frames and 9 frames from this hive.

So the total for the day was 52 frames - it was a lot of honey - about 3-five gallon buckets waiting to be put in jars.

I did check all the hives - Hive #6 that was queenless has lots of brood but I took off the second deep, left a full super of honey and they should be fine. They had not filled anything in the second deep and they just don't need the stress of trying to fill the space, the hot weather with no rain and no nectar flow. I will check for the queen - got to figure out the dates.

Hive #4 probably needs some empty supers - I may put an empty super on this hive when they get finished cleaning them up.

The small hives all looked fine. So my original plan had been to do this is two days but I got a little carried away and tried to do everything in one. Clean up is always more time consuming than you think. And I could have taken two more supers (about 20 frames) if I hadn't gotten carried away. But the bees need the honey more than me and I can do some more later.

Potatoes

2011-06-25T19:55:00.003-04:00

This was my first year trying potatoes in the garden.

Yukon Gold - they look good enough to eat!

Kerrington's Quilt

2011-06-23T07:49:00.009-04:00

Another baby quilt for a precious little girl and her special MOM - Jessica.
Kerrington Wynn Lam
April 23, 2011

The back is another favorite of mine - colorful little kitties.

Checking Bees

2011-06-16T20:28:00.010-04:00

I was gonna extract honey today but things happened but I did check on some of the hives which took most of the morning.

Hive #6 - there was no queen and no brood. This is the hive that we split from Hive #4 on 5/19/11. Took 2 frames with brood and a queen cell from Nuc #4 and put in the bottom brood box. Took off the top super and put on Nuc #4.

Nuc #4 - they're doing great and saw the queen. They had 3 empty frames in the brood box. So with all the moving around, they have room now and still have brood. The queen is busy in that nuc. And the super that was added from Hive #6 has 9 frames.

Nuc #3 - they have 3 empty frames so they're okay.

Hive #5 - Saw the queen - put 2 empty brood frames in the brood box. And in moving things around, 9 frames in the super.

The two frames from the supers went into the freezer for use later as did the brood box frames from Hive #5.

I don't have any extra supers until I take some honey. I bought a super with frames from a local bee supplier and they're not the same size as what I have been getting. They have a new supplier and I guess they just don't match the old products exactly. The difference was enough so I couldn't close the hive top and robbing would be a big problem right now. It's a right good drive so I won't be taking them back - I'll just have to remember to keep all those frames in the same box. So that's how I ended up with just 9 frames in two supers.

When I take honey next weekend (hopefully), I will put a couple of empties in those two supers. Maybe even take a couple of more frames - they'll have time to fill them before cold weather.

Checking Hive #5 and Nuc #3

2011-06-06T17:47:00.001-04:00

Today I opened Nuc #3 - the front of the hive is packed full of bees all the time so I wanted to check if they needed some space. I put this Nuc in a brood box on 5/13/11. They did - this Nuc looks really good.

Opened Hive #5 - I took the top super and moved to Nuc #3 and took one frame from Nuc #3 that had brood and moved to this hive.

I should have a laying queen by the 11th since we put the brood in on May 19.

Nuc #4 in a Big Box

2011-05-25T19:22:00.007-04:00

This is Nuc #4 - it's time to put these bees in a brood box.

Hive #5 - I did see two queen cells and some brood so that's a good sign. I'll check later for a queen. There are a lot of bees in this hive. This is the hive that's been queenless for a while and I took a frame from Nuc #3 that had eggs last week on the 19th. So they're doing what they're supposed to be doing - I sure hope I get a queen.

Splitting Hive #4

2011-05-19T21:35:00.014-04:00

This afternoon Denton came over and helped me do a split on Hive #4. We took the second brood box off and it became Hive #6 - we think the queen is in this box but we never did find her in either and after we finished we decided she might be in the original brood box - when you don't find the queen - it's a quessing game. But there's definitely a queen.

And this frame had a couple of queen cells which were gently put back in place.
In Hive #4, we moved two frames up and put two empties in their place and the remainder of the frames in the top brood box were new. Hive #6 - we left all the frames as they were in the brood box and put an empty brood box with 8 new frames and two old in the second brood box. Then we put back the supers - two on Hive #6 and four on Hive #4.

My plans had been to split the Swarm Hive but decided instead to put an empty brood box on this hive. I like to have two brood boxes on my hives and splitting this hive would have left them with to much to do with the nectar flow ending soon. And we just put the six supers back on the hive.

It's always good to get another beekeepers opinion or hear what they're thinking - I wanted Denton to look at Hive #5 - this hive has evidently been queenless for a while now. So we took a frame from Nuc #3 which was full of eggs (which I did see today) and put in Hive #5 - we were sure not to get the queen (which we did see) and brushed off all the bees before changing around. I should have a queen cell or cells in about 5 days.

Nuc #1 looked good.

Nuc #4 is ready to be put in a big box (saw the queen) but decided to do that another day.

Every beekeeper is different and lots of information from Denton today. Denton said a day without getting stung by a bee is like a day without sunshine - I did get stung today! That's two for me this year - more than my normal.

Nuc in a Big Box

2011-05-13T20:51:00.010-04:00

It's been several weeks since I added supers and checked on the bees. My plan was to get someone to help me and make a couple of splits but that just hasn't worked out - partly due to my schedule, the weather and I had to buy some supers before I could do anything.

So even though it was very overcast late this afternoon, I decided to get with the program and do what needed to be done!

Hive #4 - added an empty super - 2 brood boxes and 7 supers on this hive

Hive #5 and Nuc #1 - did a little switching around with some frames on those two but did not add a super - really needed to go down to the brood box but this was all I had time for today

Nuc #3 - put those bees in a brood box - they were out of space - I just took each frame and moved it into the brood box exactly as they were in the nuc box

Nuc #4 - left this nuc in the box but I did see the queen - they had one frame to fill up and I'll check them in another week

Swarm Hive - added another super - 1 brood box and 7 supers

Glad I got this done today - it's pouring rain now and we're supposed to get showers off and on all weekend.

Caterpillars

2011-05-08T19:38:00.004-04:00

Caterpillars in my garden.

They're eating machines.

May Flowers

2011-05-02T21:07:00.008-04:00

A New Queen

2011-04-26T20:50:00.015-04:00

On April 7, I made two nucs - well, I saw a queen in Nuc #3 today. Lots of bees in this nuc and seeing the queen was awesome. Nuc #4 - didn't see a queen or any sign of a queen cell in this nuc.

I added empty supers on Hive #4, Nuc #1 and the Swarm Hive.
Hive #5 - Saw a queen cell and brood.

Earth Day 2011

2011-04-22T08:00:00.001-04:00

Recycling contributes to our planets health on a daily basis. It's a habit we can all do to contribute to the bigger picture. In the United States we recycle only about 31% of our waste - we are the largest producers of trash.

Make this year the year you'll do your part. Recycling is a habit that we can all develop to make a positive impact on our environment every day.

Quilt for Kids Donation

2011-04-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

Quilts for Kids is one of several charitable services in the community that my quilt guild provides quilts made by the members. The quilts are given to the Neonatal Intensive Care Units at Wake Medical Center and Rex Hospital.

This is my donation quilt for this year.

Still trying to use up some of the fabric I've had for years.

Simple pattern and I did the machine quilting on my Bernina 910.

The Garden

2011-04-18T20:45:00.020-04:00

I planted some tomatoes, basil and yellow squash today. I got a couple of plants from the Wake County Junior Master Gardeners 4-H Sale at the Fairgrounds this weekend but the majority came from one of my fellow Master Gardeners, Jesse. Several Brandywine, Roma, German Johnson, Yellow Pear, Sungold, a small red cherry tomato and a Black Krim so I have a good mix. This is an annual event with The Gardeners of Wake County having their annual Azalea Sale with over 4,000 plants for sale. The Wake County Junior Master Gardeners 4-H Program also sells camillas, Knockout Roses, and vegetable plants and the Pilot Club has geraniums for sale, the Herb Society and the Raleigh Garden Club have plants too. Mark your calendars for next year - the third weekend in April at the NC State Fairgrounds, Gate 6. And the birds and I will have a few strawberries.

The Beeyard - April 2011

2011-04-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

A Swarm, Two Queens and Three Nucs

2011-04-08T19:11:00.017-04:00

Thursday morning I had another swarm (look at the very top in the center of the tree) - this one was far out of reach and after I spotted them in the tree, they only stayed about another hour and they were on their way. Now I thought this might be a swarm from one of my hives or it could have been the swarm was just looking around but it was time to check the hives again. So I called Steve and we opened all the hives again. This time looking for queen cells and if we were lucky, make a couple of nucs and give those girls some room. Hive #5 - queenless - no brood, still lots of bees and they were bringing in pollen but definitely no sign of a queen. So we took several frames from Hive #4 that had lots of brood and will hope for the best. Hive #4 - Saw the QUEEN! Lots of brood and bees. Added an empty super and the super from Nuc #2 that still had a little honey. Also moved the four frames to Hive #5. You can see from the bottom of this super that there have been some queen cells made. Nuc #1 - made two nucs from this hive. One for Steve and one for me. They should do fine - lots of brood. One frame had three uopened queen cells. The Swarm Hive - Saw the QUEEN! This hive as well as Hive #4 was full of bees and lots of brood. Saw lots of drones too. We made another nuc for me from this hive - did not have a queen cell but we'll see what happens.

Now with all that said - I did get STUNG! If you know beekeepers (especially the men folk), they always want to tell you about the one up their pants leg and they just go on and on and on . . . . well, that's exactly what happened to me and I won't go on and on but I will tell you it was no fun and I didn't get to squash her before she stung me. And Steve has probably told everybody in the county by now and I will admit it was pretty funny and I haven't dropped my drawers that quick in a long time (thank goodness I listened to my Mother and had on good undies) cause I had to get that stinger out. And thank goodness we were out of sight of traffic - whew, hate to imagine what that would have been like.

Swarms - Easy Come, Easy Go

2011-04-03T19:53:00.001-04:00

Today I had my first swarm of the season. What a surprise but the queen said "let's go" and they went. A really nice swarm and I called my neighbor and beekeeper friend Steve to help me out. They were in a crabapple tree, not to far up and it could be done easily enough.

So a ladder, a nuc box with only two frames inside and a broom - easy enough. Bees (lots of bees) a little irriated at being swept around but it worked. The queen was in the box. So lots of bees were left and we decided to sweep again - this wasn't such a good idea. The queen went back to the tree (we didn't know this at the time) and all the bees eventually left the nuc box and they decided to move along.

Steve had got a swarm this morning too and in talking to him later, they also left after being put in a brood box - it wasn't the best of days for swarm catching.

Bye, bye bees!!!!!!!!

Bird Nest

2011-04-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

I have bluebirds nesting in the bluebird house in the front yard. They build their nests so quickly.

And I had a titmouse (I think) start building a nest in the bluebird house in the garden but I worked in that flower bed for a day or two and I think they gave up on the nest site. But they had covered the bottom of the house with moss - if they don't continue, I'll clean it out and maybe some birds will come along. I still have some weeds to pull out but the weather has been cold and rainy this past week. Hoping for sunshine now that it's April.

Bee Water

2011-03-24T18:51:00.008-04:00

I have blogged before about bees and their need for water. We've had some warm days recently and a couple of unlikely spots for drinking - this is an old dog watering bowl near the garden and the bowl with the rock is on top of the chicken house.

Of course, I have two ponds with some goldfish and plants and an old whiskey barrel with plants. They have lots of available water - it's always interesting where they choose to drink.

Murky water normally has a distinctive taste and smell that helps foragers find the source, while clean water seems harder for them to pinpoint. Honey chemistry has a simple procedure for destroying pathogens, so any undesirable water attributes are not passed to the honey.

Bee Check-Up

2011-03-13T19:54:00.001-04:00

Today I opened all the hives down to the bottom of each. The weather was good and so were the bees. Did not see a queen but saw lots of brood and lots of bees. I couldn't see an egg if my life depended on it so I just hope the queens are laying.

Hive #4 - replaced the bottom box (needs painting and repair work) and put the second brood box between the supers

Hive #5 - there were some empty frames on the top super but I left well enough alone - not enough empties to be concerned about and they'll need the space soon

Nuc #1 - top and bottom brood boxes switched around, super left on top

Swarm Hive - put the brood box on the bottom and switched the supers around - they have some empty frames but lots and lots of bees

They all have plenty of food to survive. I didn't see any hive beetles - no signs of bees with any problems so I'm pretty happy.

FYI - I'm pretty puny but today I did all this lifting and shifting by myself. I probably won't be able to move tomorrow. But it was good and I see different things and learn more every time I open the hives (which I don't do very often) and I can't remember the last time every hive was checked to the bottom box.

Pink and Brown Pinwheel Quilt

2011-03-07T19:03:00.007-05:00

I bought this as a kit many years ago from Etc Crafts in Cary. Pinks and browns were the rage at that time - I am not a big pinwheel fan so I don't know what possessed me to buy this kit.

The backing is some fabric I had in my stash and I did the machine quilting on my Bernina 910.

This is a donation quilt for Safechild www.safechildnc.org/

A Quilt for Sweet Baby "Day"

2011-02-27T22:22:00.020-05:00

My daughter asked that I make a quilt for Day's second birthday - her name is actually Day (an old family name) and they all call her Sweet Baby Day - the name fits her exactly. Just a cute, sweet little two year old that loves Elmo.

So I made Sweet Baby Day a quilt for her birthday. My daughter ordered a personalized Elmo pillow case and I did the rest. The back is a perfect "look and find" fabric.

Nuc #2

2011-02-27T21:44:00.027-05:00

I checked Nuc #2 today.

Starvation.
There was still honey in the hive but very little and it was on the super. Bees are funny when they're in a cluster - the food might be right beside where they are but they won't move over or up. A couple of weeks ago there was activity in and out the hive but it must have been robber bees.

I just looked back in my notes and I've had Nuc #2 for several years. It's very disappointing to see this especially when you know it could have been prevented. I just didn't check in time and didn't provide enough food for this hive. All the other hives had a brood box and at least two supers or two brood boxes and one super.
All I can say is "shame on me".

Lily

2011-02-18T18:35:00.005-05:00

The Chickens

2011-02-15T19:35:00.010-05:00

The weather has been better and this week - well, we're gonna have a heat wave this weekend! So I've been working in the garden and I always have a lot of help.

Old Southern Apples

2011-02-11T19:54:00.006-05:00

I was in Pittsboro last night at a book signing with Lee Calhoun for his new Revised and Expanded Edition of Old Southern Apples. This is a comprehensive history and description of varieties for collectors, growers, and fruit enthusiasts. The new book features descriptions of some 1,800 apple varieties that either originated in the South or were widely grown there before 1928.

Lee signed books, did some readings from the book and then answered lots of questions and signed some more books.

The Beeyard February 2011

2011-02-06T15:49:00.004-05:00

Today the weather was good - in the 50's.

Rain and cold weather is on the way again.

The bees were out working today and they've been cleaning house. All five hives are active.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ELMO!

2011-02-03T20:16:00.010-05:00

Everybody knows Elmo - the fire engine red dynamo with the positive attitude and infectious giggle. He's outgoing and curious - a perennial optimist who's full of wonder as he discovers the world.

Elmo first appeared on Sesame Street in 1979 and was simply known as Little Monster until 1980-81. His personality wasn't fully formed until Kevin Clash began performing the character in 1985. Clash developed the monster's trademark giggle and positive outlook on life and Elmo became a superstar!

Ice

2011-01-11T15:01:00.011-05:00

Yesterday I waited all day for the snow - it never happened! Overnight we got ice - can't tell you how much but enough to be a problem. Don't think it's going away today - it's cold.

Camillas are so hardy in our area. They are the most wonderful plants for winter blooms and they're such maintenance free plants. Even with this ice, they'll just bounce back and produce beautiful blooms.

I'm inside quilting today - stay safe and warm.

Milkweed Seed Pods

2011-01-09T11:45:00.003-05:00

Last week I did a little cleaning in the garden - we've had so few days when the weather has been bearable outside. These are two seed pods on a milkweed plant that have survived partially intact.
A milkweed seed floats in air and on water because it is attached to filaments called floss. The seed's floss is so buoyant that it was used in US naval life preservers during World War II.
There are hundreds of seed in these two pods.

My Grandson - Happy New Year

2010-12-31T08:00:00.004-05:00

He's five months old now.

Such a joy!

Wishing everyone a healthy and happy new year!

Christmas Snow 2010

2010-12-27T20:09:00.012-05:00

These photos were taken early Sunday morning.

We got 8-1/2" of snow and cold, cold weather.
It was a beautiful snow.

Christmas Day Menu

2010-12-25T08:33:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Christmas lunch at our house for many years has been grilled cheese sandwiches and fried bologna sandwiches.

But you can only use Bunny Bread and Bright Leaf Bologna! Really, really good!

Hi-yo Silver - the Lone Ranger

2010-12-23T09:54:00.007-05:00

Fred Foy - the voice behind "Hi-yo, Silver - the Lone Ranger" died Wednesday of age-related causes - he was 89.

"A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty "Hi-yo, Silver" - the Lone Ranger! With his faithful companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early Western United States. Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice.

Return now with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past come the thundering hoof-beats of the great horse Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again!"

And all this accompanied by the stirring strains of Rossini's "William Tell Overture".

I watched The Lone Ranger when growing up - it was one of my favorite shows.

Finally . . . . .

2010-12-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

It has been many months since I've gotten any eggs. The hot weather about did the hens in and then they molted and were pitiful looking messes. And then cold weather and shorter days.

Finally, yesterday I got two eggs. I am so happy! Store bought eggs are just terrible - they have no taste or flavor. I know they're okay but I've gotten spoiled having fresh eggs.

Henny Penny and either Lucy or Ethel laid these eggs - hard to tell about Lucy and Ethel - their eggs are the same color.

Miss Minnie

2010-12-16T08:00:00.002-05:00

My chickens are doing fine during this burry cold weather we've been having. It's a little tough to get water sometimes but Miss Minnie looks fat and sassy standing in the frozen goldfish pond.
Dumpling joined her later.

Probably some good bugs and stuff hiding in the corners.

We're supposed to have some snow, maybe sleet, and rain today and then the possibility of more this weekend.

Yuk - I've had enough already!

Christmas Quilt 2010

2010-12-12T13:56:00.006-05:00

Christmas Trees

Completed in time for Christmas! A nice lap size quilt with Santas on the back.

I've been working on this quilt for some time and would go back and forth with how it should be quilted so it took a little longer to finish. I finally did stitching in the ditch on the rows and outlined around the trees.

Christmas Tree

2010-12-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

Got the Christmas tree all decorated.

I love all my ornaments - some I've had for years and years.

Lily decided to try to eat three of them - she did a pretty good job.

So the dog proofing gets set up again this year.

Styrofoam seems to be her choice - thank goodness these were not some of my really special ornaments - I think I got two of them at a gas station years ago for filling up the tank and the other was a crochet ornament but I have several more of those.

Silly dog!

Snow in December

2010-12-04T16:45:00.003-05:00

It's really unusual for us to have such an early snow.

It started mid-afternoon and whoosh - the ground was covered.

It sounds and feels like it's sleeting a little now.

And it's pretty doggone cold!

Oh Christmas Tree!

2010-11-28T18:53:00.005-05:00

Does this tree look like somthing's missing? Well, last year in my smartness, I put the hangers somewhere special thinking I would definitely remember and it would make my life so much easier.

Well - guess what! I can't find the d___ things - so it's off to Wallyworld tomorrow to get some more and then of course I'll find the others in that special place I put them.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

Veterans Day Quilt 2010

2010-11-11T08:00:00.001-05:00

My contribution this year to the Veteran's Hospital in Durham.

A simple four patch set on point.

Thank you to our veterans and to the men and women serving our country today.

Veterans Day Quilts

2010-11-06T18:13:00.012-04:00

This is my quilt to be contributed to the Veteran's Hospital in Durham.

Our quilting bee does a great job each year - I think we had over 25 quilts.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T08:11:00.020-04:00

Happy Halloween from

Baby Boy!

Another Quilt for Safechild

2010-10-21T08:45:00.009-04:00

This is another quilt to be donated to Safechild. It's about 40 x 40 - a small quilt but big enough. Just a basic nine patch with fabric I've had for years - I'm trying to use up what I have on hand.

Our quilt guild has several charities but Safechild is my favorite.

www.safechildnc.org

Looking for Hive Beetles

2010-10-17T18:26:00.010-04:00

I opened Nuc #1 today to check on the hive beetle situation. Didn't see many so I left everything alone. I also looked in Nuc #2 and Hive #5 just to make sure they had plenty of food and also the hive beetle situation in each of those hives. They were okay.

Did not check #4 and Swarm '09 - cannot pick up or even think about lifting either of these hives so I'm sure they have plenty of food for the winter. Actually, I couldn't pick up the other hives either.

In checking my hives before winter sets in, I try to lift the back of the hive - if you can lift the hive - check the hive and start feeding immediately, they will not last the winter. If you can't lift the hive body, you should be okay. But again, it's always a good idea to open the hive and then you can tell what's happening.

This is food for the winter. I have plenty of honey so I want the bees to have plenty too.

Colony Collapse Disorder - A Fungus

2010-10-10T08:00:00.004-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/science/07bees.html

An article was in The New York Times this week about the colony collapse disorder. Scientists teamed up with the military and now believe the collapse is caused by a fungus tag-teaming with a virus that interacted to cause the problem.

They don't have a solution but they think they know what's causing the problem.

A Cheeseburger

2010-10-07T20:37:00.003-04:00

A Cheeseburger went into a bar and ordered a drink.

The bartender said "we don't serve food".

We all need a little humor now and then!

Storing Equipment

2010-10-04T22:33:00.010-04:00

In the process of beekeeping, you really end up with a lot of stuff - things you will need next year but not right now.

With the wax moths being such a problem, this is how I store my extra supers that have been used - new ones are not a problem.

I stack the supers on a flat board on a pallet - then an empty baggie feeder box which is just a couple of inches in height - and then all the supers, mediums and deeps, whatever I have - another empty baggie feeder box - next a glass/plastic storm window - then another flat board and some type of brick or piece of granite on top.

The crystals go on a paper plate inside the empty feeder box.

I have to check and add moth crystals from time to time. So far this has worked okay. I buy my moth ice crystals 99.90% paradichlorobenzene at a big box store - bee supply places have the same thing.

The top board over the storm window is simply to keep the sun from melting the wax inside the supers - this is again speaking from experience. I had some wax to melt - it just got so hot with the sun hitting that glass.

There's all kinds of ways to store your equipment but so far this is working.

Nuc #3 - Gone

2010-09-26T16:49:00.008-04:00

I messed around and didn't check on Nuc #3 even though I wasn't sure there was a queen and I had added some frames around the first of Sept. so I knew they would need more food soon.

And we have had some extremely hot weather all thru Sept - hotter than normal. I had noticed lots of activity right after I gave them the full supers but lately not much going on.

Today I opened the hive and the wax moths have just destroyed the hive. There were maybe 50 or so bees left in the hive and they were trying their best to get ahead of the wax moths but it just couldn't happen. I didn't see a queen and maybe that was part of the problem - maybe they didn't have a queen (pretty sure they didn't).

So I cleaned up the hive and put the frames that could be saved in the freezer. I know better and should have checked on this hive a week after putting the frames in - just didn't do it!

The other hives look fine but I'll be checking them this week - weather permitting. We are getting some rain now and it's much needed.

You can see a wax moth on the front of the hive. They're nasty little devils.

Wrightsville Beach Gardens

2010-09-11T19:25:00.001-04:00

I was at Wrightsville Beach before Labor Day (this is the view from where I was staying) and there's some wonderful gardens there - little gems that you might not see riding in your car.

The weather was wonderful - Thurs was a little overcast due to EARL but that went away quickly.

Beeyard on Labor Day

2010-09-06T14:36:00.014-04:00

Way past time to check on the bees.

I had only planned on opening Nuc #3 (very little activity in and out of the hive) and Hive #5 (with the new queen). But after I got started I opened all the hives.

My main concern was Nuc #3 - they were really low on food so after checking, I took 3 full frames from Hive #5 and put in the super. What I need to do is take the frames from the brood box in Hive #4 and put in the brood box on Nuc #3. Hive #4 is working on filling out the brood box frames but have a ways to go before filling them out and they have room in the super below so I'll move this around in a couple of days. That should give Nuc #3 enough food for the winter.

Hive #5 with the new queen - well, they're just doing great. Lots of bees and plenty of food.

Nuc #2 - took the top super off - it was empty - moved 2 frames which had a little honey to #5.

Nuc #1 - had some hive beetles but lots of bees and food.

Swarm '09 - a few hive beetles (less than 6) and lots of bees and food.

Hive #4 - all the frames in the top brood box will be moved to Nuc #3 - other than that they looked great. The inner cover on this hive was stuck tight to the top so when I took the top off, everything came off at one time. It was very difficult to get this pulled apart. I guess I forgot to put a stick between the inner cover and the top - I put 2 big ones in there today.

I usually open the hives in the same order every time but today I was so sure I wouldn't be doing all of them, I did 3, 5, 2, 1, Swarm '09 and 4. So I could have moved a lot more frames around and had a better idea of what needed to be changed if I done 3, 4, 5, 2, 1 and Swarm '09 (the regular order - left to right). I really like to do my beeyard the same every time I check them - probably makes no difference but it works for me.

Perfect weather today - a slight breeze but only in the 80's.

Looking inside Hive #4 top brood box.

Hanging Out with the Chickens

2010-08-23T20:38:00.008-04:00

Missy loves the chickens but I think the chickens might have a love/hate relationship with her. I've seen them pecking at her and running at her in the yard - she can be really annoying. She likes to jump out and surprise them.

But doesn't she look mighty sweet and innocent.

Bee Sting !!!!

2010-08-17T18:49:00.012-04:00

A Wake County sheriff's deputy found himself in the middle of a swarm of bees this morning when he went to check on a report of a disabled truck. The truck was pulling a trailer load of bees (60 hives) from Mount Airy to Rocky Mount and broke down before dawn. When the sun rose and the bees became active, they began to fly around. The deputy (being pretty smart) got in his car and called for backup.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/17/north.carolina.bee.swarm/index.html

Jennifer Keller (NCSU Apiculture Dept) and some local beekeepers came to the rescue. They spritzed the bees with sugar water and coaxed many of them back into boxes to head down the road again.

Another Visitor

2010-08-15T11:31:00.007-04:00

Last week we had a raccoon in the tree outside the fence. We have all kinds of visitors but I can't remember having a raccoon in the yard or seeing one that close. Lily tried her best to jump up the tree but it just didn't work.

Zinnas

2010-08-07T08:00:00.001-04:00

I've been busy with Baby Boy.

It sure has been hot these past couple of weeks and my garden is just a mess but the zinnas continue with no help from me.
I've had lots more butterflys this year.

Blue Quilt for Baby Boy

2010-07-27T21:16:00.008-04:00

This is the quilt I made for Baby Boy to give at the hospital. It was a surprise for Mom, Dad and Baby Boy. I wanted a "sweet baby quilt" and the other three I've made have not been baby quilts - they're more fun quilts.

This is it for awhile - a total of four quilts and he's not even a month old! I've been told whatever I make for #1 has to be made for #2, etc. and also my second daughter said her "yet to be born or even thinking about right now" get the same.

So I need to stop - just for a little while.

Baby Boy

2010-07-18T17:29:00.004-04:00

OKAY - HE'S HERE!

Born 7/7/10 and weighing in at 7 lbs 13 ounces.

He's absolutely wonderful and Mom, Baby and Dad are doing great.

I've been busy helping - thank goodness all the animals can fend for themselves. He has changed so much since this photo at the hospital. I'm definitely the "proud Grandmother".

Another Quilt for Baby Boy

2010-07-04T14:32:00.009-04:00

This is a panel - it's so doggone cute!

The whole top is a panel including the striped border - how easy.

And the back is just as cute as the front.

So I just put it together and did a little machine quilting.

Hot Weather

2010-06-30T08:41:00.006-04:00

HOT, HOT, and HOTTER!

Honey Extracting

2010-06-20T19:17:00.005-04:00

Friday I took off 36 frames of full honey - I ended up with about

1-1/2 5-gallon buckets of honey.

I did the old take one frame out and put in an empty super that was in the wheelbarrow. Then cover it quickly with a sheet so the bees would stay out. Then push that wheelbarrow up to the house and unload the super. I can carry about 3 frames of honey - that stuff is heavy. But this works for me and I've done it the same way for years. Cover the table and floor with plastic and get busy!

After the honey is taken from the frames, I put the supers out in the beeyard - there's a feeding frenzy. This year I put sawhorses out and sat the empty supers on top rather than on the ground. It's worked really well - the bees can go in and out and all around.

This is where I took the honey:

Nuc #2 - took off 1 full super of honey

Swarm '09 - took off 1 full super of honey

Nuc #1 - took off 1 full super of honey

Hive #4 and Hive #5 - I took 4 full frames of honey from each of these hives.

I must have left two frames somewhere and maybe I put those back or switched something around cause the extractor can hold 9 frames and I filled it up 4 times. Oh well . . . some things are unexplainable.

Splitting Hive #4

2010-06-17T21:34:00.011-04:00

Hive #4 (the skyscraper hive) has just gotten so large I felt I needed to rearrange some housing. Mr. Buzz (aka Ben) had some extra Italian queens so I decided to buy a new queen and split Hive #4.

Here's the two brood boxes - the one on its side will be the brood box for Hive #5 with the new queen. We had to look thru each frame carefully for the queen before putting the new queen in her new house.

And Ben put the queen on the bottom between two frames rather than the top as I've always been told - he said he does it either way - just depends on circumstances at the time.

Two frames from the brood box - all of them looked just this good.

There were four supers and a brood box on top of Hive #4. We got them sorted out and put two supers on each hive and the brood box on top of Hive #4 - they had not done much in the top brood box since that was put on 5/29/10. All the supers were full of honey and bees.

So Hive #4 on the left and the new Hive #5 on the right with all the bees hanging out and you can see bees all over the ground around the hives. They were everywhere - had to pay attention to where you put your feet.

Now here they're all settled - Hive #4 on the left and Hive #5 on the right. We put a screen on the front of Hive #5 to keep the bees in during the night - we smoked them and got as many in as possible. I took the screen off Tues morning around 9 per Ben's instructions.

Working with Ben was great - every person does something differently or will make comments regarding their beekeeping that helps you learn and understand more about the bees.

We'll open Hive #5 Tues or Wed.

Memorial Day Quilt

2010-05-31T08:00:00.002-04:00

This is still a work in progress. The borders are not sewn together but this is the way it will look when finished. The outer border is fabric from the year 2000 - Millennium fabric and it has the year 2000 and the word Millennium on the fabric.
It's a good lap size quilt - about 48 x 60 - may be a little larger when it's finished.

I'll be making others to be given to the Veteran's Hospital but this one will stay with me.

Memorial Day, originally called Declaration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who died in our nation's service.

Let us not forget.

Bee Checkup

2010-05-27T21:10:00.025-04:00

Today was bee checkup day. It's been several weeks since I added supers.

Nuc #3 - no change, in fact, I'm thinking the queen may be gone - there's bees and brood but I need to check and rethink what needs to be done to that hive.

As you can see, Hive #4 looks like a skyscraper compared to the other hives. I added a brood box on top - the super that was added 5/6/10 was completely full of honey. So now there's two brood boxes on the bottom, four supers and a brood box on top.

Nuc #1 - added an empty super.
Nuc #2 - added an empty super - the super added on 5/6/10 was full.
Swarm '09 hive - no change - they still had room in the top super which was added 5/12/10.

The brood box was added simply because I had one available and only had two supers with frames and they went on Nuc #1 and #2. So now I will have to take some honey - I'm completely out of frames and I don't want to buy any more equipment.
I should be able to take 5 or 6 supers full of honey and still leave plenty for the bees for the remainder of the summer.

A Quilt for Baby Boy

2010-05-16T10:07:00.010-04:00

A special quilt for a special delivery in July - my first grandchild. This is one of the best quilts I think I've ever made - simple, great colors and the owl fabric for the backing is just awesome and with orange binding - well, it just works.

And the "parents to be" loved the quilt too.

Super Added Swarm '09 Hive

2010-05-12T22:25:00.011-04:00

Today I added an empty super to Swarm '09 Hive. All the bees were working - our weather has been a little cool this week but it's supposed to heat up again this weekend.

Adding Supers

2010-05-07T07:44:00.004-04:00

Yesterday morning, Mr. Ellis and I checked my hives again and we started about 9 since it has gotten hot again.

It's been just a couple of weeks since we added supers but this is their busy time.

This is a frame from Nuc #3 - lots of brood but they still had lots of space in the hive.

This is Mr. Ellis with a frame from Hive #4 - we took the top super which was already full of honey and put it in an empty super on Nuc #3 (this way we could get all the bees off before putting it on the nuc).

This will give the bees plenty of food when times get a little tough later and I won't have to feed them.

Hive #4 - this hive had filled a super that we put on 4/22/10, so another empty super was added today.

Nuc #1 - no change in this hive. They look good and lots of bees but they have not filled out their brood box. They need to fill out the space they have and I'll check in a couple of weeks and add a super if needed.

Nuc #2 - added an empty super.

Swarm '09 - will add an empty super this weekend (didn't have enough supers ready).

So all the hives looked really good, lots of bees and brood and they're bringing in pollen and working hard. I could have taken honey today - maybe 4-5 supers but I just wasn't ready.

But I'm running out of supers - gotta do it pretty soon.

Daisy's Quilt

2010-05-02T16:30:00.001-04:00

My neighbors at the river, Sara and Steven, had a baby girl in December - Daisy Marie. I finally delivered her quilt. She is so cute and the farm animals on the quilt are just perfect for all of them. They have horses, chickens, rabbits, dogs and a cat and live on the river.

How good can it be!

Nuc #3 in a Big House

2010-04-26T14:36:00.015-04:00

Today I put Nuc #3 in a regular sized 10-frame hive (brood box). The bees were unconcerned about being moved - it was easy and simple to do. They have two short frames and then the others are regular (brood box) size. I put two empty frames on the left side and three on the right and then the five frames in the exact order as they were in the nuc box in between.

There was lots of brood and bees bringing in pollen. I did put an entrance reducer on the front of this hive since they're still small and I wanted to lessen the possibility of robbing. I'll check them the first of next week to make sure they're doing okay.

This nuc came from Swarm '09 hive and not Hive #4 as I said in my previous post. I checked my notes and I'll tell you I just can't remember from one day to the next what's happening. I've got a serious case of CRS - thank goodness I keep a notebook.

It took me much longer to get all this put together than it took to move the bees (about 10 min or so). Yesterday I primed and painted some of my boxes - they were in desperate need of being painted. Then I had to nail and glue the inner cover, caulk around the inside of the top cover and put duct tape over the top. I did have everything but I need to do some serious cleaning and repairing on my equipment.

Earth Day and A Queen Bee

2010-04-23T08:22:00.012-04:00

Yesterday Mr. Ellis and I opened my hives. In the new Nuc #3, we saw the queen. There's been activity (bees going in and out of the hive bringing in pollen) so I felt good about the nuc but to actually see the queen - well, it was great. So next week, I'll put this nuc in a brood box. They are doing great. This nuc was made on 4/7/10 with a frame with queen cells from Hive #4.

Added another super to Hive #4 - will definitely have lots of honey from this hive. No change to Nuc #1 and Nuc #2. On Swarm '09 Hive, we moved the brood box down one and turned the top two supers around - they were working on one side and had room on the other, so a little switch to get them to fill up the empty side. No rhyme or reason as to why they're doing this but they look fine and have lots and lots of bees.

Mr. Ellis said if bees are bringing in pollen, you have a queen. So I should have a queen in each hive - all the hives have bees bringing in pollen.

This is Nuc #3 and Hive #4. Hive #4 now has two brood boxes and four supers. I'll have to take some honey from this hive before any more supers are put on.

April Swarm

2010-04-17T08:00:00.002-04:00

This is the first swarm for this year - yesterday around lunch. I was in the garden and noticed all this activity - lots and lots of bees flying. Well, they were swarming. They didn't go far - just far up! They settled in one of the pines about 10' up which make it a little hard for me to catch this swarm.

I called around - not everybody wants to get a swarm that high in a tree. So I finally found someone to come and take them - Tim, a Wake County beekeeper that doesn't live to far from my house.

Tim made it look easy - a big step ladder, clippers and a steady hand, and viola - the bees are in their new home ready to be moved.

This was a really large swarm. I'm sure they came out of the Swarm '09 Hive. This is the hive we took 3 frames with queen cells from just 10 days ago and Mr. Ellis and I made nucs. We also added an empty brood box - I need to check this hive again ASAP.

I didn't want to give this swarm away but in reality, I just don't need another hive - I have 4 hives and a nuc but if I have another swarm, it's gonna stay with me.

Inside the Hive Body

2010-04-12T08:00:00.001-04:00

I'm always fascinated when you take a frame out of the super or brood box. Looking down in the hive - well, it's just amazing - all those bees just working and working. Totally unconcerned about us poking around.

And there were lots and lots of bees. We did see a lot of drones (those fat old boys) which is always what you want in the spring.

Swarm Hive '09

2010-04-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

The last time this hive was checked, we took off the brood box. The bees had moved up to the super and there was absolutely nothing in the brood box. That left 3 supers on the hive. Wednesday when we opened the hive, there were so many bees they had started making foundation in the top of the hive. This hive was full of bees, brood and lots of queen cells. They were and might still be on the way to swarming.

We only took out a couple of frames in the top super - Mr. Ellis does not like to move frames when there's brood on the frames. So we took out 3 frames from the top super and I made Nuc #3 and Mr. Ellis took one frame home that had two or three unopened queen cells.

So then we just put the empty brood box on top. We'll check in a couple of weeks and if everything is going okay, we'll put the brood box on the bottom.

Checking the Hives 040710

2010-04-10T08:00:00.001-04:00

Mr. Ellis came over on Wednesday and we went thru all the hives. I started with 4 hives last fall and I have 4 really good hives now (plus a Nuc). I have ants in two of the hives but did not see any hive beetles, no wax moths and no sign of varroa mites.

Hive #4 was full of bees and brood - an empty super was added - they were busting at the seams and everything was full of honey and brood.

Nuc #1 was okay so nothing was changed - they still have plenty of room - I'll check in a couple of weeks.

Nuc #2 - switched the brood boxes - bottom to top and top to bottom with the super left on top.

Swarm '09 was so full of bees - I'll post tomorrow about this hive - so much going on!

And after saying (many times) I did not need or want another hive, I made a Nuc from the Swarm '09 hive. When you have so many queen cells and so many bees - well, it just makes sense to make a nuc.

Hopefully, I'll have another good hive. I like the bees I have. They have a good tempermant, they're productive and for right now, I don't have any disease problems. I have bought queens and I just don't seem to have much luck so I like for my bees to make their own queen.

So we didn't see the queen in any of the hives but saw the results of her work so we know I have a queen in each hive.

Beeyard - April

2010-04-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

The Beeyard April - 2010

Nuc #3

Hive #4

Nuc #1

Nuc #2

Swarm '09