Beeyard April 2013

Yesterday I was gonna do a quick check on the New Hive and the nuc that I made on 4/7.  I ended up checking all the hives.  The nuc is gone - they never made a queen. 
New Hive - reversed brood box and super and put 4 frames from Nuc #3 in this hive.
Nuc #3 - put 4 empty frames in the brood box - did not reverse the boxes - it will have to wait till I have some help.  That brood box is so full of bees, brood and honey - I couldn't take it off by myself.  But they looked healthy and working with lots of bees in the hive.  The 4 empty frames will give them room to work.
Hive #4 - I had added a super on 4/7/13 but took it off - they were not working in this super.  They still had some room in the top super and I'll add a super in a couple of weeks if needed.
Hive #6 - I did add a super to this hive - I had added a brood box on 4/7 and it was full.  The strongest hive.
This has been a strange spring - the weather has been so different than last year.

Nuc #3

 
I did mow the grass - the bees were trying to get their houses straightened out again so they weren't interested in the grass mowing.
And I don't take the entrance reducers off in the spring/summer.  That's a big space for them to protect from robbers and predators. 

Santa

  

FINALLY I FINISHED MY SANTA!

This is pattern #168 Stitch-n-Stuff Santa from Threads That Bind which I love everything they've ever published. Their patterns are just so doggone cute.  Anyhow, it has taken me awhile to finish this Santa.  Can't remember exactly when we (4 quilting friends) started this little project.  Everybody else has been done a while except me (the story of my life).

So Thurs I finished with a little help from my friends. I still need to work on his beard, etc. but Thanks and Yippee!  My Santa had a little visit with Sally's Santa - she called them Frick and Frack. My Santa has definitely had more cookies!

Taking a Break and Feeding the Chickens

My favorite little people came by the other day.  She was outside with the chickens but I was holding her and couldn't get a photo with the chickens.  Maybe next time.  She napped while Knox played with the blocks and apples which have little teeth marks from an earlier visit. 

 

Hatteras

A long drive to Hatteras - the Alligator River bridge was out so scenic detour with lots of interesting stuff on the way.

Fields of rapeseed (Brassica napus) cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed - the third largest source of vegetable oil (canola) in the world.



 

Lunch in Engelhard with the locals at Big Trout Marina Cafe.  It was the best flounder and sweet tea just like I like it - EXTRA SWEET! 

Well, you can't ride thru the swamps without seeing something out of the ordinary.
This turtle was HUGE - look at those toe nails and his tail had spikes - he looked like something out of a prehistoric movie.
We (or I should say me) was gonna try and move this guy across the road - well, it didn't happen.

Moving some sand around.  It was chilly - temps here were much better. 
Lots of good food and fun with my quilting buddies.

New Hive

Look at those bees!  I hadn't seen any activity in this hive until this afternoon - wasn't sure what was happening.  Guess I've not been in the garden at the right time.  Anyhow, there they are and I'm so glad - this is a split that I did on the 1st of the month from Hive #4.  There were several queen cells on the frames so this hive should have a new queen in a couple of weeks.

April Check

Today I finally opened all the hives.  Warm but windy - about 70 degrees.
I opened Nuc #1 first - only a small handful of bees left in the hive.  Plenty of honey in the hive but for whatever reason they didn't make it.

These frames are from the Swarm Hive.  I'm still feeding this hive and will continue until they stop taking the sugar syrup.  The brood was in the top super so did a reverse - brood box on top and super on bottom.  Put 2 new brood frames in the hive.
I'm changing out some of the older frames.  Some of the wax is black they've been in the hive so long.

Nuc #3 - reversed brood box and super.  Still feeding but they're not taking as much as the Swarm Hive.
Hive #4 - full of bees - reversed the brood boxes and put in 3 new brood frames. Put super back on top.
New Hive (Nuc #1) Took 3 frames from Hive #4 and put in the Nuc #1 box.  There were 2 or 3 queen cells on one frame and I added a couple more frames full of bees and 2 new brood frames.  Hope to get a queen - plenty of honey so I won't be feeding this hive. So basically I did a split from Hive #4.
Hive #6 - full of bees.  Did not change anything on this hive.
So lots of bees and saw drones too.  I can do splits on Hive #4 and 6 and maybe make a nuc.  Did see some hive beetles but not enough to be concerned.  Will check the hives again this weekend.