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20 06, 2016

Honey Harvest Time!

2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00

We had a crazy rainy spring in Hye, TX and I wasn't sure how well the bees were going to cope with that. But cope they did! And when it finally stopped raining in early June, we were able to harvest 10 lovely frames of golden, delicious honey! We ended up with just under 23lbs [...]

Honey Harvest Time!2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00
8 02, 2016

Pre-spring February day

2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00

We ordered a new NUC of bees to be picked up on March 23rd, so that means we have to get another hive setup and ready for the new girls to arrive. I ordered an assembled deep box, but it came unassembled. Uh oh. But I figured 'How hard could it be? It's 4 sides [...]

Pre-spring February day2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00
24 01, 2016

Warm January weekend

2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00

We finally got a nice warm weekend where I could go out to Hye and check on the girls. I had seen some things online about people's hives absconding in December because it was so warm, and someone else posted a picture of a mouse that got into their hive and ate a hole in [...]

Warm January weekend2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00
14 12, 2015

December Check In

2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00

Not much going on with the bees lately....it's winter and they're busy gathering up the last of the available pollen and when it's really cold, they're hibernating. So for December and January, you don't do much with them except make sure they have food (sugar cakes) and water. Last weekend, I created insulated hive boxes [...]

December Check In2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00
23 11, 2015

Winter feeding

2015-11-23T02:22:35+00:00

With the weather turning colder, it's time to switch from liquid feed to solid feed. Apparently, having extra liquid in the hives (even in the feeder above the frames) can chill the hive when the temperatures drop. So, instead of boiling sugar into water to make a simple syrup, we put 7.5oz of water into [...]

Winter feeding2015-11-23T02:22:35+00:00
11 11, 2015

Bee Life Cycle

2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00

Came across this graphic and just love it! Great visual of a bee's life cycle. This is for a worker bee...the queen bee's egg to birth cycle is slightly shorter; a drone bee's cycle slightly longer.  (credit: Western Beekeepers) Bee Life Cycle   Here's another graphic, but it's not as easy to read, [...]

Bee Life Cycle2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00
8 11, 2015

She’s alive!

2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00

Kona is near the top with a blue dot on her head. We did another inspection today to see how the bees are doing and to feed them again. Hive 1, of course, was thriving. They've been building comb and capping honey like crazy. Every time we open their hive, they've consumed ALL [...]

She’s alive!2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00
2 11, 2015

Bee free, bee free!

2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00

Today was the day...we planned to get all our other chores done, then open up hive 2 to check on Kona and what she'd done over the last week. Around noon, we opened it up and low and behold......she was still in her queen box! :(  What's supposed to happen is that the box is [...]

Bee free, bee free!2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00
26 10, 2015

All Hail The Queen

2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00

We received our new queen from Hawaii on Friday afternoon. She was shipped UPS in a box with vents in it and inside that box was her wooden queen box that included her, 3 or 4 'attendants', and a piece of sugar candy. She can't feed herself, so the attendants feed her during the trip [...]

All Hail The Queen2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00