On this rainy, chilly day I find myself alone in the house for the first time in over a week. My in-laws are here, and over the weekend we had a crazy house full of friends and family – eight adults and two kids, all sleeping over. I love extending the dining table to the …
Category Archives: bees
Goings On
Spring mode! It was 72 degrees today and sunny with a light breeze. I was in the garden as much as possible these last two days. I planted two paw paws in a corner of the garden that previously held a leaf pile. What gorgeous soil I found there! From now on: leaf piles all …
Dissection of Two Dead Colonies – and Hive Box Cleaning
Having discovered that two of the three colonies have died over the winter, I dismantled them to have a closer look at the cause. For Hive 2 my first assessment that there were next to no dead bees in it was correct. I counted 55. Here is one frame that was a good tip-off: …
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Bees: Some Alive, Some Dead
I had been feeling rather starved of bees. Usually, by this time, I’ve done a short hive inspection or two, but with this extended cold period, I’ve not had a chance to work the bees. Until Monday. My friend K picked up her two bee packages in the morning and I met her at her …
What Makes an Ordinary Day Extraordinary?
A couple of days ago as I was walking to the elementary school to pick up Amie I was suddenly struck by what a fine day it was. Then I stopped in my tracks – we walk to and from school through “the woods”, that’s the neighbors’  wooded backyards, so they were, literally, tracks – and …
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A Study of Honey Frames
In order: comb that the bees drew out, filled with honey, and capped with a thin cap of wax, comb after uncapping, oozing with honey (here’s a video of uncapping), comb after extraction (see video). Extraction is never total: there is always lots of honey left, more or less depending on the viscosity of the honey and the determination …
Weird Comb and the Bee Space
I really wanted y’all to see this. This is a crazily drawn-out (filled with honey and capped) frame.  Two things: the color and the shape. Some of the comb is darker because the bees first used it for brood, and only after that did it became honey storage. The more comb is used, and especially when …
How’s the Mead Doing?
Two posts in a day! The mead’s doing well! I made two batches: one with honey from the first nectar flow (lighter colored), another, smaller batch with later honey (darker color). They’re about the same proportion water and honey – though, to be honest, I’m going the Sandor Katz-way, that is, I’m eyeballing it, adding …
More Fall Hive Management: Robbing honey frames and Mite Treatment
I wanted to treat my bees with formic acid against varroa and tracheal mite, but it kept being postponed. Just getting a hold of the treatment (MiteAway) was difficult. Then I had to wait for the free time and relatively warm, rainless day to do it.  Then, last week, it suddenly got colder and we even had …
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Making Simple Mead
I started my first mead – fermented honey wine – Â today. I used my own honey, of course. This little jar was from our last extraction (09/26). All the air bubbles that were “invited” into the honey when spinning it had risen to the top, taking the wax and propolis that had hitched a ride …