moving the hive

After a few weeks delay, I finally was able to move the hive today.  My wife and I recently bought a house and I have needed to pull the hive out of the forest and to our new home.  With my job schedule and needing some help, it was hard to find the time for the big

Fall Harvet

It is time to take a fall harvest!  Since this is a newer hive and I want to increase the odds that the hive survives, I am not taking too much honey.  I figured that I would take 5 of the 8 medium frames and leave the hive with all of the supers and the 3 mediums.  I

Bee Sting Infection

During the inspection the other day, I got stung on my left hand twice.  I removed the stinger and thought nothing of it.  Over the next two days, my had grew more swollen, red, and was giving off a lot of heat.  I tried some topical creams and antihistamines, but it was only getting worse.  I decided to see

Hive Upgrades

An old friend of mine from Jordan, Mike, was in town and offered to come help me with my hive.  We started this beekeeping adventure together and it was great to have a familiar friend helping out.  We started out by staging an area to move the hive to.  I had bought some cinder blocks to place the

New Hive Inspection

It was a calm morning with overcast skies and temperatures in the 60’s.  It was perfect weather for an inspection.  With my wife and kids watching from our yard, I went into the small forest with my inspection tool box and smoker.  Before I left, I started my smoker using some of the stuff I had from Jordan.  I

Inspection Toolbox

I am still trying to get into a new routine and stay organized.  I purchased a small plastic tote that I can bring with me to the hive that carries all of my smaller tools needed for an inspection.  Inside is my bee brush, frame grabbing tool, scrapping tool, smoker fuel, a spray bottle of sugar water,

The Hive is set

Today marked the day that I move away from rooftop beekeeping and into a more traditional role.  The weather was warm enough and I could tell that the bees in the garage were starting to get restless.  About ten of the bees were able to get out of the nuc and I had to open the garage

Nuc Pick Up

Family trip to get the new bees! Today is the day!  It has been two years since I became a beekeeper and I am really excited to start this adventure once again.  Throughout this journey, my family has been incredibly supportive and curious.  I decided to give my wife a break this morning and took the kids with

Spring Time Syrup

Since I am picking up the hive tomorrow, I figured it would be best to make the syrup tonight.  I have read a bunch of books and blogs about the ratio for syrup and the general consensus is to go with a 1:1 sugar solution.  This gives the bees a quick stimulant and encourages them become active.  Since

Hive Preparation

Today I spent some time getting the new hive ready for use.  In a previous post I mentioned that I got the hive from a friend but that they needed a little cleaning up.  When I started to take the hive apart, it was obvious that the hive had been in storage from some time because the