We have honey!

Post: Bernie: May 21, 2012
Note: To follow our Bee Keeping adventure from beginning to end, choose Setting up the hive from the index at right.


Now that we are pretty sure that the hive is very strong we are going to take our first honey.

Here's how this works...

We took the frames out that had honey sealed under the Bees wax...

This is the spinner...

This is the vat chamber (below) that the honey oozes down into from the spinner...

So we cut the wax seal off the top, very gently...

You see here the wax being cut back and the honey being exposed...

Then two whole frames are put into the spinner...

Turn the crank and after a short time the honey has been spun out of the comb...

Onto the walls of the spinner, where it oozes down into the vat chamber below...

To me...

Filling bottles from the spigot...

Yes, we had enough honey to actually flow out of a spigot...

Bottles of it from only eight frames...

All mine...

Twenty five pounds actually....

Now that's "sweet".

Next: Bears love honey too [NEXT]

The swarm (actually swarms!)

Post: Bernie: April 20, 2012:
Note: To follow our Bee Keeping adventure from beginning to end, choose Setting up the hive from the index at right.

I called Eric last night and told him that there were bees outside the hive clustered around the opening.

The next day I was out staining the overhang on the east side of the house where the hive can easily be seen from when I heard this very, very loud buzzing. I immediately looked toward the hive. And there between me and the hive over the top of the brier rose hedge was a huge cloud of bees!

I went in and called Eric and he said he would get some materials together and come right over.

By the time I went back outside the bees had all gathered into a huge teardrop shaped cluster of solid bees.

Fortunately they had clustered close by. Unfortunately they were inside a big brier rose bush.

While Eric set up the new hive my job was to cut into the brier rose so we could get in there and try and capture the swam before they moved on.

So I put on a quilted jacket, hat, bee mask/hat and leather winter gloves and started very carefully reaching into the brier rose and gently cutting away the branches from under and around the swarm cluster.

Ok, that's probably 8,000 to 10,000 bees hanging there. RUN AWAY!

Then, get this, the idea was for Eric to get under the cluster with a five gallon bucket and a screen. While I was to whack the branch just near the cluster so they would fall into the bucket! What!

I love this plan. I have my rake and a glazed over medicated look. I think I'm ready!

And it actually worked!

The swam cluster was gone and the few remaining ones...

...were finding there way to the new hive.

We now have two hives out in the yard!

We are now officially swarm catchers! Did I mention that we didn't get stung once! No really, not once or any more times than once either.

Postscript: April 21, 2012 

Eric call in late morning and guess what? His bees were swarming too! Joey and I got over there as fast as we could. Of course with my now battle proven quilted jacket, hat, bee mask/hat and leather winter gloves!

This one was a little more difficult! They were clustered around both sides of a beam in his outdoor shower enclosure.

But in the end (off camera) we captured the whole cluster by slowly sweeping the bees from each side of the beam, covering the bucket with the screen and pouring them into their new home. Now Eric has another hive at his house too! Ok, we had a lot of stings with this one but we had a lot of medicinal libation to soothe them! We then had a celebratory dinner with friends and neighbors and a great evening!

(video to come)

So if you have a swarm and want it removed just dial 860-BEE-GUYS (maybe someone will answer if their face isn't too swollen). LOL

Next: We have honey [READ]

It's official he's a Bee Keeper!

Post: Bernie: March 12, 2012:
Note: To follow our Bee Keeping adventure from beginning to end, choose Setting up the hive from the index at right.

Eric came over on this beautiful warm, 70-degree afternoon to see if we still had a Queen and if a new brood was in the works.

Ok, it's time to confess that Eric has been raising Bees for a few years but "keeping" them over winter has not worked out so well.

The bees were very active! I stayed well back while Eric dismantled our winter windbreak.

Then he began to open up the hive. The Bees went crazy! All those little speck are bees!

Then there it was brood and honey! Eric also noticed that the bees were already bringing back pollen to the hive. Busily building the hive for the coming new year.

But where is the Queen!

Right there! The one with the long body in those tight pants (she's Italian you know).

Not taking any honey from the hive had proved the right choice. We now have a strong and thriving hive!

We will leave the hive out in the yard this year where it wintered  but Eric thinks that we may have to protect it from the midsummer sun. We'll rig up something interesting... stay tuned.

And Eric is now officially a "Bee Keeper"!

But, maybe this year, can we get some honey?

Next: Capturing a Bee swarm [NEXT]

Building a wind break

Post: Bernie: November 27, 2011
Note: To follow our Bee Keeping adventure from beginning to end, choose Setting up the hive from the index at right.
 
Eric and his Dad came over this afternoon with six bales of hay that we were going to use to build a wind break around the west and north sides of the hive.

We had just got started when the Bees...

..decided that today was not the day to do this!

Eric came away with a Bee sting welt in the center of his forehead. One got his Dad too.

I did my now perfected, "I love you but don't want to get stung by you!" dance, (lessons available upon request) and escaped (KOW) again.

Dance photo November 20, 2011 post.

We recuperated with Guinness and snacks out on the terrace.

I'll go back out in the cold tomorrow morning when the Bees are dormant and finish (photos to come) stacking the bales into the type of wind break that Eric had in mind.

Next: He's now officially a "Bee Keeper" [READ]

Getting ready for winter

Post: Bernie: November 20, 2011
Note: To follow our Bee Keeping adventure from beginning to end, choose Setting up the hive from the index at right.

On a beautiful blue sky day in November Eric the Bee Keeper stopped by.

On the way he passed our neighbor Patsy out for a walk. He had the smoker going and the smoke was pouring out the open window of his car as they waved their hellos. She caught up with him pulled over by our yard and she told us she thought that, "Ok, he didn't make the garage.". She didn't know about the bees but then stuck around for the show. Sonja then came down the street in her car too and Joey took a break from her pottery glazing and they all watched as the action began.

Today was the day to see what was happening in there and then to move the hive for the winter.

Smoking them, quiets them down (most of the time).

Inside we found a very healthy hive.

The top chamber had a lot of honey!

And very active bees!

Eric estimates that there are 60,000 to 80,000 bees now in the hive.

Maybe a little more smoke is in order.

Sonja took this photo of me in my Bee hat with a metal clipper and screen that Eric is going to install as a mouse guard. I'm decked out so I can help Eric move the hive out from under the Apple tree more into the yard so it can get more winter sun.

Eric sees that the bottom chamber has almost no honey so he is going to remove it and transfer any bees in there into the other chambers.

Sweeping the bees into the other chamber.

Then he sweeps the stray ones from the inner cover into a hive that now has two chambers. This will give the bees a smaller hive to winter in so they can hopefully keep warm enough while feeding on the 60-80 pounds of honey that is their food source over the long winter.

 Eric also flipped the inner cover so more warmth will be retained inside the hive.

Putting empty comb trays back into the chamber. Once we move the hive he will leave this nearby so the bees can transfer any honey on them into the other chambers.

Top back on.

Now time to put that mouse guard on.

Moving the hive. Sonja took these pictures. She was off there with Patsy and Joey watching from a safe distance.

That was it. Except that the bees didn't like it too much.

This is me doing the, "I love you but don't want to get stung by you!" dance.

A good day. No stings.

The hive is now in a place where it will get the winter sun for the most time.

We finished the afternoon sitting on the terrace drinking our homemade Pear Wine chatting and laughing. A good day indeed.


Next: Eric is going to bring a some hay bales to place around the north east sides to protect the hive from all the wind we get up here on the top of this hill. [Building a wind break]