Happy New Bee Year to Everyone!

Thanks to all of you who visit and read this blog.  I can't get over how often people come here and from so many parts of the country and the world.

During 2010, there were almost 500,000 visits to this blog.  People from 175 different countries have visited this blog.  Truly I am honored that you all stop by.

The ten most popular posts in the last year (many of these posts were posted in earlier blog years, but are still the most highly visited in 2010) were:

1.  Obviously the first page of the blog is the most visited.  Here is where you find my most recent post, so subscribers are most interested in this page.  In addition most people who aren't directed to a specific page, begin with the first page.

2.  The second most visited page is my video on how to use a simple solar wax melter .  This page was visited almost 6000 times.  It's a demonstration of how to melt wax easily and simply - a low tech approach to using the sun as a resource for melting wax.

3.  Next in popularity is the video on how to harvest honey by crush and strain.  That was seen almost 4000 times.  I had such fun making that video.  I do things slightly differently now - I use all three filters stacked.  And since that video was made, my friend Gina and I were professionally filmed harvesting honey for use in our bee club's short course.

4.  About 3000 people read my short post on what you need to get started in beekeeping.  I actually wrote that post specifically to help my brother get started but it has turned out to be useful to others as well.  It was fun trying to imagine the process of starting all over again.  I had another opportunity to use the list when my son-in-law decided to take up beekeeping as well.

5.  Next in popularity is my post on making my own small hive beetle trap.  I found the plan in a beekeeping magazine and took off from there.  Actually of all the SHB traps I use, I like this one the best.  It's not so small that it's hard to fill (like AJ's or the beetle jail); it doesn't close off the SBB as the slide in trays do, and it kills the beetle better than smashing it with a hive tool!

6,  Number six on the list is how to build a hive box.  There's a trend here - many people appear to be looking at my "how to" type pages.

7.  Next in line is how to (another how to!) do a basic hive inspection.  I worked hard on this post because it was used as a slide show in our short course and will be again this year in a couple of weeks.

8.  How to build a frame came in line in eighth position.  I do this much differently now since I bought a frame jig from Walter T. Kelley - talk about a bee life-changing event, acquiring this simple gadget is a time saver.

9.  Ninth on the list is a post I did about splitting a hive and about the Freeman beetle trap.  I don't know if people come more to read about doing a split or about the SHB trap.  The comments are more about the beetle trap, so that is probably what brings people to this post.  As far down on the list as this post is, it was still visited by almost 2000 people.

10.  Tenth, but not least, is the post I did on newbie questions at the beginning of beekeeping.  It is essentially a link post to other topics I've written about, so I imagine people sometimes start there and then visit all over the blog!  About 1600 people came to this page.

Well, in thinking about another calendar year of posting, I thought you might be interested in what draws other people to this blog.

Happy New Year and Good Beekeeping to everyone.