tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273290012024-03-08T06:33:46.002-05:00Linda's BeesThis is the tale that began in 2006 in my first year of beekeeping in Atlanta, GA. ...there's still so much to learn.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1413125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-47390588652837532012024-01-20T14:20:00.000-05:002024-01-20T14:20:37.602-05:00Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Short Course is a Week from Today<p> If you live in the Metro Atlanta area and have wanted to become a beekeeper, the best short course you can possibly imagine is happening next Saturday, the 27th at Peachtree Road Methodist Church in Buckhead. Registration is still open. Just <a href="https://metroatlantabeekeepers.org/maba-short-course/">click here.</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHWjS2LwepPupirZ1_qZHx28ullQTthNMh4tKQvoZ42Ehl97ltI37KXhrTb7DxRidDn2xoozpfVFTNR27_8FVrAhEtGvfQJbxJ-pqQ7HC9GnJY19yMO_OQuhUtWzBh-KLamb6AWDvRi017HJW8nV6_iaNEXqoz-Vui1mkeK8L9ejeiGHiuOWP3w/s1024/1705778347231-41d8b032-62fd-4c93-af52-15147e6883d1_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="791" height="829" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHWjS2LwepPupirZ1_qZHx28ullQTthNMh4tKQvoZ42Ehl97ltI37KXhrTb7DxRidDn2xoozpfVFTNR27_8FVrAhEtGvfQJbxJ-pqQ7HC9GnJY19yMO_OQuhUtWzBh-KLamb6AWDvRi017HJW8nV6_iaNEXqoz-Vui1mkeK8L9ejeiGHiuOWP3w/w640-h829/1705778347231-41d8b032-62fd-4c93-af52-15147e6883d1_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-51929782596300674332023-11-29T13:36:00.002-05:002023-11-29T13:37:08.003-05:00Rosalyn Carter and the Bees<p> As Rosalyn Carter's memorial service was held in Atlanta yesterday, I was reminded of how I was lucky enough to meet her through beekeeping. My friend Curt Barrett and I were volunteering for the butterfly festival at the Carter Center in Atlanta, representing the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers.</p><p>Mrs. Carter was there to attend the festival and to dedicate a butterfly trail. As part of the festivities, she participated in the inspection of a beehive. I helped her with her gloves, always too big for women's hands in those days (2016).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBVXtgv3RsjD_3qZsYEAcRm4WIfRnUEiHvlXkCJMrgm4FGZEb8bDogZW6j5_2uN2Fjm4bW1OfInxgS2xu-7eEL4Jhrbd_NTt-5kVpcqRuGDwJSvzXc7N1NyrCdLCsOOwCzHEEDPTyBd58vA9C-cFp8GChao8jON-Ib1r0nxTZ5H9qWpjT6PCCERA/s796/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-29%20at%201.30.05%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="796" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBVXtgv3RsjD_3qZsYEAcRm4WIfRnUEiHvlXkCJMrgm4FGZEb8bDogZW6j5_2uN2Fjm4bW1OfInxgS2xu-7eEL4Jhrbd_NTt-5kVpcqRuGDwJSvzXc7N1NyrCdLCsOOwCzHEEDPTyBd58vA9C-cFp8GChao8jON-Ib1r0nxTZ5H9qWpjT6PCCERA/w440-h328/Screen%20Shot%202023-11-29%20at%201.30.05%20PM.png" width="440" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you'd like to see the original post, <a href="http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2016/06/mrs-rosalynn-carter-becomes-beekeeper.html">click here.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-37341006045108918542023-03-13T10:11:00.004-04:002023-03-13T10:14:49.815-04:00Secondary Swarm Saturday, March 11, 2023<p>I'm sure it's not a national holiday, but it was a day of celebration for me that both started and ended with secondary swarms. </p><p>I was still in my pjs when I got a call from a beekeeper who belongs to my local club, Metro Atlanta Beekeepers. She has two hives and no extra equipment and her hive had swarmed. She asked if I would like the swarm. I was THRILLED to go and get it; threw on my clothes and was out the door. Like most beekeepers at this time of year, my swarm collection gear is always in my car so I can literally jump in and head out, as long as I have put on my own clothes!</p><p>She had made a split from her largest hive and there was good evidence that it had swarmed as well. Then a few days later she sees this little teardrop of bees in the tree above her hives:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeY9LHrD9Jmlfgd2NFCtPT6nH7wNZxIASmjfs1beRxe2vSH9AQcP_CdOeMZQMALrQqXGcE81f-vgEHeCv2pHBElS5dl3Q4RcUZXw4_zVbQvyqjNbXvNBcVUM3HzjOMPS4wnAAUiMjI62kJo1AB7fYv6GxPRSv8ybFcmRMm8unuBN-_pHg7W5k/s4032/IMG_1539%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeY9LHrD9Jmlfgd2NFCtPT6nH7wNZxIASmjfs1beRxe2vSH9AQcP_CdOeMZQMALrQqXGcE81f-vgEHeCv2pHBElS5dl3Q4RcUZXw4_zVbQvyqjNbXvNBcVUM3HzjOMPS4wnAAUiMjI62kJo1AB7fYv6GxPRSv8ybFcmRMm8unuBN-_pHg7W5k/w295-h393/IMG_1539%202.jpeg" width="295" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The swarm was quite small, as secondary swarms often are. The original swarm leaves with the hive's queen mother and about half the bees. But if there are virgin queens in the hive as may happen as queen cells emerge, a virgin queen may head up a smaller secondary swarm. This swarm has less of a survival chance because after the secondary swarm is rehived, the virgin queen still has to fly out, successfully mate, and return.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have sworn not to go up ladders this year but this swarm was small enough and on a shrub at about seven feet off the ground. I climbed the ladder (very carefully!) and was able to snip off the branch and lower the bees into a honey bucket. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's the video of the collection and rehousing of the bees in a nuc at my house.</div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1rQZPPkGYu8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><div><br /></div><div>Later that afternoon, I led a MABA hive inspection at the community garden where the two swarms I collected last week are installed. The first hive is going wild - building tons of wax and filling it with brood and nectar. They looked fabulous except for a couple of wonky combs in my foundationless frames. </div><div><br /></div><div>As I drove home from the inspection, my cell rang and it was the man who lived at the house where I collected my first swarm last week, the one mentioned in the paragraph above. He had <b>another</b> swarm in his yard and wanted to know if I wanted it. When I arrived, he told me that he had discovered the origin of the bees. He lent me his binoculars to look fifty feet up into a nearby tree where the bees were living.</div><div><br /></div><div>The swarm was another secondary swarm, my second in this wonderful Saturday. It was equally easy to collect. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPiAaU9e-y-F6gZxRhuqVXCc0_oEd7cHRjL9Sc1zAv7FNMEGDoUkNvxDLULvYUUkWjlZ6iFmL2KPzhxk1AtHGqjowWG_spcW70maJAqYGf-964ElIWzhWhT-b-76l6-r-ojLV3TPjkPX5wP3WhKat_j61zAZLs5-qytBgjRgTIYtFnObmhvY/s4032/IMG_4403.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPiAaU9e-y-F6gZxRhuqVXCc0_oEd7cHRjL9Sc1zAv7FNMEGDoUkNvxDLULvYUUkWjlZ6iFmL2KPzhxk1AtHGqjowWG_spcW70maJAqYGf-964ElIWzhWhT-b-76l6-r-ojLV3TPjkPX5wP3WhKat_j61zAZLs5-qytBgjRgTIYtFnObmhvY/w361-h481/IMG_4403.jpg" width="361" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is the video of that swarm capture and installation in my backyard.</div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1lFlhy5EnQk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <div>What a wonderful, bee-filled Saturday! I'll take a day like that any day.</div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><span style="background-color: #b2b2b2;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: #b2b2b2;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-90574932798055515362023-03-02T14:50:00.001-05:002023-03-02T14:50:39.034-05:00A Very Bee Week So Far<p> It's only Wednesday, but I've been very bee-sy. On Saturday I discovered my community garden hives were both gone...the first died before winter and the second was without a queen (who had been there two weeks ago) and was in terrible shape. I didn't open the hive two weeks ago - just lifted up the top and took off the feeder. The bees were flying in with pollen and I felt pretty sure that we were coming out of winter fine. Then I did an inspection on Sunday and found them broodless and queenless with a tiny diminishing population.</p><p>These are teaching hives and the MABA philosophy is that our swarm hotline will supply swarm calls to the teaching hives first until we have two hives for teaching. I called the swarm commander, Dave, and he called me so quickly the very next day, on Sunday, with a swarm ten minutes from my house. <a href="http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2023/03/first-swarm-of-year-february-27.html">I got it </a> in the early afternoon.</p><p>I installed that swarm at the community garden with a queen excluder to keep the bees there. Swarms have often left that garden after being hived - maybe they don't like the GA Power electrical lines - so now I routinely put a queen "includer" between the bottom of the bottom box and the entrance, keeping the queen (and unfortunately the drones) in the hive until I remove it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpG1iKvNjC-bKJ26aMyeVc1WdMdSyTZQ4dMqU3bpib_hleXWh_WyxlmJnynAu20No_gjrCkqW2Spqq8oMop3ArJI6v-0roXddVLt0993tY2_igPNjYw_pmA1kd_cAnC7R5hTcAqG6CrjGUUd1aGCxjA-6VtbFY-7R8MAzLPpnd0aMj45Divk/s4032/IMG_4301.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpG1iKvNjC-bKJ26aMyeVc1WdMdSyTZQ4dMqU3bpib_hleXWh_WyxlmJnynAu20No_gjrCkqW2Spqq8oMop3ArJI6v-0roXddVLt0993tY2_igPNjYw_pmA1kd_cAnC7R5hTcAqG6CrjGUUd1aGCxjA-6VtbFY-7R8MAzLPpnd0aMj45Divk/s320/IMG_4301.heic" width="240" /></a></div><p>Monday I was called for another swarm, literally six minutes from my house. It was on a mailbox and much more difficult to collect. I was there for over an hour, coaxing the bees onto frames of old comb. When most of the bees were in the nuc box, I left the box propped slightly open and went home to get the queen excluder (which I have forgotten - I always forget something!). </p><p>I took those bees to the community garden and installed them in a second hive and put a queen "includer" on that hive. </p><p>Yesterday, Tuesday, in my own yard, I did a walkaway split with my one and only hive in my yard. It was boiling over with bees and I was afraid they were already making swarm plans. It was an old hive that I had neglected when I moved into this house in 2021 and the brood boxes were full of cross comb. The original hive died and before I could clean it out, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/27329001/6675185303325725196">a swarm moved in while I watched!</a> So this new occupant is dealing with crossed comb and I can't inspect the brood boxes. So a walkaway split is the ideal way to manage this. I could see looking between the frames that there was brood and hopefully eggs in both boxes. Because I am not sure about this, I am trying an experiment.</p><p>I used a double screened board and did the even split but kept the boxes stacked on each other with the double screened board between what is now two hives. If one of the halves does not have a queen in three weeks, I'll recombine them. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO-xvP-ilueyH29-QC7EZ69ISlYfqEZHjWRGAbuxd9tBHEogqA_WcfSmhTkm77p96BpUt9MakSgPbhe6dib3UII0ocoVTQfKA0xGHjJT84kBJqehj8Sl7ZvjXislzbexyvvifhwyCA1rbxZpunma-3FKxikSu9SAK6dA5wQ1BFhNRMykQKij8/s2100/IMG_4326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="1576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO-xvP-ilueyH29-QC7EZ69ISlYfqEZHjWRGAbuxd9tBHEogqA_WcfSmhTkm77p96BpUt9MakSgPbhe6dib3UII0ocoVTQfKA0xGHjJT84kBJqehj8Sl7ZvjXislzbexyvvifhwyCA1rbxZpunma-3FKxikSu9SAK6dA5wQ1BFhNRMykQKij8/s320/IMG_4326.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDmz_m8h93XVnf6CfAJm7mOL3vgL6ZpTtNQBqEuGZ85VDR0LuSehWy8zc9V4_NikWV_aj44bLhXtlE7mWmP3iTqj8SG6NwYXsf3_WX89Nn8PwKkG_EftX6HQ20xnot0WcJiM4ncRv_JeJ-Z1NRj3WMyRIFA7wFqawQNfNuTx8KIkQAkNUMo0/s4032/IMG_4327.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDmz_m8h93XVnf6CfAJm7mOL3vgL6ZpTtNQBqEuGZ85VDR0LuSehWy8zc9V4_NikWV_aj44bLhXtlE7mWmP3iTqj8SG6NwYXsf3_WX89Nn8PwKkG_EftX6HQ20xnot0WcJiM4ncRv_JeJ-Z1NRj3WMyRIFA7wFqawQNfNuTx8KIkQAkNUMo0/s320/IMG_4327.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bees testing out new hive's entrance</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>The red arrow (above) points to the Snelgrove or double screened board between the two colonies. The center of the board has a movable entrance, open on the upper side to allow bees from the upper colony to have an entrance. </p><p>Then I drove over to the community garden (20 minutes there and 20 minutes back) and removed the queen includer from each of the hives. There were still bees at the queenless hive - appearing to protect the entrances so I know they weren't robbers - but what are they doing there?</p><p>I hadn't been back at home five minutes when my phone rang. It was the beekeeping teacher at SPARK where there is a hive of bees. They had had an "incident" in which a teacher was stung. I haven't been in that hive this year, so I got back in the car and drove 20 minutes to the school. There I found a healthy hive, boiling over with bees with not a queen cell in sight. There were, however, plenty of eggs in the brood frames.</p><p>So to change the atmosphere over there, Whitney (the new beekeeping teacher) and I made an even split into the second empty hive on the school rooftop. The bees will be calmer, will be distracted by the need for one half of the split to make a queen, and they are not likely to swarm. </p><p>Needless to say, when I drove home 20 minutes in the Atlanta 5:00 traffic, I was bee-exhausted and truly tired from four solid days of Bee-Ing!</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-79884245575736172462023-03-02T13:58:00.003-05:002023-03-02T14:00:23.441-05:00A Swarm on a Mailbox - Never an Easy Collection<p> On Monday, I was called to collect a swarm from a mailbox in a neighborhood near mine. It's never easy to collect a swarm from an unmoving landing spot. Some difficult ones I've had in the past included a <a href="https://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2016/04/second-atlanta-swarm-on-i-beam-in.html">swarm on a I-beam</a>; <a href="https://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2008/04/hiving-first-swarm-and-phase-one-of.html">a swarm on a chain link fence</a>; and <a href="https://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-bee-zy-sting-filled-day.html">a swarm on a bench</a>. I don't ever like being violent with bees but a gentle shake into a collection box is much easier than trying to seduce the bees away from the solid item they've chosen to land on.</p><p>This mailbox, while quite accessible, was a challenge. I took a nuc box filled with drawn comb frames to use to gather the bees. I haven't done this before and it wasn't easy but as time passed (a lot of time - I was there over an hour!) I got better at sort of scooting the drawn frame up under the bees, sliding from the bottom up. In the very end, I had to brush the last of the bees into a scoop but that probably amounted to only about three hundred or so bees. </p><p>Then when I arrived at the community garden to install the hive, I used a method I saw on a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-QJigKPJx4&t=230s">Cotswold, England beekeeper's YouTube channel</a>. It was a miracle to watch the bees march into the hive. They looked like a school of fish made of bees as they flowed into the entrance. </p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0gEpXcVPuJM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Now we have two hives of bees at the community garden, ready to grow and be a part of the MABA hive inspection program. My first inspection is on March 12!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-77916038896614303662023-03-01T14:35:00.002-05:002023-03-01T14:35:39.803-05:00First Swarm of the Year: February 27<p> I was called to get this swarm because the teaching hives at the community garden died. One died before winter - it was full of really mean bees and I don't miss them a bit. The other was alive two weeks ago with good signs like bees flying in with pollen on their legs. But I opened the hive on Sunday, the 26th, and there was NO brood, about half a nuc box worth of bees and two solidly filled medium boxes of honey. Clearly there was no queen and the hive would not make it.</p><p>Metro Atlanta has six teaching sites with hives for hands on hive inspection sessions to teach new beekeepers how to do it. We are first in line for swarms for these teaching hives if a hive dies. So I called our swarm hot line and literally the next day, Dave, the swarm commander, called me to go for this swarm which was about a seven minute drive from my house.</p><p>Below is the YouTube of the capture of the swarm and its installation at the community garden. I left a queen excluder under the bottom box and above the entrance because swarms have left the community garden location before. It's on Georgia Power land and I don't think the bees like the current in the electrical lines. So I hived the swarm and left the excluder on for a day and a half. I removed it yesterday.</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vukEbotY_kg" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <div><br /></div><div>If you enjoy my videos, click subscribe on YouTube and click on the bell and you'll be notified when I post a new one.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-5514524517380503802022-12-28T14:10:00.003-05:002022-12-28T15:53:56.006-05:00Short Course Metro Atlanta Beekeepers January 28, 2023<p> Most beekeepers, if they are lucky, get to participate in a short course. Many bee clubs offer short courses. Metro Atlanta's is one of the best. If you are interested, want to learn to keep bees, and live within driving distance of Atlanta, we offer a great course. It's a one day course in all that you need to know to get started keeping bees. Location of the course: Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in the heart of Buckhead, Atlanta.</p><p>Julia Mahood, Claressa Lucas and I are the co-chairs and organizers of the course. We would love to have you! We all teach in the course. Julia is a master craftsman beekeeper, Claressa is a journeyman and I am a master beekeeper. Our instructors are all well-trained and very experienced. You can get hands-on experience at our in-person hive inspections after the course is complete for the whole of 2023's bee season. Also you automatically become a member of the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers. If you come from another area, we will pay for your dues at the club of your choice.</p><p><a href="https://www.memberplanet.com/s/mababc/retreatregistration_44_1_1_2_2">Here's a link to the registration for the course</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOIQYQtXKPHPnG5CJJmZgYCZjxoXpGel3bDs8BhbCW2kF1AwDnSvbCqR9Fm4_KNa8KTFp76EayOrBHQsFfQMvdS6rddYeU1C7C7pzmxmYr2yqLaU-_0JrDT4V4cZQjUpk_lpeEskveZRDhcUNXnuus_rM7j7s5g4SgvWAYZ5IHZDYYGOAItU/s566/SC23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="566" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOIQYQtXKPHPnG5CJJmZgYCZjxoXpGel3bDs8BhbCW2kF1AwDnSvbCqR9Fm4_KNa8KTFp76EayOrBHQsFfQMvdS6rddYeU1C7C7pzmxmYr2yqLaU-_0JrDT4V4cZQjUpk_lpeEskveZRDhcUNXnuus_rM7j7s5g4SgvWAYZ5IHZDYYGOAItU/w495-h334/SC23.jpg" width="495" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For 2020 and 2021, the course was held online. This year it is in person. The photos below are from 2019, the last year we had a face-to-face course.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYbBQbIkfrI0kAqjcEGH0Ldz-HtQHfmaPe0lxrp3qu7IztjC6pq_A2zn9bPaESmWaWxcVeCG7VRltIoAOV8KduZ3lbkuAQq9IoJJd7rAERleft9DuMk7yH95WPAVmEOXsA--8f_e8etcnxjbXiOGbDN_ZSu4YgmHUGdEPHPL0zjxcSIaIXjA/s4032/IMG_6314.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYbBQbIkfrI0kAqjcEGH0Ldz-HtQHfmaPe0lxrp3qu7IztjC6pq_A2zn9bPaESmWaWxcVeCG7VRltIoAOV8KduZ3lbkuAQq9IoJJd7rAERleft9DuMk7yH95WPAVmEOXsA--8f_e8etcnxjbXiOGbDN_ZSu4YgmHUGdEPHPL0zjxcSIaIXjA/w319-h425/IMG_6314.JPG" width="319" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ed Hoehn demonstrates to some of our 2019 attendees how to light a smoker.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDw7Vl6vUGKByEG_RlwQ9bRONNrz0oZpHclEXqcManloJN0uJQUFWQNd5x9KUQYP_MZU_Ry4smAVZw1RA7LfSjCKQ9l66B9h5y8qIe7MWah4TrVNRYfnUcFrkwGSVOdeuN7RnMMRhUsUiP_5xaNbodgMeKPNXwY1KABn7gNE3-S_nIHI2yywk/s4032/IMG_1982.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDw7Vl6vUGKByEG_RlwQ9bRONNrz0oZpHclEXqcManloJN0uJQUFWQNd5x9KUQYP_MZU_Ry4smAVZw1RA7LfSjCKQ9l66B9h5y8qIe7MWah4TrVNRYfnUcFrkwGSVOdeuN7RnMMRhUsUiP_5xaNbodgMeKPNXwY1KABn7gNE3-S_nIHI2yywk/w483-h363/IMG_1982.heic" width="483" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The course includes a vendor to help you in ordering supplies. And you can spend the lunch hour in a small eight person group, eating with an experienced beekeeper. You can ask all the questions that might have not been answered during the morning's talk.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Join us if you are in the area! If not, find a local beekeeping short course and take it. You won't regret it and will surely add to any knowledge you already have about keeping bees.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11sJU0q2zOXnZbSnfbrfMyXAQ-l66iNiEN9c6st7vMTx4DwjAbte_wCCneazyfS9HrERKLLJvsmCOFc9-UVe-x1avCGNrRGF0iodvt2ymiOBJkWu4Jkgwja6OseMIQ2UGaX9qYUdHbZho8hbHClH6c5Vn8S5i-Bm7ylWaPUNcSyfMGI2GNHA/s552/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-28%20at%202.12.26%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="552" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11sJU0q2zOXnZbSnfbrfMyXAQ-l66iNiEN9c6st7vMTx4DwjAbte_wCCneazyfS9HrERKLLJvsmCOFc9-UVe-x1avCGNrRGF0iodvt2ymiOBJkWu4Jkgwja6OseMIQ2UGaX9qYUdHbZho8hbHClH6c5Vn8S5i-Bm7ylWaPUNcSyfMGI2GNHA/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-28%20at%202.12.26%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.memberplanet.com/s/mababc/retreatregistration_44_1_1_2_2" style="text-align: left;">Here's a link to the registration for the course</a><span style="text-align: left;">.</span></div><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-33428793056295183402022-11-05T10:13:00.001-04:002022-11-05T10:13:26.216-04:00Tomorrow is the last day for bidding at BIP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIcslIDYrTd4stUvg6r-JKRvBy8bzRZXuVGYqzCPfmMkdwL1qR2aqdhwI_rfr4fRmYiWUl6zT4Lsy7e3JIM5jWpRqQ265lk9hsIYEu1pVrfEOV2Urd9qAiObxb0SDNTQPBFcss6SmVij5CIK-mUrFwHGLvHqEBa6dKunGRmdC1HJhIb45kkc/s1649/BIP%20Auction.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="1649" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIcslIDYrTd4stUvg6r-JKRvBy8bzRZXuVGYqzCPfmMkdwL1qR2aqdhwI_rfr4fRmYiWUl6zT4Lsy7e3JIM5jWpRqQ265lk9hsIYEu1pVrfEOV2Urd9qAiObxb0SDNTQPBFcss6SmVij5CIK-mUrFwHGLvHqEBa6dKunGRmdC1HJhIb45kkc/w618-h425/BIP%20Auction.jpeg" width="618" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=27949&CFID=53164771&CFTOKEN=603b49f44f92e91e-A16AD304-05DA-B4FA-EFEBA5BB70D95018" target="_blank">CLICK HERE TO VISIT AUCTION SITE!</a></span></div><br /><p><br /> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-37882544014777359122022-11-01T15:29:00.005-04:002022-11-04T11:52:36.539-04:00Bee Informed Partnership Auction<p> I am excited to support the Bee Informed Partnership where we all get so much good information about our bees. I have two quilted items in the auction this year. The auction runs from now until November 7. </p><p><a href="https://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=27949&CFID=53164771&CFTOKEN=603b49f44f92e91e-A16AD304-05DA-B4FA-EFEBA5BB70D95018">Here's a link to the auction</a>...there are wonderful items up for bid, all of which benefit this organization which is so helpful to bees and beekeepers.</p><p>Below are photos of my two quilted items in the auction: a bag, suitable as a knitting bag or a purse and a bee-themed table runner.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiaGKr1ZW-3EKOFmPaY_nNJJmkzW9LpbCdhKnFw4hsbtBIK1SK0lWFVgUY_AkLDuTJSne5mcNJhT96bQ0HA0uVSP39uIhUKnlIEhX2XrqJyjfd7Qm1jv9rgxTzDn9Egks0skaYpytkN5T9Gu7sPoVrmnvAR5a2qt5MLoFj2uOluqHktCmGT6U/s4032/IMG_3292.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiaGKr1ZW-3EKOFmPaY_nNJJmkzW9LpbCdhKnFw4hsbtBIK1SK0lWFVgUY_AkLDuTJSne5mcNJhT96bQ0HA0uVSP39uIhUKnlIEhX2XrqJyjfd7Qm1jv9rgxTzDn9Egks0skaYpytkN5T9Gu7sPoVrmnvAR5a2qt5MLoFj2uOluqHktCmGT6U/w400-h300/IMG_3292.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It has a lined pocket on the outside and inner pockets as well. The closure is a bee button.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRk9wE-537m3gr9xBkYm18yLLND8qtdiZPfQbokCUiNOBGcnowNUhgkaOPJSIqodbC7IPqa8C_1CoMzUlzvKRJ6mWxGdBNTLvk-UZ4pWlJQtPReSmtSLPVSV-VBX4_X7QLx1MTUI8QPtMrDnoJxCAEl-0yHyGgK-iF7OOYAbbx-qMho_PpmE/s4032/IMG_3294.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRk9wE-537m3gr9xBkYm18yLLND8qtdiZPfQbokCUiNOBGcnowNUhgkaOPJSIqodbC7IPqa8C_1CoMzUlzvKRJ6mWxGdBNTLvk-UZ4pWlJQtPReSmtSLPVSV-VBX4_X7QLx1MTUI8QPtMrDnoJxCAEl-0yHyGgK-iF7OOYAbbx-qMho_PpmE/w400-h300/IMG_3294.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The table runner has bee fabrics from those I have collected for years and is about 32 inches long:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyDPg-0sdlfcRDr7Laee1H4y3iKoKuZT53L-Mtu26hSqD5x0IcCB8zDmWrZC_iwxayd4ai0hiPPkybtAUj-BDYsihXPHlwUQRGm_Wpunf6TPt3vRw_lsn9XRiTK0TiNS92oxi9VwszCvIf8ItAjdg9lq1keikBS2BUd2BG-xUw1aYh6TA9yk/s4032/IMG_3265.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1842" data-original-width="4032" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyDPg-0sdlfcRDr7Laee1H4y3iKoKuZT53L-Mtu26hSqD5x0IcCB8zDmWrZC_iwxayd4ai0hiPPkybtAUj-BDYsihXPHlwUQRGm_Wpunf6TPt3vRw_lsn9XRiTK0TiNS92oxi9VwszCvIf8ItAjdg9lq1keikBS2BUd2BG-xUw1aYh6TA9yk/w640-h293/IMG_3265.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In addition to my items, there are tons of bee items on which you can bid. Go and support this great organization.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-72001122626641085512022-10-14T17:41:00.005-04:002022-10-14T17:41:57.918-04:00October Crossword: Fun and Facts about Wax<p>As we begin the fall season, many beekeepers use this time to deal with products of the hive. The October crossword that I made is about wax - a very important hive product and one that most beekeepers have access to. Enjoy!</p><p> <iframe frameborder="0" height="500" src="https://crosswordlabs.com/embed/fun-and-facts-about-wax" style="background-color: white; border: 3px solid black; display: block; margin: auto; padding: 5px 0px 0 5px;" width="500"></iframe>
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-88848443098650198342022-09-19T10:25:00.001-04:002022-09-19T14:25:20.585-04:00Best in Show at MABA Annual Honey Show<p> Honey shows are a challenge for me because my essential tremor makes it difficult to get a honey jar perfectly ready for presentation. So I rarely enter honey in honey shows any more, except for black jar contests. But most honey contests have other aspects - wax, crafts, baked goods, photography, etc. </p><p>This year for my home club (Metro Atlanta Beekeepers) a friend of mine and I were in charge of the food for the potluck and honey show on Sunday the 18th. It's a busy job and requires organization, getting the plates, silverware, drinks, etc and the main dish - usually barbecue or fried chicken - for the event. With all of that, I had decided not to enter anything this year.</p><p>But then Saturday rolled around and I had nothing to do so I decided to spend the day baking. I baked honey whole wheat bread twice because I didn't like the taste of the first recipe which was a steel cut oat honey bread. I switched to a rolled oatmeal bread which I liked better <a href="https://kneadingthebread.blogspot.com/2009/10/oatmeal-graham-bread-from-hensperger.html">from Beth Hensperger</a>. I also baked honey wheat germ cookies (<a href="https://www.food.com/recipe/honey-wheat-cookies-dorie-greenspan-434341">a Dorie Greenspan recipe</a>) that are delicious. And finally I baked a David Tanis recipe for <a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017685-apple-kuchen-with-honey-and-ginger?action=click&module=Global%20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=2">an apple honey cake</a>. </p><p>The honey oatmeal whole wheat bread won a blue ribbon (and $100). The judge suggested that it needed a stronger honey taste. I had used a mild honey and will use a stronger tasting honey the next time.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuZcGlCfEMVdktQmY1vaiEZGjHw1UuVG0aBAglfqK3Mn92kmw4SvQR-iu_ogBNxzfh00ed76kSKSNPBeqWV1aYP5tSd9J4PW8SUUze7VoTQjcafsj6k05gUs-eNlZLPZGnAI-jAaWseA-QvHVpkiY4tGiQ6OrkY83O3jOal6Y0y0y13Ej9ecQ/s3425/IMG_3445.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3425" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuZcGlCfEMVdktQmY1vaiEZGjHw1UuVG0aBAglfqK3Mn92kmw4SvQR-iu_ogBNxzfh00ed76kSKSNPBeqWV1aYP5tSd9J4PW8SUUze7VoTQjcafsj6k05gUs-eNlZLPZGnAI-jAaWseA-QvHVpkiY4tGiQ6OrkY83O3jOal6Y0y0y13Ej9ecQ/s320/IMG_3445.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The cookies, which were competing with a gorgeous honey tart with kiwi slices decorating it that had been cut into honeycomb shapes and bees made of thinly sliced grapes - an amazing creation, didn't have a chance at a first place ribbon but came in second ($50). I was pleased because I didn't expect them to win. They are delicious as any Dorie Greenspan recipe. I'll make them again and video it for my YouTube recipe collection.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQzgKgbfEGZIJLeOAKo_s6rCOYICzYVsvE2rESAlVK5k2JaFzYLM0oK3R9tqQcW7oMq_q--8eIAcrWEBV2y79CwGGwfBrwPrHl3WZ5BvG75EouaTsIZiddhca844f0Oycrxbzd98Ht47SNLM_l2chKTr-nAcEXJacsCYbK4ssmACQ93of0-s/s2394/IMG_3447.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2394" data-original-width="2303" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQzgKgbfEGZIJLeOAKo_s6rCOYICzYVsvE2rESAlVK5k2JaFzYLM0oK3R9tqQcW7oMq_q--8eIAcrWEBV2y79CwGGwfBrwPrHl3WZ5BvG75EouaTsIZiddhca844f0Oycrxbzd98Ht47SNLM_l2chKTr-nAcEXJacsCYbK4ssmACQ93of0-s/s320/IMG_3447.jpg" width="308" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The apple honey cake wasn't gorgeous. I didn't put the apples in the center of the cake because I didn't think there was room. Then in the middle of the night on Saturday, I woke up and thought I could make a bee skep from the apples I didn't use and put them in the center of the cake. So I sliced the apples like skeps and cooked the apples in a skillet to soften them like the ones baked in the cake. Then on Sunday morning I put them in the center of the cake, arranged like three little skeps and added some cloves to look like bees. I then glazed the new apples with a honey/sugar/lemon glaze. Not a work of art, but I crossed my fingers and hoped it would taste good to offset it's clumsy appearance as Paul Hollywood might say:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1veX2sy7hOLt6CuAIGr7PTZbHOXpy0c6abw6JQSICJIOBnQ4wd1xq5U1UNTXCWhMLDl24I6nOb4zia7SgmPHYGQVTi_wx64q9EdWkT-OWHnuRCfUxyJT396m1TY1MMQzXUL4E_h7dMhmKq8NxBd3fuandA3DOgMWLvdiURtj8Zcnr3oS_Pk/s3463/IMG_3422.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3463" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1veX2sy7hOLt6CuAIGr7PTZbHOXpy0c6abw6JQSICJIOBnQ4wd1xq5U1UNTXCWhMLDl24I6nOb4zia7SgmPHYGQVTi_wx64q9EdWkT-OWHnuRCfUxyJT396m1TY1MMQzXUL4E_h7dMhmKq8NxBd3fuandA3DOgMWLvdiURtj8Zcnr3oS_Pk/s320/IMG_3422.jpg" width="279" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This cake won first place ($100) and then Best in Show ($250)! The judge wrote "OMG! Praise only praise! Exceptional" on the comment card. I was bowled over. I've entered honey contests pretty much annually since 2007 and have never won Best in Show. The judge left before I could speak to him - Brutz English - he has judged all over, including in Ireland. I texted him to say how much it meant to me to get best in show. He called me this morning to say that of all the many cakes he has judged over the years, this one was absolutely one of the very best.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You should try the recipe. It has candied ginger as well as fresh ginger and apples in it along with the honey and the flavors permeate the cake. I baked it in a 10 inch springform pan since the baking seemed to be uneven and to take longer in the recommended 9 inch pan (from the comments). Mine was done in exactly 45 minutes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I hadn't even tasted it, so I ate a piece for breakfast and it is DELICIOUS! If you want to truly feature honey as an ingredient, you should try baking this.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-11226467879684326252022-09-10T12:11:00.006-04:002022-09-10T12:12:17.356-04:00Telling the Queen's BeesMy friend, Mike, just sent me <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11199259/Royal-beekeeper-informed-Queens-bees-HM-died-King-Charles-new-boss.html">this link</a> <div><br /></div><div>The world knows the Queen of England has died and now, in the old tradition, so do her bees.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a photo of just a small part of the article - be sure to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11199259/Royal-beekeeper-informed-Queens-bees-HM-died-King-Charles-new-boss.html">read the whole thing.</a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemhwM6HslDhGcB44guR4cc2pNwmX_q5s5RjymYKNbn2oNYxbVNrub_vVgk7Mmz5ZCvOn5WwJiJM_Aep99fmyhoHPRR2UK-tcCOqQ8VYm-Ag_nZyScuJv737IqYUxp0MRMCRr7MonYEOubiN3dSMVTmeNOc5sdubbykhGanMbPzc2f4Elv6Dc/s1356/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-10%20at%2012.10.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="1356" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemhwM6HslDhGcB44guR4cc2pNwmX_q5s5RjymYKNbn2oNYxbVNrub_vVgk7Mmz5ZCvOn5WwJiJM_Aep99fmyhoHPRR2UK-tcCOqQ8VYm-Ag_nZyScuJv737IqYUxp0MRMCRr7MonYEOubiN3dSMVTmeNOc5sdubbykhGanMbPzc2f4Elv6Dc/w640-h530/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-10%20at%2012.10.29%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>Screenshot from the DailyMail.uk<br /><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-37627981523455424022022-09-09T22:01:00.000-04:002022-09-09T22:01:38.296-04:00September Crossword Buzzle: Preparing for a Honey Show<p> In the fall, many bee clubs and organizations hold honey and wax shows. This month I did a crossword on getting ready to enter a honey and wax show. Here it is, if you'd like to try:<iframe width="500" height="500" style="background-color:white; padding:5px 0px 0 5px; border:3px solid black; margin:auto; display:block" frameborder="0" src="https://crosswordlabs.com/embed/preparing-for-a-honey-show"></iframe> </p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-31658815619003613432022-08-30T22:32:00.002-04:002022-08-30T22:34:16.090-04:00Using a Jig to build Frames<p> Last year I moved to a house with a yard big enough for my bees and my dog. This year I got CHICKENS! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4qp4U6bxEDPWjHG-6a8Rh0bi8XJdvTu115jCztb2QYvPbTxxchTLnf7Q4oHv-4K3o1bciVJb9GdlLm7Rdl4D_mfs5y38M8UiykHsLDfRL2-3dkRr1Jyq5in2gYFRkmYf7foPeiq0vSTfDokARUqo8WaKSKG2yDLXttAdyUVNL3jTi1W2lMY8/s3282/IMG_3219.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3282" data-original-width="2478" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4qp4U6bxEDPWjHG-6a8Rh0bi8XJdvTu115jCztb2QYvPbTxxchTLnf7Q4oHv-4K3o1bciVJb9GdlLm7Rdl4D_mfs5y38M8UiykHsLDfRL2-3dkRr1Jyq5in2gYFRkmYf7foPeiq0vSTfDokARUqo8WaKSKG2yDLXttAdyUVNL3jTi1W2lMY8/s320/IMG_3219.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Every afternoon toward the end of the day, I let the chickens out of their coop to free range for a few hours until their bedtime. They truly go to bed with the chickens at about 7 PM. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But I'm so scared one will be snatched up by a hawk, so I stay outside with them as a foil to keep the hawk away. My neighborhood is territory for red-shouldered and red tailed hawks. I've heard both. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To keep me busy, I have been building bee boxes, frames, and nuc boxes. All of these are in boxes that I ordered years ago (from Brushy Mountain when it was still in business) and have never put together. So I thought I'd show you how to use a jig to put together frames. You can build ten at once. I probably ordered the jig from Brushy Mountain as well, but other bee companies carry it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.mannlakeltd.com/beekeeping/hives/hive-accessories/10-frame-assembly-jig/">Mann Lake has them</a>. <a href="https://www.betterbee.com/foundation/FAJ1.asp?mkwid=&pcrid=&pkw=&pmt=&pdv=c&gclid=CjwKCAjw6raYBhB7EiwABge5KmpAvWasLocdTOY97lRPbooZ-Q9KtwEMXHl4bn2Rs37g9NXf_pfu3RoCV_kQAvD_BwE">So does Betterbee</a>. They are not as common as they used to be. I think many people buy their frames pre-assembled. My jig is for medium frames.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Basically the jig holds the end bars in place and allows the beekeeper to glue and nail the top bars to the end bars. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYZ5z1YCe544A7f5lqpneULyp2f69HJrQFmzJobrA-kbJQmXExoRmv2LWQjxJhmLzwDAmH-0IVbwCDMytCWTpj-bB6PFlm7NtIXocF7XGde0ICFWA2YYXy37Xkm_Czrk6r4POQwfr9-NWUnO_kSdSbaQKsuThqPPZcXoSs-w80P63v_86SXA/s4032/IMG_3274.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYZ5z1YCe544A7f5lqpneULyp2f69HJrQFmzJobrA-kbJQmXExoRmv2LWQjxJhmLzwDAmH-0IVbwCDMytCWTpj-bB6PFlm7NtIXocF7XGde0ICFWA2YYXy37Xkm_Czrk6r4POQwfr9-NWUnO_kSdSbaQKsuThqPPZcXoSs-w80P63v_86SXA/s320/IMG_3274.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHcB_xOFaaZioFOgmbniZD3udemFTkN3Bn-Gj4VsN3psmYvaJupC4Xr2SjsYvWluA7iP9p0hASSX92WYIc8dBxEVi7pKQZ9H1PwlRspe4OOqyQ1TqojpvSU08qfoc0mvATTcd-auXo3ybLvvlFSwisBAvtqcZzqBYt8c0R-chpNmxte2P2bA/s4032/IMG_3276.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHcB_xOFaaZioFOgmbniZD3udemFTkN3Bn-Gj4VsN3psmYvaJupC4Xr2SjsYvWluA7iP9p0hASSX92WYIc8dBxEVi7pKQZ9H1PwlRspe4OOqyQ1TqojpvSU08qfoc0mvATTcd-auXo3ybLvvlFSwisBAvtqcZzqBYt8c0R-chpNmxte2P2bA/s320/IMG_3276.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvSXV6nvcR_05xWC1M62digZxtKdFjeiR9l-klUsllumkKnkK8uhSomnDGWXm5ShjqBvHwX-kjTIRDOekKanI5xgN4itW5HW-s6Fa3xM3NNpu5gOohxtWt1KjpzuPyjReLrKTLdWmzQE8zsjojlCs1IndAsTRwE9Ord9vfc5-p5DbO4Rndmw/s4032/IMG_3278.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvSXV6nvcR_05xWC1M62digZxtKdFjeiR9l-klUsllumkKnkK8uhSomnDGWXm5ShjqBvHwX-kjTIRDOekKanI5xgN4itW5HW-s6Fa3xM3NNpu5gOohxtWt1KjpzuPyjReLrKTLdWmzQE8zsjojlCs1IndAsTRwE9Ord9vfc5-p5DbO4Rndmw/s320/IMG_3278.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWQW82Gdc5GQC_ahKSJiTU1OLUGwIKJRFAKB8pwsvSDbPSO4D71RgTAjCY3MngzPeJ8FRFHRxabYx6jUaeDq5JXNy8nQl79O6p1wOCKWrNdmtwZ8TCcVyAVXyJrRSmQ8c5nFKUQWUVEcVt2xjxu4R9UTt8Xa_TY7-FiUOIUqrxIPRbfVY9eg/s4032/IMG_3279.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWQW82Gdc5GQC_ahKSJiTU1OLUGwIKJRFAKB8pwsvSDbPSO4D71RgTAjCY3MngzPeJ8FRFHRxabYx6jUaeDq5JXNy8nQl79O6p1wOCKWrNdmtwZ8TCcVyAVXyJrRSmQ8c5nFKUQWUVEcVt2xjxu4R9UTt8Xa_TY7-FiUOIUqrxIPRbfVY9eg/s320/IMG_3279.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Then you flip the whole contraption over and glue and nail the bottom bars. Then if you put the assembly together right side up, the new completed frames just slide right out.</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEk1O8sFAX-2tH9hS703syZQMmJmEACm2IdA2ucy8DXA2mWg5oCGdKa4Gj81PvfKVZF5cE08-frUWWKO7dzkr2jQYMZze2q9acAz1UxGWdbs2Y-XmwiyEmuzB67uvOO3LS5MGAYxSYZbJG76cx_2GLGJkuSwGHpKA90fAGC_L8NlrHlN84t8/s4032/IMG_3282.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEk1O8sFAX-2tH9hS703syZQMmJmEACm2IdA2ucy8DXA2mWg5oCGdKa4Gj81PvfKVZF5cE08-frUWWKO7dzkr2jQYMZze2q9acAz1UxGWdbs2Y-XmwiyEmuzB67uvOO3LS5MGAYxSYZbJG76cx_2GLGJkuSwGHpKA90fAGC_L8NlrHlN84t8/s320/IMG_3282.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiio1nIh-7powi6oRhBwS0cOGmxqtoJmtknulCxY6IvMU4JbvUzIz39PN4I4SXvk1jIZBts-AfpYttghj-UxmhVF4GJdLrK5LqkILQaJ9tP_sL2ZUWTPksj4f3Nz30rkKVfoEDBAetej2MPYUzt-J1kB8Y-GkPGxEJaA2Y8RZip4jXxqfl3BwE/s4032/IMG_3283.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiio1nIh-7powi6oRhBwS0cOGmxqtoJmtknulCxY6IvMU4JbvUzIz39PN4I4SXvk1jIZBts-AfpYttghj-UxmhVF4GJdLrK5LqkILQaJ9tP_sL2ZUWTPksj4f3Nz30rkKVfoEDBAetej2MPYUzt-J1kB8Y-GkPGxEJaA2Y8RZip4jXxqfl3BwE/s320/IMG_3283.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMLOxXD8MWUXycJmDqI3G1JmYESrAgsqRJv22o55ndiA8A9ER3IiLO5DQ9dwvspzOYUpHCqw1ubTNQU2n0Sq7rE7yhhROUAj1MR7yIverK5zYzLe0_9uR9Nu14vYogxKJF72ifmiGux-MRg8ZsDf424y6ygchNSsmt7pxHLlUzicRa5BkiQw/s4032/IMG_3284.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMLOxXD8MWUXycJmDqI3G1JmYESrAgsqRJv22o55ndiA8A9ER3IiLO5DQ9dwvspzOYUpHCqw1ubTNQU2n0Sq7rE7yhhROUAj1MR7yIverK5zYzLe0_9uR9Nu14vYogxKJF72ifmiGux-MRg8ZsDf424y6ygchNSsmt7pxHLlUzicRa5BkiQw/s320/IMG_3284.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH8CKEPh985Ms9PHA_JRdCWTwQRj6rnJwEa6h87i91bNuwUdwf-Fn0Zj7JblaPWqbcAwAxnGIBsXVHLC7jjfNcxjJyEm2afrghKzqZtLBVE5Z2V4bEdq6DkTzWb1tt288feH5aASMTxlKGz53OSwKG9ELFsYt1byCEagW3cu4CejWwpwSroCg/s4032/IMG_3285.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH8CKEPh985Ms9PHA_JRdCWTwQRj6rnJwEa6h87i91bNuwUdwf-Fn0Zj7JblaPWqbcAwAxnGIBsXVHLC7jjfNcxjJyEm2afrghKzqZtLBVE5Z2V4bEdq6DkTzWb1tt288feH5aASMTxlKGz53OSwKG9ELFsYt1byCEagW3cu4CejWwpwSroCg/s320/IMG_3285.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2U_c0Btv3WELlrn35kgJzyMH5UTo9lCiUrgUkh2-kQv6q49w0UzYOrI4Vshc2AgPBTG3-gUFubG3hFdslq-AancKXd2xuj5-erd-8gtVWNWwUpxCopTb7-cv_FELEgnMF9yXaR6NieBgaHXYsvOZyx0Z1S5FG2eyMQkafcNicknbwdiTlmSk/s4032/IMG_3289.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2U_c0Btv3WELlrn35kgJzyMH5UTo9lCiUrgUkh2-kQv6q49w0UzYOrI4Vshc2AgPBTG3-gUFubG3hFdslq-AancKXd2xuj5-erd-8gtVWNWwUpxCopTb7-cv_FELEgnMF9yXaR6NieBgaHXYsvOZyx0Z1S5FG2eyMQkafcNicknbwdiTlmSk/s320/IMG_3289.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">I am a hammer and nail woman, and I can do ten frames in about 20 minutes. If I were nail/brad gun kind of woman, I could do them in ten. It's very fast. I made 100 frames over two afternoons of mostly playing with the chickens and intermittently building frames.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Next afternoon with the chickens, I'm building nuc boxes. I have about six wooden ones unassembled in my shed. One order is so old an order that it actually came with nails, like they used to!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-317183425421970632022-08-25T11:22:00.002-04:002022-08-25T11:26:32.556-04:00Fake Honey<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHZNnq5npQvm0dzLFx-df3crnDGDbb4oI2TcSVetfd5TvBSS0Q63xh8d_Lr8qg-qMaJdNgh_1Z88Xml7d6G05flW78oQSN8yEh3jnSMJzRu1EqQ38d7ya0r8bJWrrINAv3CNsMEf6nBYq920odEhH1IVf3UobpnyXEuvdBpUKkIRUFz2arg54/s4032/IMG_2974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHZNnq5npQvm0dzLFx-df3crnDGDbb4oI2TcSVetfd5TvBSS0Q63xh8d_Lr8qg-qMaJdNgh_1Z88Xml7d6G05flW78oQSN8yEh3jnSMJzRu1EqQ38d7ya0r8bJWrrINAv3CNsMEf6nBYq920odEhH1IVf3UobpnyXEuvdBpUKkIRUFz2arg54/w400-h300/IMG_2974.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.worldhoneymarket.com/post/when-fake-honey-becomes-a-real-problem?fbclid=IwAR1gSL6mDzXuFkSflC5b9Y7W_L0HpKiwfhh_maYcY7jnfkfaD4ryggAbfoo">This article </a>is circulating among beekeepers right now. Everyone needs to know how bad it is that fake honey is in the market. I tell everyone to buy local honey - better yet, buy from a beekeeper you know. This article focuses on on-purpose dilution of true honey. </p><p>As beekeepers, we also are possibly bottling honey that isn't real unless we truly take precautions. If you never feed your bees, then most likely your honey is pure nectar-based honey (unless your bees <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/121011-blue-honey-honeybees-animals-science">find a candy factory</a> as in this article!). The French bees in the article produced blue and green "honey."</p><p>To be absolutely sure that you are harvesting pure honey, there are a couple of things you can do:</p><p>1. When/if you feed your bees, put food coloring in the sugar syrup. Blue is a good choice. Then if you pull a frame to harvest and the honey is blue or bluish, you can know that the honey contains sugar syrup.</p><p>2. Put a mark on the boxes that were filled with honey before you feed the bees and you can be assured that if you harvest from the marked boxes, you'll have pure honey in the frames and not honey that has been contaminated with syrup.</p><p>3. Never feed your bees during the nectar flow.</p><p>This is not an issue for me in that most years I don't need to feed my bees and if I feed the bees, I harvest long before that happens.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-31877137574899395742022-08-04T22:47:00.006-04:002022-08-16T10:48:48.297-04:00Bees Coping with the High TemperaturesI keep slatted racks on all of my hives, so I don't get bad bearding even in the hottest weather. A slatted rack is the size of a hive box and has slats that parallel the frames in a regular box. It's not a tall piece of equipment - about 2 1/2 inches tall. The slatted rack provides some space for bees to hang on the slats and ventilate the hive. <div><br /></div><div>This is what a slatted rack looks like: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEC3n5fU-eJhTDvi29Cd4RuCTh9S-rLWGbs3w-uwWRe8ofLkPLLxd2ceMe-4rlIqgKAXVGe36seSrxVElQGJsD5dHQm7zFDBQs5r3_RkX2XAb7HFvZkQcLZddouMCDNtv1hD7EUsqZ6JklswHh8saT5bdBmExSLAl3VDp0XQFxN8KTRrje6hk/s840/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-04%20at%2010.51.40%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="840" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEC3n5fU-eJhTDvi29Cd4RuCTh9S-rLWGbs3w-uwWRe8ofLkPLLxd2ceMe-4rlIqgKAXVGe36seSrxVElQGJsD5dHQm7zFDBQs5r3_RkX2XAb7HFvZkQcLZddouMCDNtv1hD7EUsqZ6JklswHh8saT5bdBmExSLAl3VDp0XQFxN8KTRrje6hk/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-04%20at%2010.51.40%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It goes on the hive below the bottom box and forms the top of the entrance above the bottom board.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>But in the hottest weather, even with a slatted rack, the bees also are sent outside to help keep the hive cool both by taking their hot little bodies out of the cumulative body heat inside the hive and by working their wings.<div><br /></div><div>This video was made when the temperature in Atlanta was in the 90s one recent afternoon. It's in slow motion so you can see their wings.<br /><p> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KRRY6soRz9U" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-17776375476830469092022-08-01T13:52:00.006-04:002022-08-01T13:53:48.710-04:00August Crossword: August Beekeeping Challenges<div>This month's crossword explores some of the challenges for bees and beekeepers in August.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="500" src="https://crosswordlabs.com/embed/august-beekeeping-challenges" style="background-color: white; border: 3px solid black; display: block; margin: auto; padding: 5px 0px 0 5px;" width="500"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-32664496280043830932022-07-27T19:20:00.001-04:002022-07-27T19:20:14.626-04:00Hive Inspection with Honey Harvest July 25, 2022<p> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hWdBaAGUE1Q" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-14124361790153669742022-07-27T11:18:00.000-04:002022-07-27T11:18:12.957-04:00EarPods and Honey<p> Most mornings my oldest daughter calls me as she walks her dog. We always have fun catching up with each other. I imagine she's really calling to see if her OLD mother is still alive and breathing, but I love our time together as we each get ready for the day.</p><p>I am usually in the middle of the NYT Spelling Bee when she calls so I get out of bed, get dressed, and multitask while we talk, using my EarPods so I can be hands free. Today was different. The housekeepers were arriving at around 8:30 and I wasn't quite ready for them so I was up and organizing my kitchen to be able to get out of their way.</p><p>Yesterday I harvested honey from my top bar hive. My kitchen still had the large honey pot and other leftovers from the day's adventure.</p><p>I've not harvested from the top bar with bees in it. Once my top bar died and I harvested the honey still in the hive, but yesterday the hive was full of active bees. It's a great hive that I got as a swarm in early May so I only planned to harvest one or two bars just to taste their honey. We are in the middle of the dearth so I expected angry bees. Instead they were calm and I got away without a sting.</p><p>I recorded the inspection so I didn't take still photos but here are a few from the harvest:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLSyrv9kb89v-ChhOn2pGy2Ucshu2gWHr1JAxcnEX366N6U-WotUNAks6t95F5QtuGgliJmxXjW4Z-0Rsc2A5e9EDV7DZ0rRFww73vTfGJOYhgbDDADGu8n_X7Z2KgHiPZSIyAO60laQdiuRdXZwduSzNViRxpFBMvgEOzcG9FWQBHqodDt8/s1270/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-27%20at%2010.45.22%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="1270" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLSyrv9kb89v-ChhOn2pGy2Ucshu2gWHr1JAxcnEX366N6U-WotUNAks6t95F5QtuGgliJmxXjW4Z-0Rsc2A5e9EDV7DZ0rRFww73vTfGJOYhgbDDADGu8n_X7Z2KgHiPZSIyAO60laQdiuRdXZwduSzNViRxpFBMvgEOzcG9FWQBHqodDt8/w400-h223/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-27%20at%2010.45.22%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Brushing off the bees.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ffxef5J9AWFkbMNs0-7Nn8tN8sftCStRed5dMmqHMAsn-AsMHSLxf91v4CZElPZR1gGKUhIEPxm7dpuismnr8wOhXYCe7dwJIVQzZlBtNBQ-Yn0-EYZKqC_0aPuoa5UAdRDKAxQJxYsM3xjQ0oiHLb_qwQBgndwbMayp0d_NojMxwd7oCgg/s1288/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-27%20at%2010.45.38%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1288" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ffxef5J9AWFkbMNs0-7Nn8tN8sftCStRed5dMmqHMAsn-AsMHSLxf91v4CZElPZR1gGKUhIEPxm7dpuismnr8wOhXYCe7dwJIVQzZlBtNBQ-Yn0-EYZKqC_0aPuoa5UAdRDKAxQJxYsM3xjQ0oiHLb_qwQBgndwbMayp0d_NojMxwd7oCgg/w400-h226/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-27%20at%2010.45.38%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhqeYew3DyEPm9PZrJR410n_xlPBVecuH89jNcOSx_2gKUsnwjsSN8-ATQowUpCpGea6TStp5bsDmMdJ-sebHlt7OEmFP8o88nuXjUnaUC5GKBs663IhXLZdsjxYT0SIrJZ7HmHWoV9J_W8SuBwXEQmfX3XKiwZu5_HG8n2sjq2Yw8GSBvCY/s1020/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-27%20at%2010.45.58%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1020" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhqeYew3DyEPm9PZrJR410n_xlPBVecuH89jNcOSx_2gKUsnwjsSN8-ATQowUpCpGea6TStp5bsDmMdJ-sebHlt7OEmFP8o88nuXjUnaUC5GKBs663IhXLZdsjxYT0SIrJZ7HmHWoV9J_W8SuBwXEQmfX3XKiwZu5_HG8n2sjq2Yw8GSBvCY/w400-h284/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-27%20at%2010.45.58%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Cutting off the wax from the top bar.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCoyIQp2aEsnNPRQXtPobRP3KJRL1gHqd9dL2W_3L7F2UX2W1WtyW7eEJlbdn19zeM_hoExl_wSz3qXT2Fis1s3x0xn1ArNdCxY7iHa3fH8TKPch38EqPyNaY8eW_9kYPFYVTaQpgy7o9mI7eWBuE-j5LewPMwPnq7j1cFbfs2U4iQ8j_cY3w/s1084/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-27%20at%2010.46.12%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="1084" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCoyIQp2aEsnNPRQXtPobRP3KJRL1gHqd9dL2W_3L7F2UX2W1WtyW7eEJlbdn19zeM_hoExl_wSz3qXT2Fis1s3x0xn1ArNdCxY7iHa3fH8TKPch38EqPyNaY8eW_9kYPFYVTaQpgy7o9mI7eWBuE-j5LewPMwPnq7j1cFbfs2U4iQ8j_cY3w/w400-h255/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-27%20at%2010.46.12%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I literally put the top on my stew pot, brought it home, and that's what was sitting in my kitchen as the housekeepers arrived while Sarah and I were on the phone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34rXwOsaFLCnVY0-hrdwPZULgix-7-jZitMI5qwSypOQu2kRaalLy_3x2vVn2nrn4K4Sw7o8alwYKRo95jRl4HVjP7R95j7-5a5dPCpCycKT7AG0oMqxI1-elIMysEOwkJchF6BO5bTyp_nXsRydMAUp4YOr4c2W-_5s7oCV0mI3OTfkFKB0/s720/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-27%20at%2011.02.36%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="642" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34rXwOsaFLCnVY0-hrdwPZULgix-7-jZitMI5qwSypOQu2kRaalLy_3x2vVn2nrn4K4Sw7o8alwYKRo95jRl4HVjP7R95j7-5a5dPCpCycKT7AG0oMqxI1-elIMysEOwkJchF6BO5bTyp_nXsRydMAUp4YOr4c2W-_5s7oCV0mI3OTfkFKB0/w356-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-27%20at%2011.02.36%20AM.png" width="356" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It only made sense to quickly crush the honey and put it into the filter bucket so that's what I did while Sarah and I talked.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm leaning over the pot, crushing the honey, when my left EarPod fell out of my ear into the crushed wax.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigczXeQHp8ihW2eiPRTqjVWMiHNxV1dPGNyKnc7cPEIRF317KNlyD5PTU4rmlx6y3mJ8FASA2JVG_ZT3y2dipvMvN8sUk5O1ghirsWo_rHBCmkc8R6kMngwOR_TIEbKuO74zOPSGMbXEg6Z-3sgfV9IUzfqRonURPgx0RdW4nUPmwcY-I5xLU/s3322/IMG_3026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3322" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigczXeQHp8ihW2eiPRTqjVWMiHNxV1dPGNyKnc7cPEIRF317KNlyD5PTU4rmlx6y3mJ8FASA2JVG_ZT3y2dipvMvN8sUk5O1ghirsWo_rHBCmkc8R6kMngwOR_TIEbKuO74zOPSGMbXEg6Z-3sgfV9IUzfqRonURPgx0RdW4nUPmwcY-I5xLU/w364-h400/IMG_3026.jpg" width="364" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Horrors! I didn't take a photo because those things are expensive and I didn't have the option to wait and see whether it would sink or swim. I grabbed it off of the surface of the crushed honey.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Moment later, I said to Sarah, "This is delicious honey." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">She said, "Mom, are you licking the EarPod???" </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"No, my fingers," I replied.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I grabbed a paper towel and tried to wipe all of the honey off of the EarPod. I put it back into my ear to dead silence. Sarah reassured me that it probably just needed a break. I took the EarPods, wiping the honey-ed one one more time, and put them into their charging case.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The end of the story is that the honey is absolutely delicious and the EarPod recovered from its honey shock and is just fine, working as if it hadn't had the luxury of almost drowning in honey.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-81101239819799399902022-07-19T13:44:00.003-04:002022-07-21T09:00:44.963-04:00Harvesting Honey in the Dearth<p>Since I moved last June, I didn't harvest last year. I was in the process of moving my hives. And this year, I had only one hive out of two from the year before that was still standing when it was time to harvest honey - that was the hive that is at my daughter's house. Generally I try to harvest at the end of May, early June, instead of now in July, when the bees are in the throes of the dearth and really unhappy.</p><p>This year I was sitting at a red light and a woman crossed two lanes of traffic turning left into my lane, didn't see that the red light had caused the traffic to stop and slammed into my driver's side door (ARGHH). So given what the pandemic has done to supplies, the accident happened in April; I couldn't even get an estimate until May; the repair couldn't begin until mid June and my car was in the shop until this week. I didn't want to put honey in the trunk of a rental car so I delayed harvest until this week.</p><p>Needless to say, the bees were not happy. This was a hive we moved from Sarah's backyard to the front when she had a tree next to it cut down. I haven't opened them since the move on May 16. </p><p>First I observed the hive for a long time from the front of the hive. The bees were very busy and active, coming and going in and out of the hive, quickly but peacefully. There was nothing unusual in their pace or the way it looked on the entry. A lot of bees flew in with honey on their back legs - about every fifth bee. The bees weren't carrying out dead bees or dead larvae. </p><p>From observation of the front of the hive, I decided we did not have to do an inspection. The hive had a bottom box full of brood and the box above it has always been a little brood on the left side and then all honey. But it's the dearth and not a time to go deep into a hive because the bees tend to be "hangry." </p><p>AND because it's the dearth, I put on a zip-on veil and jacket. I meant to put on gloves but forgot and when I opened the hive, I was immediately stung on my hands. The message was quite clear so I put on my gloves! On the top of the hive were about five cockroaches - not unusual in the height of summer in Atlanta. They are kept on the top by the bees and just remain their optimistic that they will get fed, I suppose, but to no avail. Roaches, earwigs, black widow spiders are all often on top of the hive and are no threat to the bees. There were also LOTS of bees. </p><p>The top box (#4) was completely empty with every other frame drawn or partially drawn. None of the comb was being used so I removed that box. The third box had honey in about three of the frames and none of them were full. I decided to take those three frames. </p><p>Typically in a honey harvest, you don't use the smoker because you don't want smoke to infuse your honey. But these bees were in such a bad mood that I decided that the smoker would be a definite feature of this inspection. With the help of my daughter, Sarah, I took the three frames - I actually had to take four because one of the frames was slightly cross-combed with a drawn but empty frame beside it. I took those two together in case breaking the cross comb might open honey cells. I had put this box on the hive right at the very end of the nectar flow and the bees had not been able to fill it. </p><p>I put the three/four frames into a plastic nuc box. Then I filled the spaces we left in the third box with the drawn frames from the top box. I left the top box off of the hive and took the nuc box home to harvest. I have no photos because I recorded the whole thing. I'll have it up on YouTube and add it to this post on July 27 when I am offering my bee club a virtual hive inspection.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-29188520819707381642022-07-19T12:18:00.001-04:002022-07-19T12:18:06.992-04:00July Crossword: Bees and the Summer DearthI am having such fun creating these bee-themed crosswords. By the end of the year, we'll have a collection of them, each on the bee theme for that month. Here's the one I did for July:
<iframe width="500" height="500" style="background-color:white; padding:5px 0px 0 5px; border:3px solid black; margin:auto; display:block" frameborder="0" src="https://crosswordlabs.com/embed/bees-and-the-summer-dearth"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-42395881463982274572022-06-04T15:27:00.003-04:002022-11-03T17:33:48.371-04:00Harvesting Your Honey - a new Crossword Bee Buzzle<p> <iframe frameborder="0" height="500" src="https://crosswordlabs.com/embed/harvesting-honey-from-your-bees" style="background-color: white; border: 3px solid black; display: block; margin: auto; padding: 5px 0px 0 5px;" width="500"></iframe></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-65985178332378261062022-05-27T16:00:00.001-04:002022-05-27T16:00:10.162-04:00Surprising Water Source for Bees<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>This is my first full year in my new house and as spring approached, I planted a raised bed garden. I had too much soil so when my first raised beds were done, I ordered a felt raised bed. Felt pots are the "in thing" these days.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;">My garden is thriving and I water it about every other day. I've noticed a lot of bees around the felt bed. Imagine my surprise when I saw what they are doing.</p></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQP8q0zK5dS02Xl_rVbvzZmeXG4nzkM7kv7j7aEm27a0uL9Lk1jniPZaA8NeWEurwQzakUYttuR99CjMYAZPRWojVfKOd5LOObETQKiW7-ofRcNsT-39jsiBexxzirbTWF-PnpXQjpGtubV09wCVVOnvLzgF_72LHFlIlJHmFOelM8NhuL8Bk/s4032/IMG_2402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQP8q0zK5dS02Xl_rVbvzZmeXG4nzkM7kv7j7aEm27a0uL9Lk1jniPZaA8NeWEurwQzakUYttuR99CjMYAZPRWojVfKOd5LOObETQKiW7-ofRcNsT-39jsiBexxzirbTWF-PnpXQjpGtubV09wCVVOnvLzgF_72LHFlIlJHmFOelM8NhuL8Bk/w400-h300/IMG_2402.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Part of my felt raised bed - see the little girls at the fold lower center?</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87tp9LlqICOzz-8rDADOzj3mBEbeebTOug53v0-yLiuVl0M5-UetSCbd1M1vllr2IbBTOmGuJFTETQSbIJqX1eD_VeWjH5tBiLvxntPgsIe4Tvmu8QzxySKQor7-maaJQFo01THmvc309cI2wN-yzVqYc5tyAv0pNLQBOYl8F8uaUlDvilx0/s4032/IMG_2399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87tp9LlqICOzz-8rDADOzj3mBEbeebTOug53v0-yLiuVl0M5-UetSCbd1M1vllr2IbBTOmGuJFTETQSbIJqX1eD_VeWjH5tBiLvxntPgsIe4Tvmu8QzxySKQor7-maaJQFo01THmvc309cI2wN-yzVqYc5tyAv0pNLQBOYl8F8uaUlDvilx0/w480-h640/IMG_2399.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /> The bees are clinging to the felt and letting its absorbency and the water in it be a source of water for them to carry back to the hive! Who knew? I thought I was doing a good thing for the plants and the soil and it turns out, I was also helping the bees.<p></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-18203502935865469802022-05-06T18:15:00.002-04:002022-05-06T18:22:41.753-04:00Inspecting a Bee Hive Well - Crossword Buzzle<p>Test yourself! How much do you know about doing a good hive inspection? Here's the "Buzzle" I created for the monthly GBA newsletter this month:</p><iframe frameborder="0" height="500" src="https://crosswordlabs.com/embed/inspecting-a-bee-hive-well" style="background-color: white; border: 3px solid black; display: block; margin: auto; padding: 5px 0px 0 5px;" width="500"></iframe><div><span style="background-color: #b2b2b2;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The answers are in the GBA Newsletter each month (<a href="https://gabeekeeping.com/join-us">join here for a mere $15</a>) or you can <a href="mailto:beekeeperlinda@gmail.com">email me </a>for the answers.</span><br /><p><br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-66751853033257251962022-04-25T22:36:00.003-04:002022-04-25T22:38:13.921-04:00A Swarm Moved into an Empty Hive Box in My Yard and Did it Right in Front of Me!<p> I got home from helping my friend with bees she tried to rescue from the airport at 5:30 PM today. </p><p>When I left at 3:00 there were bees in my carport all over some stacked hive boxes there to be painted. I thought maybe a swarm was moving into the stacked boxes. My shed where I store all my bee equipment was getting a lot of activity too. I even left the door cracked to the shed because there were so many bees visiting the interior that I didn't want to leave them in there. And an empty hive box was getting lots of visitors. </p><p>It's April and the height of swarm season in Atlanta. If you are a seasoned beekeeper with unoccupied equipment in your bee yard, it's not unusual to see scouts or to get a swarm interested in your empty properties. </p><p>I came home and took my dinner out to the back deck to eat outdoors. I watched the hive while I ate, and noticed that there was still some activity - scouting - going on at the hive. I had almost finished my dinner when I heard a loud whirr and looked up to see a swarm moving into the hive.</p><p>The whole process took a mere 15 minutes so I filmed it all - it's kind of calming to watch the bees claim a home for themselves. These are truly free bees. They didn't cost me anything in terms of time, effort, preparation or money. Enjoy the video:</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DameBeyJ1dQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0