Bees - Adventures - or - Trials & Tribulations - Beekeeping, Year 2

Bees - Adventures - or - Trials & Tribulations -  Beekeeping, Year 2

 

A great deal of changes made in the past month.  

After moving my little bee blog from another site to the much user-friendly Blogger site, I am ready to continue with my beekeeping 'adventures'  (the bees would most likely refer to it as 'trials and tribulations with a new Beek - but since I am doing the typing I choose 'adventures').

Finding my Hive Bodacea did not survive the winter, with no sign of disease of any kind, and just a small pile of  dead bees in a ball at the bottom of the hive, I  began to prepare to start again.  

My topbar hive was built and ready to be placed in the yard.  Bees.  The only thing missing was bees. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to purchase a nuc of overwintered bees from a topbar hive.  Installation of Hive Caseopia was a breeze! The day after the hive was placed in the yard it started raining and has been cold, windy and rainy since then.  Not good conditions to reopen.  So, I keep checking them through the viewing window.

About 3 days later I received a box of bees, which were in great condition (last year's were a mess).  Those were installed in a Langstroth hive.  So far, so good for Hive Daphne.

Yesterday, I picked up  box of bees from MannLake in CA.  A very kind man went to the drop off point in Ohio to pick up an order for many beekeepers in the area.  I got a box of beautiful little Carnolian bees. They were settled into a longhive.  (The longhive is a potentially temporary thing.  If I decide I don't like how it is working out I will put the hive into a Langstroth.)  Hive Esme is off and buzzing!

So, at this point  I am just waiting to see if everyone 'takes' to their new homes.   Today for the first time in weeks, it is relatively warm, sunny and a very light breeze.  The bees are buzzing all over the bee yard and here and there around the yard.  All is right in Vee Bee's Bee yard.

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I have two standard poodles, one white (11 y/o) and one black (6 months).  Maggie (white) is used to bees, Last year she would go visit the hives and look around and then go off to do dog things.  Stella (black)  is still full of wild standard poodle puppy joie de vie.  She in very curious about those buzzing boxes.  She goes to look at them, the buzzing gets a little higher and she barks, they buzz louder and do a bit of dive bombing. Wisely, Stella retreats.  I think she needs to keep retreating.  (Or maybe, I need to get her a little poodle dog bee suit!)