HuntingCountry.com

1.) bluecat - 04/06/2018

Tomorrow morning, I get my bee packages and install them in the hives.

Years ago I was at the Nebraska state fair and wandered through the bee keeping area and thought it was kinda neat. So tomorrow it begins.
Pictures and stories to follow. Hang on to your smokers.

BTW, Alex was not happy he had to sit still for the picture.

2.) Jon - 04/06/2018

Awesome! One of my good friends is a bee keeper, he has hundreds of hives that he brings to local farms to pollenate their crops. I asked him if he'd store a hive or two at my place for a month or so, he said sure.....
Fun stuff, hope you enjoy the new hobby!

3.) Swamp Fox - 04/06/2018

[QUOTE]Oh beehive![/QUOTE]

I see what you did there ...

What happens when Alex knocks one of the hives off the cinderblocks? :ek:

4.) bluecat - 04/06/2018

Alex will quickly learn all about bees...

Don't have high expectations except hope that my garden is flush with goodies and I've done something nice for environment. Been taking bee classes for about a year now and when I started I kind of had a "come to Jesus" moment where it was completley overwhelming.

Jon, keep us informed on your garden and your friend's hive. Most times, a beekeeper will give you a little kickback for letting them use your land. Everybody wins.

If I'm successful, I know that it was someone else that made that happen...

5.) bluecat - 04/06/2018

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;55453]I see what you did there ...

[/QUOTE]

+ 3 for posting on your smoking break.

6.) bluecat - 04/06/2018

I'm hoping the deer won't mess with them. The boxes are really heavy so they ain't going anywhere unless we get hit by another tornado like we had two years ago. Good times.

7.) Swamp Fox - 04/06/2018

[QUOTE=bluecat;55456]+ 3 for posting on your smoking break.[/QUOTE]

These lady cigarillos are quite nice, and I can finish one in just enough time ...

8.) bluecat - 04/06/2018

9.) bluecat - 04/06/2018

10.) DParker - 04/06/2018

I see gallons of mead in your future.

11.) Swamp Fox - 04/06/2018

It's about to be butterfly season here, so the cats are all very excited.

The extended and erratic cold weather has put a damper on all the blooms, so now it's a matter of whether it put a damper on the bugs.

12.) bluecat - 04/09/2018

This is what the bees look like directly from the um...manufacturer.

There are two boxes representing two potential hives. The center part of the box has a can of sugar solution that is inverted and perforated. The queens are in their own cage within the boxes. The workers are feeding her and getting used to her pheromones.

Was too cold to put them in the hive on Saturday so hoping for some above 50 temperatures tomorrow (Tuesday). They are currently camped out on my workbench. Alex checks on them every morning, which is nice.

13.) DParker - 04/09/2018

[QUOTE=bluecat;55502]The workers are feeding her and getting used to her pheromones.[/QUOTE]

A tale of ribaldry!

14.) DParker - 04/10/2018

[QUOTE=bluecat;55525]If the queen dies, you hopefully can get another quickly because the whole she-bang falls apart if she isn't. Yep, one queen per box.[/QUOTE]

Just make sure you're very specific about species when requesting your replacement queen.

15.) crookedeye - 04/10/2018

not every queen is from the same colony..

16.) Swamp Fox - 04/10/2018

That sounds like something Hillary would say ...

17.) Swamp Fox - 04/10/2018

If I knew I could get some mead out of it, I could see me keeping bees.

Honey would be a secondary benefit, but I'd need some convincing and a cost-benefit analysis.

Helping flowers have sex seems like something that I don't really have enough time to worry about ...

18.) DParker - 04/11/2018

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;55543]Helping flowers have sex seems like something that I don't really have enough time to worry about ...[/QUOTE]

Or.....